Edmonton—The latest research from ATB Financial’s wealth management arm, ATB Wealth, suggests Alberta women feel less confident and are more risk averse when it comes to investing than men. The Investor Beat survey also found female respondents were more worried about saving enough for retirement than men.

Although six-in-10 common-law or married Albertans surveyed said both partners have an equal say in financial decisions, women were more likely than men to agree (64 per cent of women versus 53 per cent of men). Men surveyed were twice as likely to say they had more clout in financial decisions with or without consulting their partner.

“Closing this gap is vital and the first step is recognition. Clearly, we have work to do,” said Chris Turchansky, President of ATB Wealth. “At ATB, we will use this insight to drive us forward, to ensure all Albertans feel confident when it comes to their money so they can focus on the things that matter most.”

The survey found both male and female respondents agree debt is holding them back from saving enough but men were more likely to say they were comfortable with the amount of debt they are carrying.

“There is a bright spot to highlight in this research,” said Sherri Wright-Schwietz, Vice President Investor Experience and Practice Management, ATB Wealth. “We learned that an increasing number of Albertans (more than half of those we spoke to) prefer to turn to professionals regarding their investment decisions. That means industry is being given a significant opportunity to help increase investor confidence, from all genders, backgrounds and experiences.”

Other highlights of this quarter's ATB Investor Beat include:

The majority of Albertans surveyed — 73 per cent — say they have fair or inexperienced investment knowledge. Women are more likely than men to feel inexperienced about investing.
Four-in-10 Albertans surveyed feel that investing in the stock market is risky; significantly more women than men feel that the stock market is too risky.
Almost half of Albertan surveyed fall in the “moderate” level for investment risk tolerance, and the same proportion are low/very low risk takers. Women are 1.6 times more likely to see themselves as having low/very low risk tolerance.
Over one-third of Albertans surveyed are confident they have enough money to retire comfortably, but Boomers are more comfortable compared to their younger counterparts (50 per cent vs. 26 per cent of Gen-Xers vs. 32 percent of Millennials).
Six-in-10 Albertans surveyed are confident managing their finances and would put extra cash towards paying down debt rather than investing it.
Boomers are the most confident in finance management (74 per cent versus 54 per cent of Gen-Xers and 56 per cent of Millennials).
ATB Wealth’s Investor Beat survey was conducted by Ipsos from April 29, 2019 to May 10, 2019 and involved 1,000 participants. Results are considered accurate to within plus or minus +/- 3.5 percentage points.

For the complete ATB Investor Beat results, click here.

For more information or interview requests, please contact:
​Chinta Puxley
Media Specialist,
ATB Financial
587-984-6177
media@atb.com

About ATB Financial

With $54.3 billion in assets, ATB Financial is an Alberta-built financial institution. But don't let that fool you—we're so much more than a bank. We got started in 1938 to help Albertans through tough economic times, and today we have 174 branches, 143 agencies, a Client Care Centre, four entrepreneur centres, and mobile and online banking. And did you know we're fast becoming the digital bank and the bank for entrepreneurs? We're already the place to work for our more than 5,500 team members who love to serve close to 770,000 customers in 247 Alberta communities. To find out more, visit us at atb.com.

About ATB Wealth

ATB Wealth is the wealth management arm of ATB Financial. Our goal is to sort through the clutter and make investing easier to understand so our clients can focus on the things that really matter in life.​