Saving for retirement can be difficult and sometimes confusing, but there is a secret trait that many of the most successful savers possess: confidence.

Sophisticated investors, those with high confidence and literacy, save 86 per cent more than those with low confidence and high literacy, who are called cautious experts by a

recent survey by Sun Life Financial Inc. In other words, “confidence matters more than competence,” the report said, creating a “paradox” in retirement investment where confident investors are most likely to seek help from financial advisers, while those with low confidence and who could benefit most from professional advice tend to seek advice from loved ones instead.

“An 86 per cent difference in savings is staggering,” Dave Jones, senior vice-president of group retirement services at

Sun Life , said in a release. “This isn’t just a stat; this confidence paradox is a wake-up call. We must go beyond education and help Canadians build the confidence they need to take control of their financial futures.”

Individually, confident investors tend to put away 64 per cent more of their income than those with less confidence, and those with high financial literacy tend to put away 12 per cent more than those with less financial literacy.

The confidence paradox is even more pronounced when factoring in gender. Men and women tend to have similar financial literacy levels, but men are “heavily overrepresented” among the high-confidence investors.

Men tend to prefer diverse investments and growth strategies, while women prefer long-term stability and personalized guidance.

“This isn’t just a preference difference; it’s a pathway that leads women away from the very professional advice that could enhance retirement outcomes,” the report said.

More than a third of women sometimes avoid financial advice due to a lack of savings.

“This perpetuates a cycle where women who most need help avoid professional advice due to the very financial constraints that such guidance could resolve, undermining long-term wealth building and retirement readiness,” the report said.

Sun Life recommends financial advisers address the confidence gap with targeted educational programming for low-confidence investors and foster relationships to boost their confidence.

“The goal is creating multiple pathways for cautious investors to engage with professional support in ways that feel comfortable and accessible,” the report said.

Sun Life also recommends targeting support directly at women and ensuring they are maximizing their workplace savings.

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“The Big Short”‘s Michael Burry has placed a short on Tesla Inc., arguing the electric vehicle maker is

 “ridiculously overvalued” and that chief executive Elon Musk’s pay package risks diluting the stock. 

Burry estimates that Musk’s US$1 trillion pay package will dilute the shares by about 3.6 per cent annually. The move continues his trend of shorting some of the world’s biggest tech companies as speculation of an artificial intelligence bubble grows.

Tesla’s shares have climbed 6.5 per cent this year, lagging behind the Nasdaq 100 Index’s 21 per cent rally.

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Read more here.  There’s such a thing as having too much money saved for a child’s education, especially when those children begin making their own money while studying. In an ideal world, taking out money from an RESP would not interfere with a student’s tax bracket, but if a student is earning real money through a co-op or placement program, managing the tax efficiency of a student investment account can become a challenge.

Read more here.  Interested in energy? The subscriber-only FP West: Energy Insider newsletter brings you exclusive reporting and in-depth analysis on  one of the country’s most important sectors.

Are you worried about having enough for retirement? Do you need to adjust your portfolio? Are you starting out or making a change and wondering how to build wealth? Are you trying to make ends meet? Drop us a line at wealth@postmedia.com with your contact info and the gist of your problem and we’ll find some experts to help you out while writing a Family Finance story about it (we’ll keep your name out of it, of course).

McLister on mortgages

Sign up here. Want to learn more about mortgages? Mortgage strategist Robert McLister’s

Financial Post column can help navigate the complex sector, from the latest trends to financing opportunities you won’t want to miss. Plus check his

Financial Post on YouTube

mortgage rate page for Canada’s lowest national mortgage rates, updated daily. Visit the Financial Post’s YouTube channel for interviews with Canada’s leading experts in business, economics, housing, the energy sector and more.

Today’s Posthaste was written by Ben Cousins with additional reporting from Financial Post staff, The Canadian Press and Bloomberg.

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