There is a large gap when it comes to investing motives of Gen Z newcomers and their Millennials counterparts. The former is much more likely to prioritize quick gains over steady, long-term returns. This is reinforced by just the third of Gen Zers citing saving for retirement as an investing motive, compared to the nearly half of Millennial new Canadians. This Gen Z group is one that is highly likely to still be in university, and not giving as much thought to the long-term impacts of their investing decisions as an older Millennial that is more likely to be starting a family, buying a home for the first-time, etc.
With such contrasting investing motives, largely driven by life stage, brands must be flexible in meeting these investors where they are. Partnering with universities to provide younger newcomers a more stable and less-risky outlook on investing will be beneficial for this group’s long-term financial wellness. For older, wealthier newcomers, advisory and wealth management services are likely to remain an effective acquisition gateway.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Market drivers impacting the investing industry
- New Canadians’ investing profiles
- Investment ownership
- Investing barriers and motives
- Channels used for investing advice/managing investments
- New Canadians’ attitudes toward investing
Brands must support new Canadians' investing efforts by offering tailored financial education and accessible resources that empower them to build their wealth.
Amr Hamdi, Senior Analyst – Financial Services
Market Definitions
For the purposes of this Report, Mintel has used the following definitions:
- Newer Canadians: people who have lived in Canada for less than 10 years
- First-time investors: those that acquired their first investing product less than a year ago.
- Intermediate investors: those that acquired their first investing product over a year to five years ago.
- Seasoned investors: those that acquired their first investing product over five years ago.
Collapse All
-
Executive summary
- What you need to know
- Consumer trends: key takeaways
- Affordability, security, and customer service are the core standard newcomers have when choosing an investment platform
- Graph 1: key factors in choice of investment platform, 2024
- Partner with universities to reach student investors on a more effective level
- Anxiety over investment decisions tends to go down with age, but still remains elevated
- Graph 2: attitudes toward investing, by generation, 2024
- Market predictions
- Opportunities
- New Canadians desire personalized educational content to support their investing endeavors
- Refer-a-friend bonuses can boost acquisition among newcomers
-
The Market
- Market drivers
- Newcomers remain a significantly attractive growth segment for investment brands
- Graph 3: distribution of foreign-born population by region of birth, 1996-2036 (projected)
- A high rate environment will continue to stimulate demand for interest-bearing investment products
- Graph 4: policy interest rate over time, 2022-24
- Prices rose at an annual pace of 2.7% as of April 2024, indicating a continued retread across inflation towards target levels
- Graph 5: consumer price index, 12-month % change, 2023-24
-
Consumer Insights
- Consumer fast facts
- New Canadians' investing profiles
- New Canadians are a young group, with nearly 40% currently students
- Graph 6: new Canadians breakdown, by gender, age and student status, 2024
- Newcomers are in tighter financial positions, given their youth
- Graph 7: new Canadians breakdown, by financial situation, 2024
- Mutual funds and stocks are the most owned assets by newcomers, but their overall investing participation is lagging
- Graph 8: investment ownership, by new Canadians, 2024
- Nearly half of new Canadians began investing within the past year, while just 10% have been investing for over five years
- Over half of new Canadians aged 18-34 are categorized as first-time investors
- Graph 9: new Canadians' investing experience, by age, 2024
- Investment ownership
- New Canadians' investing participation eventually increases with time
- Graph 10: investment ownership, by length of time in Canada, 2024
- Nearly a quarter of new Canadians hold crypto
- Graph 11: cryptocurrency ownership, by new Canadians, 2024
- Barriers to investing
- Fractional share ownership remains an optimal solution for new Canadians contemplating investing but held back by limited funds
- Graph 12: barriers to investing for new Canadians, 2024
- Millennial newcomers feel the most constrained by a lack of funds when looking to invest
- Graph 13: barriers to investing for new Canadians, by generation and length of time in Canada, 2024
- Investing motives
- New Canadians invest to ensure their long-term financial security
- Graph 14: new Canadians' investing motives, 2024
- Gen Zers and Millennials have largely contrasting investing motives
- Graph 15: new Canadians' investing motives, 2024
- Channels used for investing advice
- New Canadians leverage diverse sources for investing advice
- Millennial newcomers leverage financial advisors for investing advice, while Gen Zers prefer social media
- Graph 16: channels new Canadians use for investing advice, by generation, 2024
- Channels used to manage investments
- Self-directed brokerage accounts and financial advisors are the two main channels used by newcomers to manage their investments
- Graph 17: channels new Canadians use to manage investments, 2024
- FIs' advisory arms can do more to retain the investing businesses of their newcomer customers
- Graph 18: new Canadians' use of financial advisors to manage investments, 2024
- Attitudes toward investing
- New Canadians' desire for educational content is significant
- Graph 19: new Canadians' interest in dedicated educational resources, by student status, 2024
- Not all new Canadians are confident in their ability to retire comfortably
- Graph 20: new Canadians' retirement comfort levels, 2024
- Over half would bundle multiple financial products – opening doors for brands to offer more holistic newcomer packages
- Graph 21: new Canadians' interest in bundling financial products, by gender and age, 2024
- Half of new Canadians prefer saving/GICs to investing in the current market
-
Competitive strategies
- Marketing and advertising
- Wealthsimple leverage cash bonuses as part of its acquisition marketing
- RBC stress the "low-cost, low-effort" benefits of using its roboadvisory service
- BMO reminds customers of the diverse channels they are able to obtain investing advice from
- RBC's dedicated newcomers page is a best-in-class example when it comes to engaging with this segment from an advisory standpoint
-
Appendix
- Market definition
- Consumer research methodology
- Generations
- Abbreviations and terms
Market Intelligence Made Easier With Mintel
The first Mintel Market Intelligence report was published over 50 years ago. Since then, we have provided our unique insights and understanding of consumers, innovation and global markets to thousands of customers worldwide. Here’s why our customers rely on Mintel:
- Gain a comprehensive, 360-degree view of the market: Mintel reports blend consumer research, market forecasts, product innovation tracking, and competitive analysis, allowing businesses to see every angle of their industry and identify new opportunities quickly.
- Make decisions with confidence, grounded in robust data: Each report draws on up-to-date, reliable information from trusted sources and industry experts, ensuring your strategies are based on solid evidence rather than speculation.
- Benefit from expert analysis and practical recommendations: Mintel’s reports are written by experienced analysts who interpret complex data and provide clear, actionable insights you can trust to guide your next moves.
- Stay ahead with actionable intelligence on market trends and consumer behaviour: By combining fresh research with long-term market monitoring, our reports help businesses anticipate changes and adapt strategically. So you’re prepared to make informed decisions and drive growth.
What goes into a Mintel Market Intelligence Report?
Curious about how a Market Intelligence report comes together? We like to think of it as building a detailed puzzle. We start with individual pieces: data from consumers, market statistics, industry trends, and online conversations. Then our expert analysts add world-class human insight and industry knowledge. The pieces are assembled to reveal a clear, comprehensive picture of a market.
The Four Pillars of Our Research
We use a combination of four main research methods when creating our reports, each adding a valuable perspective:
- Consumer Research: Direct surveys with real people, giving us clear, current insights into what people think and do.
- Desk Research: In-depth review of trusted data sources. We use this rich database, plus powerful internal tools that track new products and market sizes, to detect trends and guide forecasts.
- Trade Research: Insights from conversations with industry experts. Their real-world experience helps us understand what’s happening behind the scenes.
- Brand and Social Media Research: Analysis of online opinions and trends. This lets us spot trends, measure brand sentiment, and capture feedback in real time, adding further depth to our research.
Bringing It All Together
Each of these four pillars provides a different piece of the puzzle. Consumer research tells us what customers think, desk research provides the factual framework, trade research offers an insider’s view, and social media analysis reveals public sentiment.
Our expert analysts are skilled in weaving these diverse data streams together. They apply a range of quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques to uncover the deeper story, connecting the dots to deliver clear, actionable insights. This comprehensive, multi-layered process is how we transform raw data into a market intelligence report you can trust to inform your most important business decisions.
£ 3,695 (Excl.Tax)
- Pay via credit card or invoice
-
PDF, PPT and Excel download delivered instantly
Instant delivery when paying by credit card, invoice orders may take longer
-
Save up to 20% when you purchase multiple reports
Save 10% when you purchase two reports together.
Save 15% when you purchase three reports together.
Save 20% when your purchase four or more together.
Discount automatically applied in basket
Need help before you buy?
Our research specialists can answer your questions and recommend the reports that best match your business needs.
Contact usTrusted by global industry leaders
When I’m investigating specific sectors I tend to use Mintel reports for their forecasting, which I’ve always found to be very accurate.
They also offer really broad and deep coverage in their reports. They are very, very detailed. For example, we were able to gain insight across a wide range of business areas from just one report, proving that Mintel is excellent value for money.
So overall, it’s the level of detail and the quality of forecasting that really stand out for me.
Rebecca Green, Market Insight Manager, Wincanton
We utilize Mintel Reports, Trends and Comperemedia to mine for insights across the numerous business verticals that Epsilon serves, such as CPG, automotive, telecom, healthcare/pharma, retail and financial services.
By integrating Mintel insight into new business opportunities, we have been able to gain the competitive edge necessary to advance partnerships with global brands and key business players.
For our organization, it’s about depth and breadth. Having one without the other doesn’t enable success in our business.
Virginia Harvey, Secondary Research Manager, Epsilon
There is no question that Mintel is the go-to resource for the best quality market research, but I did not think it was an affordable option for Abacus Marketing to consider. As a small marketing agency, we only work with a few new clients each year.
However, we have a very high-end consultative approach to our work, so we really do need a partner like Mintel to provide the big agency experience we are always aiming to deliver. Our clients come from an incredibly diverse range of industry sectors, so we obviously need access to market research reports from a very wide spectrum of marketplaces – and that is precisely what we got.
Stephen Taylor-Brown, Managing Director, Abacus
Mintel helps us when we want to know something quickly – it provides fast answers to our questions. If we need to get a view of what’s going on in a particular market it’s very useful.
When carrying out background research, I find Mintel an excellent starting point.
The fact that it covers so many markets is a big plus for me– instead of having to buy specialist products in each area we are interested in, especially when we only require a brief view on a particular market, we can go to Mintel for help as a one-stop shop. I find Mintel a useful and valuable resource.
Ben Zeidler, Director - Research and Analytics, Tenth Wave
We use Mintel Reports, mostly for financial services and ecommerce markets, plus a few retail and technology ones.
As a leading payments provider, we value additional insights into consumer behaviour, opinions and trends that are shaping the many different markets we operate in. Mintel is a very good and very quick way for us to obtain those insights.
We use Mintel to get a view on where a particular market is going, which can support us in product development and help us identify opportunities or indeed risks, it is a very useful barometer of a market’s potential.
Andrew Neeson, Market Intelligence Manager, VocaLink
Need help before you buy?
Our research specialists can answer your questions and recommend the reports that best match your business needs.
Contact us
