• Scotiabank encourages Canadians to develop a five-year plan to set goals and manage investments
• Valerie Pringle, Scotiabank Saving Ambassador, embarks on second-leg of cross-country tour to talk investing with Canadians

TORONTO, Jan. 17 /CNW/ - A recent Scotiabank study conducted by Harris/Decima found that many Canadians (37 per cent) feel anxious when they think about investing and Scotiabank wants to ease this anxiety by encouraging them to think about investing in a whole new way - five years at a time. Canadians are on-board with the idea, with half (51 per cent) of those surveyed expressing interest in a five-year plan that flows with the market, manages risk, is balanced for growth and is flexible to change as their life changes.

"In five years, you will be five years closer to retirement but will you actually be five years closer to retiring?" asks Gillian Riley, Senior Vice-President & Head, Retail Payments, Deposits and Lending, Scotiabank. "We all know that we have to invest for retirement, but it can be tough to get started and easy to put off. Most of us live in the here and now and the future seems so far away, many of us rarely focus on it. 

"What if you started investing today, wouldn't you feel ahead tomorrow? With a five-year plan, Canadians can determine what steps they need to take now to help them reach their short, medium and long-term goals," advises Ms. Riley. "Recognizing the benefits of this new way of thinking about investing, many Canadians have told us that they are interested in a five-year plan because it will help them grow their finances, it's an easier and more realistic way to think about investing and it involves clear and specific objectives."

For those who are not interested in a five-year plan, it's mainly because they are already on track with their finances (30 per cent) or because of their closeness to retirement (12 per cent).

According to the study, one-quarter (24 per cent) of Canadians don't like to think about investments at all and almost half (45 per cent) are interested in learning more about investments.

"Many Canadians want to know more about investing, but they want the information to be straightforward and relevant to their situation," says Ms. Riley. "At Scotiabank we are committed to helping Canadians become financially better off, which is why Scotiabank Saving Ambassador Valerie Pringle is once again heading across the country to talk to Canadians about their thoughts, concerns and insights when it comes to investing."

Today, Ms. Pringle will begin her cross-Canada tour in Windsor, Ontario, which will be followed by visits to Cambridge, St. John's, Saskatoon, Victoria and Toronto. On the tour, Ms. Pringle will meet with a broad range of Canadians in each region, from retirees to curlers to farmers, to gather insights and listen to Canadians about their thoughts on investing and retirement planning.

For more information about investing for your future, visit www.letthesavingbegin.com.

Let the Saving Begin is a Scotiabank program designed to inspire and empower Canadians to get on track with their saving, investing and borrowing habits.

Built on three simple principles, Let the Saving Begin encourages Canadians to:

• Save automatically, because it works;
• Invest for your future, because no one else will; and
• Borrow to get ahead, not fall behind.

About the survey

A total of 1,011 completed surveys were collected from a random sample of Harris/Decima's panel members across Canada aged 18 or older. The study was conducted from October 14th, 2010 to October 25th, 2010. 

This was a standard panel survey among a random sample of Harris/Decima's Canadian panel members. In a fashion similar to a telephone study, email addresses from their panel were pulled at random, according to population and gender specifications, in order to make the study representative of the Canadian population by region and gender. When contacted to solicit participation, participants had no prior knowledge of the subject matter of the study. Harris/Decima controls access to the study through passwords to ensure that respondents can participate only once. Subsequent to completion of the study, the data was weighted by region, age, and gender.

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is one of North America's premier financial institutions and Canada's most international bank. With more than 70,000 employees, Scotiabank Group and its affiliates serve some 18.6 million customers in more than 50 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With assets above $526 billion (as at October 31, 2010), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto (BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit www.scotiabank.com.