Poll reveals next-gen investors as confident, independent and losing patience with big banks
Wealthsimple has unveiled a suite of new investing tools designed to meet the growing sophistication of Canadian retail investors.
At its event in Toronto, the digital wealth firm also revealed the results of a new survey that highlights how rapidly investor behavior is changing. The poll of 1,000 clients aged 25 to 45, each with over $50,000 in investable assets, paints a picture of a generation that’s more confident, more self-directed, and more willing to challenge traditional advice.
According to the results, 92% feel confident managing their own investments, and 69% describe their risk tolerance as above average.
Two thirds believe they’re best served by taking full control of their portfolios, with more than half admitting they’ve turned down advisor recommendations to make independent choices instead.
Although this is more about their own sense of ability rather than a rejection of advisors, their frustration with traditional institutions is evident with almost eight in ten saying Canada’s financial firms are lagging in innovation, citing outdated systems, high fees, and slow adoption of new technology as barriers to building wealth efficiently.
The firm recently urged Ottawa to rein in transfer fees on savings accounts by Canadian FIs, saying that they are costing investors millions of dollars each year.
“Canadians are increasingly ‘nerding out’ on investment and trading strategies to build their wealth. These are strategies and tools that institutional and wealthy investors have been using for decades,” said Tara Kennedy, VP and head of Capital Markets at Wealthsimple. “Today's retail investor is intentional, curious, and motivated. They deserve modern, intuitive tools to maximize the opportunities within capital markets, and the new updates to our platform are designed to ensure those needs are met.”
The company’s new tools range from zero-commission options to direct indexing and fractional gold ownership, which aim to meet the demand Kennedy references. It follows the addition of margin trading to the platform earlier this year.
Wealthsimple says it now oversees $100 billion in assets under administration, a milestone reached three years ahead of schedule. It plans to roll out additional products including a new private market portfolio and AI-powered research tools through the rest of this year and early in 2026.
