(Photo: Toronto Skyline by tsaiproject under Creative Commons licence.)
The world has become a much smaller place, so to speak, as a result of the digital age. Email, video conferencing, and a whole host of other technologies have meant that face-to-face contact is less needed when doing business. At the same time, however, most people in business, and investments, will tell you there is still no substitute for being in close contact with associates. And a new report by the Conference Board of Canada suggests that Toronto is the place to be for people in financial services.
Specifically, according to the report, Toronto’s and Canada’s financial-services sector is growing extremely rapidly both at home and abroad. GDP in the sector nationally has grown 26 percent within a ten year period, there are now almost 850,000 people in Canada employed in financial services, and exports in the sector are up 80% in that same ten-year period, and now accounts for 50 percent of direct investment abroad.
A bigger piece of the pie
In Toronto, almost 250,000 people are employed in financial services, which accounts for 8.3 percent of the region’s employment, as well as 13.6 percent of its GDP.
Of note, Toronto is on the rise internationally in the financial services sector, too. The city is now ranked second in The Banker’s magazine Global Financial Sectors Index, employment growth in financial services in Toronto is 25% over the last five years, which is well ahead of San Francisco, New York and Boston, and only behind Beijing and Shanghai, and Toronto financial services’ share of the local economy in 2017 outpaced the same North American cities mentioned above.
More opportunities
So, what does this mean to investors? Well, it means that, if you’re going to do business in financial services and investments, it doesn’t hurt to do it in a city that is growing in the sector. It means greater access to countless resources, including people, information and infrastructure, in a way that facilitates all aspects of investing — from having the right contacts to accessing the right technology and information in order to execute more informed investment decisions.
It also means, in terms of international capital, Toronto will get more attention, which means more opportunities for people in the area looking to maximize their own capital and investment growth.
ASCEND GRP is an asset-management firm, with offices in Toronto, Richmond Hill, and New York, that services clients seeking investment opportunities worldwide.
