Having a financial plan more than doubles your retirement confidence—here’s why so many Canadians are skipping it + MORE Oct 9th

That, together with the fear of a stock-market crash, has prompted a lot of Canadians who never considered owning the precious metal before to wonder whether this age-old asset should be part of their portfolios. After all, Canada’s largest robo-advisor, Wealthsimple, allocates 2.5% of its clients’ accounts to gold—and 10% in its halal portfolios.

Should it be part of yours? Or would you just be buying in at the peak? There’s no way to know, except in hindsight. There will always be “gold bugs” out there urging you to sell everything and buy gold before the world goes to pot. Their advice is best avoided.

Here instead are some important facts around investing in gold that will help you make a better-informed decision…

That’s a massive gap—and it’s widening at a time when more Canadians are rethinking their financial strategy. The survey of 1,045 Canadians found that 52% said economic uncertainty is causing them to consider creating a financial plan or overhauling an existing one.

Having a plan is clearly beneficial, so why aren’t more people doing it? According to the survey, there are three culprits: cost, complexity, and confusion about what a financial plan even is.

The barriers holding Canadians back

Nearly half (45%) of survey respondents haven’t worked with a professional planner before:

43% say they’re unsure about the process or whether it’s worth the money

42% think it’s too expensive

Only 44% have a “very clear” understanding of a financial plan entails

But here’s the thing: among the 55 per cent of Canadians who have worked with a professional planner, 56% say the value was completely worth the cost…