Canadians Split On Investment Potential of Companies in Technology Sector

Toronto, Ontario - According to a new Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of Hill & Knowlton, 47% of Canadian adults are at least somewhat confident in the investment potential of companies in the technology sector, while 52% are not confident.

Further, when asked to compare their current level of confidence in the investment potential of companies in the technology sector versus a year ago, 38% say their confidence is lower now whereas only 12% say it is higher now. Half (48%) indicate that their confidence is about the same as one year ago.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between April 12th and April 14th. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1001 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

Canadians Split on Investment Potential of Companies in the Technology Sector

Just under half (47%) of Canadian adults are at least somewhat confident in the investment potential of companies in the technology sector, while 52% are not confident.

• Regionally, those living in Atlantic Canada and Quebec (55% and 51% respectively) are most likely to be confident in the investment potential of companies in the technology sector.
• By contrast, those living in Ontario are most likely to not be confident in the investment potential of companies in the technology sector (56% are not confident).
• Younger Canadians are more likely to be confident (49% of those 18-34 and those 35-54) than older Canadians (42% of those 55 and older).
• Canadians with a household income of $60K or more are most likely to be confident (51% versus 46% of those with a household income of less than $60K).

Confidence in Investment Potential of Technology Companies Lower Now For Four in Ten (38%) Versus One Year Ago

Further, when asked to compare their current level of confidence in the investment potential of companies in the technology sector versus a year ago, 38% say their confidence is lower now whereas only 12% say it is higher now. Half (48%) indicate that their confidence is about the same as one year ago.

• Regionally, those living in the Prairie provinces and BC are most likely to say their confidence in the investment potential of technology companies is lower now compared to a year ago (46% and 45% respectively).
• Canadians over the age of 55 are most likely to say their confidence in the investment potential of technology companies is lower now compared to a year ago (44%) compared to 41% of Canadians 35-54 years of age and 31% of those between the ages of 18-34.
• Canadians from high-income households ($60K+) are most likely to have a lower level of confidence now compared to a year ago (43%) than those from middle-income households (38%) and those from low income households (31%).

Newspaper or Television Reports (72%) Have Most Influence on Confidence in Investing in Tech Companies, While Word of Mouth (71%) is Also Influential

Almost three-in-four Canadians (72%) say that newspaper or television reports influence their confidence in investing in technology companies (14% say newspaper or television reports have a lot of influence, while 58% say these reports have some influence).

Of the sources assessed, company websites have the least amount of influence, with 48% saying that a company's website influences their confidence in investing in technology companies (6% say this source has a lot of influence, while 42% say it has some influence).

The influence of other sources of information on confidence in investing in technology companies falls out accordingly: word of mouth (71%), analysts or specialty media reports (70%), stock broker assessment or recommendation (68%), company's annual report (67%), and the company's CEO or executive team (52%).

To view the complete factum and tables, please open the attached PDF files.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Chris Ferneyhough
Vice-President
Technology Group
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900