- 12^th annual TD Women Investor Poll reveals attitudes and habits of Canadian investors -

TORONTO, Nov. 28, 2012 /CNW/ - Women may run the household finances, but are they sufficiently involved in planning for their long-term financial future?  The TD Women Investor Poll found that half of Canadian couples share responsibility for most household finances, but among couples where responsibilities are divided, women are more likely to handle day-to-day finances, while men are more likely to manage the investments and long-term retirement planning.

Managing money in your relationship
Fewer women than men said they are responsible for managing investments (32% vs. 49% respectively), dealing with financial professionals (33% vs. 44% respectively) and planning for retirement (30% vs. 38% respectively). Women were more involved than men in household budgeting and spending (49% vs. 24% respectively) and paying bills (58% vs.49% respectively).

"There are several barriers that women tell me they face when it comes to managing their family's financial future," says Sandy Cimoroni, President, TD Mutual Funds, and Executive Sponsor of TD's Women Investor Strategy. "Many women say that they just don't have time to dedicate to managing their investments, or they feel they don't have the knowledge that they believe is necessary to make sound investment decisions. One way to overcome these barriers is to find an advisor you trust, and together you can work within your busy schedule, and create a financial plan that can help you and your family attain your goals."

Defining financial success: a comfortable retirement
When asked to define financial success, both men and women define it as having enough money saved to have a comfortable retirement (women: 80%, men: 74%). However, only approximately one-third say they feel very well-prepared when it comes to their retirement savings, with more men than women feeling well-prepared (men: 34%, women 27%).

"Our research showed that women are less likely than men to feel that they are financially successful or on track to reach financial success. In fact, only 60% of women felt financially successful or on track to reach financial success, compared to 68% of men," says Kim Parlee, Vice President, TD Wealth Management. "While it's essential to plan and save, it's also really important to feel confident about your investments and the progress you're making towards your financial future. Mapping out your financial goals for retirement, and your strategy to help you meet them, can help increase your confidence. Understanding how to invest in order to attain your goals is also important - educate yourself, talk to your family and work with professionals you trust."

Tips for achieving financial success
Cimoroni provides the following advice to women to help them become more confident and successful when it comes to financial planning, managing investments and taking control of their financial future.

1. Define your goals: Have a clear understanding of your goals. If you're managing your finances together with your spouse or partner, discuss your priorities, your concerns, your risk tolerance and your overall preferences to ensure you're working together towards common goals.
   
   
2. Create and follow a financial plan: According to the Poll, less than half (44%) of women have a financial plan, which is a necessary roadmap to helping you reach your goals. Start with a good understanding of your current financial situation.  Once your plan is in place, monitor your progress and continue to evaluate and update your plan should your personal/financial situation change.
   
   
3. Think long term: Think about your goals for where you want to be and the life you want to live in the next 10, 20 or 30 years, and consider the expenses associated with these activities. Then calculate and work back to ensure you're saving and investing in a way that will help enable these goals become a reality.  Another important consideration is retirement savings: it's never too early (or too late!) to start planning and saving for the years you'll spend out of the full-time workforce.

TD Women Investor Poll Report
For a report detailing the statistics outlined in this press release, as well as additional information, please see the "TD Women Investor Poll Report." To view fact sheets with regional-specific statistics, please see the Alberta fact sheet and British Columbia fact sheet.

About the 2012 TD Women Investor Poll
TD Bank Group commissioned Environics Research Group to conduct an online custom survey of 2,014 men and women. All respondents have investable assets and sole or shared responsibility of the household financial planning or investment decisions. Responses were collected between August 24 and August 30, 2012.

About TD Bank Group
The Toronto-Dominion Bank and its subsidiaries are collectively known as TD Bank Group (TD). TD is the sixth largest bank in North America by branches and serves approximately 22 million customers in four key businesses operating in a number of locations in key financial centres around the globe: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Canada Trust and TD Auto Finance Canada; Wealth and Insurance, including TD Waterhouse, an investment in TD Ameritrade, and TD Insurance; U.S. Personal and Commercial Banking, including TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank, and TD Auto Finance U.S.; and Wholesale Banking, including TD Securities. TD also ranks among the world's leading online financial services firms, with approximately 8.5 million online customers. TD had CDN$806 billion in assets on July 31, 2012.The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades under the symbol "TD" on the Toronto and New York Stock Exchanges.

SOURCE: TD Bank Group