Investment strategy for Canada’s wealthy

[Julie Toh]

This is an article from the Canadian Real Estate Magazine.

High-net worth Canadians may have cash in the bank but they still want a mortgage. A survey by IGM Financial’s Investors Group shows that individuals with at least $500,000 of investible assets view a mortgage as “a considered and deliberate investment strategy.”

Most could manage without a home loan; 76 per cent said they have the cash to buy their home outright; but 46 per cent would not make changes to their mortgage without considering it as part of their overall financial plan.

With property portfolios which include additional commercial or residential real estate (32 per cent), additional homes for recreational use (51 per cent) and investment rental properties (41 per cent), Canada’s wealthy should be ok in their retirement years, but even then mortgage-free is not the plan for a quarter of respondents.