FAIR Canada submitted its comment letter to the Task Force on Financial Literacy today, outlining a detailed, seven-point Action Plan. FAIR Canada believes that the Action Plan will allow the Financial Literacy Strategy to make a real, lasting impact on the financial well-being of all Canadians…

Committee calls for reassessment of the role of OSC in investor protection – The Ontario Legislative Assembly’s Standing Committee on Government Agencies (the “Committee”) released a 37-page report (the “Report”) on the Ontario Securities Commission, based on its review of the OSC in late 2008 and early 2009. The Report provides an insightful analysis into the role of the securities commission …

On March 25, FAIR Canada and the Hennick Centre for Business and Law hosted the first Canadian conference focused on the fiduciary standard in the context of the financial advisor-client relationship. At the conference, the question of whether investment advisors should be required to put their clients’ best interests first was considered in the context of the US proposal to implement a uniform fiduciary standard for all advisors and broker-dealers.

The Foundation has an immediate opening for a lawyer, accountant or other investment/financial professional and a professional with a background in law or policy…

For the Spring 2010 edition of FADOQ’s quarterly magazine “Virage”, FAIR Canada contributed an article describing warning signs and tips for investors on how to avoid investment scams. Read “Be a well informed investor.”

Protégez-Vous journalist Frédéric Perron asked FAIR Canada to review the monthly statements of 10 different financial institutions to gauge the quality, quantity and usefulness of information provided to mutual fund and segregated fund investors. Information considered most useful included: (a) amount invested at outset, (b) performance of investment compared with a specified benchmark, (c) cost [...]

The Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG) made a submission to the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology  regarding the Committee’s five-year review of the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA). The submission follows the CCGG’s appearance before the Committee in November 2009. According to the CCGG’s brief, governance requirements for public companies in Canada have not kept pace [...]

FAIR Canada welcomes today’s announcement by the Ontario Securities Commission (the OSC) of its decision to create an Investor Advisory Panel (the Panel), particularly the details regarding the panel’s make-up, as well as the expected timeline for its creation.

FAIR Canada is pleased to announce the appointment of Tania Willumsen to the FAIR Canada Board of Directors.

Ms. Willumsen has over forty years of experience as a senior executive in the areas of institutional investment management and pensions. A past Director with the Institute of Corporate Directors, she has been a frequent speaker on pension and corporate governance issues for the Association of Canadian Pension Fund Management, the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute, The Canadian Institute, and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans.

The Canadian Securities Administrators (the CSA) released their 2009 Enforcement Report yesterday. The report describes enforcement activities across the CSA, including statistical data and case summaries.

On January 22, 2010, the Canadian Securities Transition Office (the CSTO) hosted its first investor roundtable. The roundtable was attended by 15 investor representatives and moderated by FAIR Canada Executive Director Ermanno Pascutto. The focus of the discussion was on the recommendation in the Expert Panel Report (also known as the “Hockin” Report) to create [...]

The recent financial crisis, record-low interest rates, the aging population, and the plight of bankrupt or under-funded pension plans have made the health of Canada’s pension/retirement system one of the critical issues of our time.  Are Canadians saving enough for their retirement?  Are they investing those savings wisely?  How does Canada compare to other countries [...]

Associate Director Ilana Singer will sit on FADOQ’s provincial advisory committee, in connection with its anti-abuse and fraud initiative. The project, which is being supported by a “New Horizons” grant from the federal government, will aim to develop a multidisciplinary, bilingual toolkit for the prevention of abuse and fraud targeted to the elderly in Quebec.

FAIR Canada recently provided comments in response to IIROC’s request for comments on the proposed know your client (KYC) and suitability guidance notice (09-0293) issued on October 2, 2009.

FAIR Canada supports IIROC’s initiative to provide more guidance on the KYC and suitability obligations of investment dealers. The suitability of investments is traditionally the largest source of client complaints filed with dealers, and suitability obligations are more important than ever with the increasing number and complexity of investment products available. We believe that many dealers would welcome more detailed guidance on how the regulators will administer and interpret the rules. However, the need for guidance applies to investors as well as dealers. Most retail clients do not understand the suitability obligation, or their rights and responsibilities under it.