• 62% of Canadians agree getting financial advice is more important now than before the COVID-19 pandemic
• Half of Canadians (51%) have shifted their financial goals due to the challenges posed by COVID-19

TORONTO, Sept. 21, 2020 /CNW/ - Today, Scotiabank launched Advice+, a service that offers customers a range of new options to seek financial advice during these challenging times, from a new self-serve ScotiaAdvice Centre online, to a personalized Advice+ financial plan to meet their unique needs, today and tomorrow. Canadians can visit the new ScotiaAdvice+ Centre or contact a Scotiabank advisor today to discover the power of a simple conversation.

"Helping our customers become better off is what our dedicated team of advisors does each and every day, and Advice+ helps deliver on that promise," said Dan Rees, Group Head, Canadian Banking, Scotiabank. "Now more than ever, Canadians are looking for targeted, personalized financial advice to help them navigate through these uncertain times. We're very excited to bring Advice+ to life, empowering our advisors and customers with tools and solutions as we work through these complex times together."

A recent Scotiabank poll revealed that 62% of Canadians agree that getting advice from an advisor is even more important to them now than it was before the pandemic. And 25% are looking to a financial advisor to help them with their finances. The poll revealed that nearly half of Canadians (51%) have hit pause to reassess their financial goals due to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

Shifting Priorities and the Need for Advice:

• Since the pandemic began, Canadians have hit pause on their retirement plans (-5%) and travel (-9%) goals to focus on paying off their day-to-day expenses (+11%).
• Of those Canadians who have shifted their goals a lot, just 15% have a written financial plan, nearly 20% claimed to be uncomfortable with their finances.
• More than 25% of Canadians said they feel like they only understand the basics' or 'feel completely clueless' about their finances.
• 62% of Canadians with a financial plan have intentions to update or revisit their plan because of COVID-19, just 12% without a financial plan intend to build one.
• As a result of the pandemic, 25% are looking to a financial advisor to help them with their finances. Scotiabank's team of financial advisors is ready and available to help Canadians navigate through these uncertain times. 

Methodology: The Scotiabank COVID-19 poll was conducted online between May 15 – 28th, 2020, with a nationally-representative sample of 1,009 adult Canadians (18+ years of age) who are the primary or shared decision maker for their household finances. The sample was drawn from the Nielsen Consumer Insights Online panel. The overall data has been weighted by age, gender, and region to be representative of the Canadian adult population.

About Scotiabank: Scotiabank is a leading bank in the Americas. Guided by our purpose: "for every future", we help our customers, their families and their communities achieve success through a broad range of advice, products and services, including personal and commercial banking, wealth management and private banking, corporate and investment banking, and capital markets. With a team of over 90,000 employees and assets of approximately $1.2 trillion (as at July 31, 2020), Scotiabank trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: BNS) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: BNS). For more information, please visit our website and follow us on Twitter @ScotiabankViews.

SOURCE Scotiabank