These findings show that an “RI service gap” has “not only persisted, but expanded from last year,” when 35% of investors said their financial services provider asked such questions, said Glen Pichanick, head of advocacy and industry insights with RIA.

“As we’ve noted in other RIA studies, when advisors have higher levels of knowledge about RI and higher levels of competence in discussing RI, it leads to more extensive use in their practice,” Pichanick said during a webinar hosted by the association Thursday.

“So, continued efforts are required to assure that advisors are educated on RI and have the right tools to address the service gap and take advantage of the opportunity that exists among investors related to responsible investments.”

When advisors initiated RI conversations, only 35% of respondents said they engaged in “meaningful discussions” about RI options or suggested a wide range of products, Pichanick noted. The same portion said their advisor spent “very little time” discussing RI or suggesting any options.

On the flip side, the survey asked respondents whether they had ever proactively approached their advisor or financial institution to express interest in RI that was aligned with their values. The majority (77%) acknowledged they hadn’t done so.

“[This] is surprising, since … 67% of respondents acknowledged that they’re interested in RI, so this may suggest that while investors have interests, they’re looking for their advisors or institutions to initiate engagement on the subject,” Pichanick said.

Moreover, when investors proactively initiated discussions about RI, 44% of respondents said they engaged in meaningful discussions with their advisor and were provided with a wide range of product options.

The findings suggest that both advisors and their clients would like the other to spark these conversations, Pichanick said.

“They’re each waiting for each other, perhaps missing an opportunity,” he added.

Catherine Philogène, vice president, product management and ESG funds with RBC Global Asset Management, said there might be “a bit of a reluctance for advisors” to bring up the topic of RI.

“It could be a bit of a political hot potato or a bit of a wedge issue, and so they may be waiting for clients to bring up specific questions that they might have about ESG and what their preferences are,” she said during the webinar.

“Insofar as regulation, although it’s not part of the KYC as a rule, there is guidance that exists around asking those types of questions as you’re doing client discovery, but it could also be a matter of timing for when an advisor feels it’s appropriate to engage.”

Philogène noted that the financial services industry has had to adapt to numerous regulatory changes over the last few years, “and so I think advisors have a lot of things that they’re having to juggle when they’re sitting down with their clients and reviewing portfolios.”

She also suggested that greenwashing concerns could have had “a bit of a chilling effect,” leaving advisors waiting for clearer guidance around RI and ESG. More than half (54%) of survey respondents said greenwashing was a deterrent to investing in RI funds for them. That’s up from the 46% reported in 2023.

As with previous RIA reports, younger investors generally expressed greater interest than older respondents. Female respondents were also more interested than males.

Notably though, there was “a marked increase” in interest in RI among respondents aged 55 and older, from 49% in 2023 to 58% in 2025, the report noted. This came as a surprise to Philogène.

“You could take from that the younger and older investors are having conversations with each other, leading to a greater level of interest with the older cohort, particularly as parents and their adult children [are] in conversations about estate planning and family legacy,” she said.

Some other key findings of the survey include that 64% of respondents were either not very familiar or not familiar at all with the applications of artificial intelligence in the investment decision-making process and 66% knew little or nothing about RI, including 19% that have never heard of it.

Asked whether geopolitical or economic issues had any impact on the likelihood of investors choosing RI compared to one year ago, 35% of respondents said they were more likely to turn to RI from a year earlier. Another 49% said they were neither more nor less likely, 6% were less likely and 10% were unsure.

Réjean Nguyen, senior director, impact investing and ESG integration with Addenda Capital, said the main takeaway of the report for him was the apparent lack of knowledge and confidence from advisors to talk about RI.

“The need for education, for training seems to be the highlight to me,” he said during the webinar.

The report was based on findings from an online Ipsos poll conducted between Jan. 27 and Feb. 3, 2025. It involved 1,001 Canadian investors who owned investments at the time the poll was conducted. The full report is available online.