BlackRock Canada 2016 ETF Pulse Survey

TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - November 24, 2016) - Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are increasingly playing an important role in Canadians' investment portfolios, with nearly one-third of Canadian investors (31 per cent) reporting they own ETFs, according to the first-ever ETF Pulse Survey from BlackRock Canada.¹ The findings suggests this momentum is only expected to increase with a large proportion of ETF owners (93 per cent) and non-owners (38 per cent) surveyed showing an interest in purchasing ETFs in the next 12 months.

The survey, which looked at ETF awareness and usage amongst Canadians, found that education often plays a central role in ETF adoption. While more than half of Canadian investors are planning on learning more in the coming year, of those that don't currently own them, they are more than twice as likely to seek out more knowledge around ETFs next year, compared to the last 12 months.

"After a year of record growth, we're thrilled to see the continued thirst amongst Canadians for more ETF knowledge," said Warren Collier, Head of iShares, BlackRock Canada. "While the results demonstrate that Canadian's have a strong appetite to learn more about ETFs, it's clear that there continues to be an opportunity to help investors better understand their investment options."

The State of ETFs in Canada: How and Why Investors Use ETFs

The survey found that investors are choosing ETFs largely to replace mutual funds (41 per cent) and/or individual stocks (45 per cent), to improve diversification (53 per cent), and reduce their risk profile (43 per cent). These are consistent with Greenwich Survey² of Canadian institutional ETF usage which points to an increase in ETF allocations among institutional investors in the coming year.

Of Canadian investors that currently own ETFs, the funds make up a meaningful proportion of their portfolio. They now equal the asset mix of other commonly held vehicles such as mutual funds and stocks. ETF owners currently allocate 20 per cent of their assets to ETFs on average, compared to individual stocks (24 per cent) and mutual funds (22 per cent). Seventy-one per cent of ETF owners see the funds as long-term investments or, as both long and short-term holdings - with the average holding period being 5 years.