Canada places third globally for financial discipline as investors ramp up US exposure despite uncertainty
Canadian investors are showing a growing appetite for building wealth, even as global economic conditions remain uneven.
From January through May, Canadians channelled $59.9 billion into net purchases of US equities and debt, the largest year-to-date total on record going back to at least 1990, according to an analysis from BrokerChooser.com.
That momentum is also reflected at home with online interest in personal finance accelerating, with searches for “best ways to save money” jumping 190% in the past month, while “how to invest” attracts roughly 35,000 searches each month.
Against that backdrop, the new research examined which countries’ residents are managing their finances most effectively. The study compared savings behaviour, investment allocations and household asset levels to rank global financial discipline.
Canada earned third place overall with more than one fifth (22%) of Canadians’ financial assets held in investment funds; the highest proportion among all countries analyzed. Canadian households also ranked sixth globally for total financial assets, averaging $236,099.78, resulting in a financial discipline score of 8.77 out of 10.
Switzerland claimed the top spot with a score of 9.54, driven largely by its savings culture. Swiss households direct nearly 17.5% of income into savings, the highest rate in the study. Sweden followed closely in second place, performing consistently well across all measures.
The United States, despite leading the rankings for total household financial assets at $383,241.01, failed to crack the top five. American households save just 4.89% of income, making them among the weakest savers in the top 15 and pulling their overall discipline score down to 8.00.
At the other end of the spectrum, Latvia ranked as the least financially disciplined nation. Households there save almost nothing (just 0.02% of income) and hold the smallest share of assets in investments.
