Professional advice still central as four in 10 Canadians turn to AI

Financial advisors remain the most trusted source of investment information for Canadians, even as four in 10 investors now use generative artificial intelligence tools to supplement their financial decision-making, according to new research released on October 27, 2026.

The 2026 Survey of Canadian Investors, commissioned by the Securities and Investment Management Association (SIMA) and conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights, surveyed 5,013 Canadian investors between June 16 and July 2, 2026. The survey, in its 21st year, is the industry's longest-running tracker of Canadian investor sentiment and behaviour.

Nearly two-thirds of Canadian adults (64 per cent) hold investments, whether in registered accounts such as registered retirement savings plans (RRSPs) and tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs), or in non-registered accounts.

Among investors, mutual funds remain the most widely held product at 53 per cent, followed by stocks (43 per cent), guaranteed investment certificates (38 per cent), and exchange-traded funds (29 per cent).

"The annual Pollara survey provides important insights into investor satisfaction and preferences as well as the evolving use of different advice models, which is essential for the industry to understand," said Andy Mitchell, President and Chief Executive Officer of SIMA. "It is encouraging to see that investors continue to see the high value their financial advisors provide."

Advisors retain strong investor confidence

Satisfaction with professional advice remains high across the board. According to the 2026 SIMA and Pollara survey, more than three-quarters of advised investors report strong overall satisfaction, while 90 per cent trust their advisor to provide sound advice. Eighty-six per cent say advice increases their confidence in reaching their investment goals, 84 per cent believe they receive better returns when working with an advisor, and 80 per cent consider the fees they pay to be worth the service they receive.

Financial advisors are also the leading source of investment information, cited by 65 per cent of investors. That positioning has held firm even as digital sources - financial news websites, online platforms, and community forums - are increasingly consulted and accessed more frequently. Advisor trust is particularly resilient when markets become volatile, a pattern WPC has tracked across multiple annual SIMA surveys.

The survey also finds that 78 per cent of investors purchase at least some of their investments with professional guidance - 43 per cent use advice exclusively, while 36 per cent blend advised and self-directed approaches.

The hybrid investor is now the norm

One of the more significant shifts this year's data documents is the mainstream rise of the hybrid investor - someone who moves fluidly between professional advice and self-directed investing rather than committing fully to one model.

Among investors who combine both approaches, 42 per cent started by investing with an advisor before moving to some self-direction, compared with 31 per cent who began independently and later sought advice. The data suggests that professional guidance often serves as an entry point into investing, building the knowledge and confidence that eventually supports more autonomous decision-making.

Lesli Martin, Senior Vice-President at Pollara Strategic Insights, described the relationship between advised and self-directed investing as complementary rather than competitive. "This year, the survey indicates that advised and self-directed investing are not necessarily competing models, with many investors moving between them or combining them as their needs change," she said.

The findings reinforce what Wealth Professional reported on the 2025 SIMA survey, which similarly found that a substantial share of investors integrate both advice channels depending on the complexity of their financial circumstances.

Larger portfolios, market turbulence, and complicated tax situations are the most frequently cited triggers for seeking professional guidance, while the desire to invest independently is primarily driven by a growing sense of personal knowledge and confidence.

Generative AI enters the advice conversation

Perhaps the most closely watched finding in this year's survey is the emergence of generative AI as a mainstream tool in Canadian investing. Four in 10 investors (40 per cent) have now used generative AI for investment-related purposes, with 36 per cent currently doing so and four per cent having used it in the past.

Among those who use AI tools, 42 per cent apply them to build general investment knowledge, 32 per cent to research specific investments or funds, and 29 per cent to identify new investment ideas. Approximately one in five investors uses AI to review their portfolio and receive suggestions (23 per cent), for scenario modelling and forecasting (22 per cent), or to verify advice already received from their financial advisor (21 per cent).

The survey does not position AI as a displacement threat to the advisory relationship. Instead, the data points to a pattern in which AI functions as a research and knowledge layer, with investors still turning to human advisors for personalised guidance. How generative AI is reshaping the practice of wealth management in Canada remains an open question, but this survey suggests client adoption is accelerating faster than many in the industry anticipated.

Fee awareness and disclosure gaps persist

Despite high satisfaction with advisors, the survey points to an enduring gap in fee literacy. While 63 per cent of mutual fund and ETF investors say they are confident they understand the management expense ratio (MER) - the fee paid to the investment fund manager for managing and administering the fund - only 24 per cent describe themselves as very confident. Understanding of advisor and dealer fees is similar: 62 per cent report some confidence, but only 22 per cent are very confident.

The survey notes that these figures offer a useful baseline for assessing whether Total Cost Reporting, which requires investment firms to provide clients with a consolidated summary of all fees paid in dollar terms, will meaningfully improve investor awareness over time.

Annual statements are generally well-received. Of the 57 per cent of investors who recalled receiving their annual fee and performance statement, approximately half said they read it. Among those readers, 89 per cent rated the presentation of their rate of return as excellent or good, and 75 per cent gave positive marks to how fees were disclosed. Rates of return, portfolio balances, and year-over-year changes ranked as the most important information to investors; fees, while broadly considered significant, ranked somewhat lower.

A notable 31 per cent of statement readers said the information prompted them to act on their account - a figure that is higher among ETF, gold and silver, and cryptocurrency holders.

Investor confidence in 2026

The survey also documents a significant knowledge gap among Canadian investors overall. While 46 per cent consider themselves at least competent in managing their investments, 54 per cent describe themselves as novices or advanced beginners. This divide is particularly evident among mutual fund and GIC holders, who self-assess at lower expertise levels than stock or ETF investors.

The findings carry practical implications for advisors. A client base that is highly satisfied with advice but widely lacking in investment knowledge and fee confidence is one that values the educational dimension of the advisory relationship as much as the transactional one.

SIMA oversees approximately $4.5 trillion in assets for more than 20 million investors and represents investment fund managers, dealers, capital markets participants, and professional service providers across Canada.