Fewer Canadian retail investors say they know what responsible investments (RI) are now than they did a year ago, reflecting a need for greater investor education from financial advisors and institutions, the Responsible Investment Association (RIA) said in a report released Tuesday.
The report is based on results from a survey of 1,001 Canadian retail investors. The online poll was conducted by Ipsos between Feb. 11 and 26.
The 10th annual RIA Investor Opinion Survey found that investors’ knowledge of RI declined compared to last year, with 71% saying they had either never heard of RI or knew little or nothing about it, up from 66%. Also, the share of respondents who said they knew a fair bit about RI decreased to 23% from 28% over the past year.
In the report, Patricia Fletcher, CEO of the RIA, said this knowledge gap is “closely linked to one of the most consistent findings across out research: the gap between investor expectations and advisor engagement.”
As Fletcher pointed out, 73% of survey respondents said they would like their financial advisor or institution to be required to ask them specific questions about RI considerations that align with their values, down slightly from 76% in 2025. However, only 28% reported that their financial services provider had ever posed such questions, unchanged from a year ago.
That’s despite the fact that interest in RI has remained steady amid ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
The survey found that two-thirds (67%) of investors are interested in RI, which was on par with 2025.
And, as was the case in previous years, younger respondents showed more interest in RI than older respondents. About 76% of those aged 18–34 said they’re either very or somewhat interested. By comparison, that dropped to 69% of those in the 35–54 age group, and 57% among those aged 55 or older.
Still, respondents expressed confidence in advisors’ knowledge of RI.
The majority (84%) said advisors are very or somewhat important sources of information for making investment decisions related to RI (slightly down from 88% last year), followed by financial institutions (81% versus 84% in 2025). Meanwhile, news media was cited as a very or somewhat important source of RI information by 52% of respondents, a bump from 48% a year ago.
The poll also found that RI adoption among Canadian investors has remained fairly stable.
About 28% of investors said they owned such investments at the time of the survey, which was on par with last year, though a drop from 33% in 2023. Once again, younger investors had the highest level of RI adoption (40% invested in the space in the 18–34 age group, compared to 29% in the 35–54 cohort and 17% of those aged 55 and older).
Confusion around RI adoption declined over the past year, with 38% of respondents saying they weren’t sure if they owned such investments this year, compared to 44% last year.
Among those who do currently own RI, 47% said they expected to increase their allocations to these investments over the next year, and an equal proportion said they would maintain their level of investment in these vehicles. Another 1% of respondents said they planned to decrease their RI allocations and 5% said they weren’t sure.
The survey further unveiled the key barriers to RI adoption.
Greenwashing and lack of knowledge about RI funds were each cited by 66% of respondents as the main barrier to investing in the space, followed by unclear fund labels at 64%.
“Second to greenwashing, lack of knowledge about RI is cited as one of the top deterrents to investing in RI funds,” the report said. “Financial advisors and institutions are uniquely positioned to address this barrier by providing support to investors through education.”
‘Pleasant surprise’
In a panel hosted by the RIA on Tuesday afternoon, David Rutherford, associate vice-president, sustainability research and insights with Mackenzie Investments, said he found it “really incredible” that so many retail investors are interested in learning more about RI, and that nearly all of current RI owners plan to maintain or increase their allocations.
“To me, that’s a deep and unshakable commitment to making positive change with their money. And that’s a very pleasant surprise, given everything else going on in the world,” he said, referring to ongoing geopolitical and economic uncertainty.
Solène Hanquier, senior director and head of responsible investment with National Bank Investments, similarly said the strong interest from investors was notable, despite a decrease in media coverage of RI since 2021. She said this decline is likely one of the reasons why investors’ knowledge of RI is slightly lower today than in previous years.
Deborah Debas, senior responsible investment specialist with Desjardins, said the findings show that people who opt for RI are a “sticky segment of investors” with strong conviction. Therefore, advisors looking to grow their business or retain their client base would benefit from speaking to their clients about these investments.
“When you’re able to denote a need that is underserved because people are not asking the question, they’re not starting the conversation, then you’re able to build better and stronger relationships with your clients,” she said.
“[I]f you’re ignoring that, … it really creates a mismatch between what you’re offering them and what they would really want to have and invest in.”
John McHugan, vice-president, sustainable investment, TD Asset Management Inc., said the sustainable investment industry tends to “pounce on the sustainability characteristics when an investor indicates that [RI] is what they’re interested in,” but “maybe we shouldn’t be leading with sustainability.” He said it’s also important to discuss other factors when the topic of RI comes up, such as how RI fit into portfolios and what kind of market environments they’ll do well or poorly in.
McHughan added that many investors have preconceived ideas of what RI entail, so “it’s on us as [asset] managers and advisors to be able to explain the sustainability characteristics of those portfolios in practical terms, bringing in real case studies of why specific companies are in the portfolio.”
Evolving industry regulations also came up in the panel.
While Catherine Philogène, vice-president, product management, ESG funds with RBC Global Asset Management, said she wouldn’t classify changing regulation as a structural barrier to RI per se, “it can make an advisor’s work more challenging, and we do know that they do have a lot on their plate.”
“Navigating new rules or changes in client reporting may shift the client conversation to other topics that are no less important than talking about responsible investment,” she said.
“And so, I do think it’s important for clients to have those conversations with their advisors and express what outcomes that they’re looking for, what they’re looking to achieve through their investment portfolios.”
It’s on advisors to “pick up on certain things a client is saying, and how that could translate into a values alignment or exposure to certain areas of the market,” Philogène added.
The onus to improve access to RI shouldn’t fall solely on advisors, Hanquier said, emphasizing the need for product manufacturers to also explain RI products to advisors and the introduction of mandatory training on RI for advisors looking to get accredited.
“It’s a shared responsibility.”