The 2009 poll suggests that Canadian women benefited from their own advice, managing their finances well in spite of the recession, but they are still concerned about achieving a comfortable retirement.

The recent economic downturn had little impact on the way women think and act when it comes to investing. For example, the 2009 poll shows that 73 percent made no changes in the past year to the level of risk they take when investing and, in fact, slightly more Canadian women define themselves as financially successful as compared to 2008 at 62 percent this year, 58 percent last year.

Despite holding their ground on investing strategy and defining themselves as successful, the majority of women have concerns about the state of their investments 52 percent classify themselves as "mildly concerned" or "worried."

However, the recession had little impact on women's risk tolerance. Close to three out of four women made no changes over the past year in the level of risk they take when investing. Twenty-one percent of women say they have reduced their risk, in contrast to the 14 percent who said the same in 2008, suggesting a shift towards more conservative investing. In the 2009 poll, only 6 percent of women say they have increased their level of risk.

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