The Toronto Stock Exchange and World Investor Link commissioned an independent study by Market Probe Canada to understand more about shareowners in the Canadian equity markets.
TSE President and CEO Barbara Stymiest says, "a strong investor base is critical to maintaining a strong Canadian capital market. The TSE understands the importance of shareowners in the Canadian equity markets.
The information in this study will help us build our core businesses and expand into new niches that will meet the ever changing needs of Canadian investors."
"The growth of the Internet and the trend toward online investing has encouraged online investors to be proactive and self-directed in their investment research and decisions," said COO of World Investor Link Patrick Galleher. "These individuals represent a growing investor audience that is increasingly difficult for listed companies to reach through traditional retail I.R. programs."
The study found that Canadians fall into one of three investor profiles:
Uninvolved Investors tend to be more conservative and generally less involved in their portfolios. Consequently, they can be categorized as passive investors, willing to accept the decisions and advice provided by industry professionals Concerned Investors generally maintain their long-term investments while actively investing a portion of their portfolio despite a certain level of discomfort. This is primarily due to an ongoing need for funds.
Engaged Investors are the wealthiest and most aggressive group of investors. They are comfortable with risk and engage themselves in managing their portfolios through both in-depth research and active trading. As such, they are on the leading edge of changes significantly altering the investment community.
A sign of the changing investing times is that the Internet is becoming a major new source of information. The research indicates that Canadian shareholders are tapping into the Internet at a rapid rate and see the Internet as a crucial source for investment information.
Discount brokerages have enjoyed surging growth in the past five years. For the growing number of people who have tried online trading, it has become the overwhelming method of choice. Still, the day trading phenomenon, more common in US markets, is not yet a widespread practice in this country. The survey of 3,500 interviews were conducted by telephone between March 1 and April 5, 2000. All respondents were 18 years of age or over and indicated they had primary or shared responsibility for making their households' financial decisions.
World Investor Link Inc. (www.worldinvestorlink.com) is the North American subsidiary of WI Link.com, the worldwide leader in providing companies and mutual funds access to committed, serious individual investors by offering The Annual Reports Service and The Fund Info Service in more than 80 leading financial publications and Web sites. In addition, the company conducts targeted research on behalf of clients to help improve the effectiveness of their investor relations programs. The company markets its services throughout Europe via World Investor Link Ltd.
The Toronto Stock Exchange consistently ranks among the world's top exchanges by market capitalization and trading volume. In 2000, the average daily value of TSE trading has exceeded $4 billion. The TSE provides investors with a well-regulated, fair and accessible marketplace.
