Partner Services (November 2022)

The purpose of this survey was to understand client use, interest level and potential future use of non-banking services. Results showed that:

  • Expected future use was highest for the following services: airport lounge access (71% likely to use), concierge service (56%) and wearable safety device (41%).
  • Among those currently using these services, ease of use, convenience, accessibility and pricing were identified as the most important factors when choosing these services.
  • When asked about insurance:
    • 88% answered that they have home insurance and fewer than 10% answered that they have or are considering small business, cyber risk and pet insurance
  • Four-in-five (81%) answered that they were unaware that BlueShore offers life, health and dental insurance

BlueShore Financial action: These survey results will be used to inform partnerships for client preferred rates and special offers. 

Community Involvement (July 2022)

Results from our Community Involvement panel survey revealed that:

  • By far, hiking is the most popular physical/outdoor activity (52%), followed by swimming (32%) and yoga/pilates (27%).
  • There is strong attendance and participation in community events (55%), live theatre (45%), and art galleries/ museums (50%).
  • Over half (59%) say it is important to them that BlueShore support the overall well-being of our communities by sponsoring events.
  • There is also strong desire from panelists for their financial institution to support community outreach programs and charities; 57% in the form of donations and 48% in the form of volunteerism.

BlueShore Financial action: These results will help to inform potential future community impact and sponsorship activities.

Environmental, Social & Governance (April 2022)

In April, we collected feedback on which sustainability topics are important to panelists and which they feel should be a priority for BlueShore Financial. Here are some highlights:

  • Client knowledge of ESG is relatively strong; 70% saying they are aware that some companies have ESG commitments and almost half (45%) are familiar with ESG topics. Most are getting ESG information from company websites / reports and news outlets.
  • The ESG areas that resonate most with clients are:
    • Environmental: climate change management (46%)
    • Social: responsible labour practices (46%)
    • Governance: ethical business standards and practices (61%)
  • About two-in-three (63%) respondents said it is important to them that their FI has a set of ESG commitments they hold themselves accountable to.

BlueShore Financial action: These results will be used to guide sustainability focus areas in terms of initiatives in the coming years.

 Health & Wellness Survey (January 2022)

The goal of our January survey was to better understand the relationship between financial wellness and overall health and stress. Highlights include:

  • Compared to Canadians, BlueShore clients are less stressed about money/finances; significantly fewer identify money/finances as the biggest stressor in their life (20% vs. 38% of Canadians*).
  • When asked which aspects of their finances cause them stress, significantly more BlueShore clients answered that their finances don’t cause them stress (31% vs. 20% Canadians*).
  • Among those who are stressed by finances, the financial factors identified by BlueShore clients differ somewhat from Canadians*:
  • More BlueShore clients identified investing (20% vs. 15%).
  • More Canadians* identified bill payments / expenses (35% vs. 20%), debt (33% vs. 14%), job/income stability (26% vs. 14%) and lack of control over finances (16% vs. 9%).
  • About the same answered rent/mortgage (23% Canadians* vs. 19% BlueShore), and saving enough for retirement (35% Canadians* vs. 32% BlueShore).
  • More Canadians* compared to BlueShore panelists have lost sleep because of financial worries (51% vs. 23%)

BlueShore Financial action: Continue to support clients’ overall well-being through financial planning and advisory services, with increased focus on the financial factors that contribute to stress.

* Results from this survey were compared to findings from Leger’s 2021 Financial Stress Index Survey conducted with 1,500 Canadians.

Intergenerational Financial Planning (December 2021)

In December we fielded a research panel survey on the topic of intergenerational financial planning and elder care to understand clients’ involvement in caring for elderly family members and related financial and medical plans, as well as their plans for gifting to family members and estate planning. Highlights include:

  • About one-in-four (27%) respondents age 70 and under revealed that they are involved in caring for an aging parent or family member in some capacity and 19% said they will be involved in the future. Of these respondents:
    • 23% said they have consulted a Financial Advisor regarding the care of their family member.
    • A large proportion said their family member has an up-to-date will (83%) and designated power of attorney (72%).
    • Fewer than half said their family member has an estate plan (49%), advance care directive (44%), and a representation agreement (37%).
  • When respondents over the age of 50 were asked about their own estate planning, over half answered that they have created a will (79%), designated beneficiaries (66%) and a power of attorney (59%). Fewer than one-in-four have done the following:
    • Created a representation agreement (23%)
    • Created an advance care directive (21%)
    • Leveraged tools for tax efficiencies (10%)

BlueShore Financial action: Provide clients with support to incorporate early gifting of personal wealth into their financial planning to ensure sufficient funds for retirement, and planning for expenses related to the care of an elderly family member. Continue to address these topics in online articles, educational materials and financial planning and advisory conversations.

Financial Literacy (July 2021)

The goal of our July survey was to gain a better understanding of financial literacy levels amongst various age groups, as well as to assess the demand for specific resources to support the development of financial literacy. Highlights include:

  • The majority of all respondents rate their financial literacy low. When asked to rate their own knowledge and understanding of financial terminology, only one-third gave themselves high ratings (32% top 3 box ratings on a 10-point scale). Interest in increasing one’s financial literacy is significantly higher among Millennials (53% vs. 35% of age 40+).
  • Children’s financial literacy was also rated low by parents. Parents of those age 6-25 rate their child(ren)’s financial literacy as being low; fewer than 15% give their child(ren) top 3 box ratings (only 4% for children age 19-25).
  • About two-thirds of parents are interested in increasing their children’s financial literacy; this desire is strongest among the parents of children age 12-15 (75% top 3 box ratings).

BlueShore Financial action: These results highlight a client need for financial literacy support, and will help to inform potential new resources and materials for clients.

Online Document Storage (April 2021)

The goal of this survey was to better understand how clients store their digital documents and images today and their storage preferences. Highlights include:

  • More Millennials are using online services for the storage of their digital documents; they tend to store their digital documents in multiple places, and significantly more (73%) use cloud-based storage solutions compared to older age groups (39%).
  • Ease of use, storage space and security are driving the use of online document storage services.  Ease of use and security were cited as top features that respondents like about the online service they use. When respondents were asked what they would change or improve about the service they use, the top responses were more / unlimited storage space, ease of use and better security.
  • Of the 55% who use an online document storage service today:
    • The most common types of documents stored online are family photos (70%), tax documents (54%), copies of IDs (41%) and insurance documents (39%).
    • Many (38%) are not sure how much storage space they have and over one-third (36%) say they have more than 5 GBs in storage space.
    • Document sharing with friends / family is the most common (47% currently share) and there is some desire to share with FIs (15% currently share, 11% would like to share) and lawyer / accountants (21% currently share, 12% would like to share).
    • Most expect their usage of this type of service to stay the same (43%) or increase (43%) over the next year.

BlueShore Financial action: These results will help to inform potential future enhancements to BlueShore’s products and services.

Pandemic Impact: Shifting Housing Preferences (March 2021)

In March, we launched a panel survey to understand how the pandemic has impacted clients’ housing / living arrangements, as well as their intended future housing plans and aspirations. Highlights include:

  • The pandemic has impacted the work lives and income of Millennials the most; among those who are employed full time, significantly more Millennials are working from home now (44% vs. 35% age 40+) / no longer commuting to work 48% vs. 3 5% age 40+) and more have experienced a negative impact to their household income (21% vs. 14% age 40+).
  • Respondents are generally hopeful their lives will return to normalcy post-pandemic. Over half believe their lifestyle will partially return to the way it was pre pandemic (54%) and one third think it will fully return (34%).
  • Working from home and low interest rates are partially driving the purchase of larger homes. The popular reasons for upsizing recently (4%) or upsizing in the next three years (12%) are: preference for a larger home (46%), need for more space to work from home (40%), lower mortgage rates increased my purchase budget (29%) and to accommodate additional family members (26%).
  • A significant number of Millennials have paused their plans to move as a result of the pandemic; these plans were mostly cancelled due to financial restraints, the economic climate and a lack of job security associated with the pandemic.

BlueShore Financial action: Continue to support clients who move outside BlueShore’s core trade area with digital banking services, online meeting and collaboration tools to connect with advisors and Solution Centre support.

Low Interest Rate Environment (January 2021)

In January, we launched a panel survey on the topic of the Low Interest Rate Environment. Insights related to client changes in use and intentions for borrowing and investing include:

  • Some existing borrowers are taking advantage of low rates to pay down debt (22%); others see it as an opportunity to renegotiate mortgages early (16%) and to borrow more (14%).
  • Millennial’s borrowing plans are being impacted by low interest rates; more plan to qualify for a mortgage (25% vs. 4% of older clients) or borrow more (18% vs. 5%).
  • On the savings / investing side of the balance sheet, Millennials are happy with the returns they are seeing from the market and are clearly comfortable with these types of investments. Older GIC investors are staying short-term investments (42%) and are considering Escalators / rising rate products (34%).

BlueShore Financial action: Continue to support clients changing borrowing and investing needs; identify opportunities for clients to pay off debts sooner and to take advantage of BlueShore’s online trading, robo-advice and in-person advisory services.

 

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BlueShore Financial, Financial Advisor, Matt Morrish

Matt Morrish

Financial Advisor

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