Seventy-three per cent of Canadian women wish they had started saving earlier in life, with 67 per cent saying the same about investing, according to a poll by CIBC released Feb. 24.

The survey showed a low level of financial confidence among women with just 10 per cent saying they felt very knowledgeable about investing and 15 per cent feeling the same about retirement planning.

It also found that women tend to approach investing from a conservative lens. Of those who have an investment portfolio, 44 per cent are more concerned with preserving capital and making predictable returns than trying to achieve higher rates of return.

The study also indicates that two-thirds of women are concerned they will run out of money in retirement while 46 per cent worry they do not have enough savings for an emergency. One-in-four of those surveyed were stressed about managing day-to-day finances and paying off debt.