Over Seven-in-Ten (72%) Canadian RRSP Investors Either Haven't Reviewed Or Haven't Made Changes To Their Portfolios In 2002

Toronto, ONTARIO (Sunday, January 12, 2003) - Thirty-eight per cent of Canadian RRSP investors have not reviewed their RRSP portfolio over the past 12 months and of those who did, 59 per cent have not made any adjustments to their portfolio during 2002 (34% of total investors) according to the 12th Annual Ipsos-Reid/RBC RRSP Poll. Thirty-six per cent of RRSP holders are not sure of the current value of their portfolio and 32 per cent of those planning to contribute do not know how much they will contribute to their RRSP this year.

These are the findings of an RBC/Ipsos-Reid poll conducted by telephone between November 7th and November 24, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,200 Canadians 18 years of age or older. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. 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 2001 Census data.

These are some of the findings from the 12th Annual RBC RRSP poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid. This year's survey also found that eight-in-ten (80%) of Canadians surveyed rank themselves with an average or limited level of investment knowledge. With these characteristics, it is interesting to note that over three-quarters (76%) of Canadians surveyed prefer to manage their financial affairs on their own or with limited professional advice.

Mutual funds remain the most popular investment product

Fifty-one per cent of Canadians RRSP holders have mutual funds in their RRSP, with 36 per cent stating that mutual funds make up the greatest portion of the RRSP portfolio. However, 41 per cent of investors who hold mutual funds inside their RRSP do not know what types of mutual funds they hold.

Rates of return in 2002

Twenty-one per cent of RRSP investors stated they do not know what rate of return they received in 2002, while another 44 per cent are expecting a loss up to 20% within their portfolios.

To view the release and tables, please open the attached PDF file.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Harriet Shenken
Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900