IG Wealth Management and Ipsos have come out with the 2024 edition of the company’s financial confidence index, showing the majority of survey respondents fear a recession in the coming year.
The seventh annual edition of the IG Wealth Management Financial Confidence Index also shows that those who work with an advisor score 15 points higher than those who do not – those who currently work with a financial advisor had significantly higher levels of financial confidence, scoring 59 points in the category when compared to those who do not; those without an advisor scored 44, on average.
“2024 has brought financial stability to Canadians after years of volatility. However, the index also revealed that many are concerned about what 2025 could have in store for them and showed a clear regional divide in Canadians’ financial confidence,” they write.
The Ipsos survey commissioned by IG asks 10 questions related to Canadians’ current personal financial situation, their personal financial outlook, planning and literacy and trust in the economy. They say trust in the economy, with a score of 40, was the weakest section, trailing the others by as much as 10 points or more.
A clear sense of anxiety
Factors contributing to the low score include concerns about a recession, job insecurity and anxiety about the political climate and global issues. “While the index has stabilized since the pandemic (score of 50, mirroring 2023 and down one point from 2022), there’s still a clear sense of anxiety among Canadians as we head into 2025,” says IG Wealth’s president and CEO, Damon Murchison.
Regionally, British Columbia outpaced all other provinces with a high score of 55. Notably, in British Columbia, more than half report using financial advice. Quebecers’ confidence scores, on the other hand, dropped four points to 49 in 2024. Their confidence scores related to financial goal setting registered a steep decline, also to 49, down from 62 last year.
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