The Client Relationship Model: The financial crisis has accelerated the trend throughout the developed world to re-examine the relationship between investors and their advisors…
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After FINRA Warning, U.S. Firms Back Away from Leveraged ETFs
At least four U.S. brokerage firms including UBS, Edward Jones, and Ameriprise have decided not to sell leveraged exchange traded funds to retail clients a month after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. warned brokers that they “typically are unsuitable for retail investors” who hold them longer than a day….
Read more»SEC Investor Advisory Committee met on July 27
The first meeting of the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee took place on July 27, 2009. From the speech of SEC Commissioner Luis Aguilar: With the launch of the Investor Advisory Committee, the Commission is signaling that it is returning to its roots as the investor’s advocate. As Congress and the Commission look toward regulatory restructuring and reinvigorating the Commission with new authority and enhanced resources to fulfill its mission as the country’s capital markets regulator, it is imperative that we listen to the voices of investors. The heart and soul of this agency is investor protection…The need to restore the voices of investors has never been more vital…
Read more»The U.K. Proposes to Ban Commissions
In June 2009, the U.K. Financial Services Authority (FSA) issued a consultation paper on Retail Distribution Review. A far-reaching overhaul of the relationship between clients and their advisors/financial services firms, the RDR proposed…The changes will affect all investment firms, banks, insurers, wealth managers and financial advisors. Work on the RDR began in 2006; final rules are expected by 2010, coming into effect in the end of 2012.
Read more»Public Consultation regarding Indemnity Fund and the Coalition for the Protection of Investors
The (Quebec) Coalition for the Protection of Investors, with the support of FAIR Canada is sponsoring a Consultation to determine what investors think about this new fund for the protection against fiduciary fraud and negligence…This article is first of a dozen articles inviting readers to react to/comment on the idea of creating a fund to protect individual investors in case of financial fraud.
Read more»The Strange Case of Leveraged and Inverse ETFs, Part 2: A Few Steps Forward; Much Remains to be Done
There have been a number of developments since the report on May 14, 2009 entitled “Heads You Lose, Tails You Lose: The Strange Case of Leveraged ETFs”. Since then there have been a number of encouraging developments…However, much remains to be done.
Read more»FAIR Canada will be welcoming new Associate Director Ilana Singer
Ilana Singer is a seasoned securities regulator and lawyer, with close to eight years of experience with the Ontario Securities Commission. In her most recent role as Senior Advisor, International Affairs, Ilana focused on shareholder and investor rights from a global perspective. Ilana’s deep understanding of securities markets and regulation stems from her domestic and international work…
Regulators call for investor comments about Point of Sale material
The Canadian Securities Administrators “particularly seek feedback from investors” to their latest notice about Point of Sale disclosure for mutual funds.
This 10-year quest to implement a simple two-page funds facts to be given to investors when they purchase mutual funds is nearing its conclusion. The first 8 pages of the 161-page document contain the summary. Submissions are due by October 17, 2009…
Read more»TACD Resolution on Financial Services Regulation
TACD has issued a resolution calling on the EU and the US government to act swiftly to re-regulate the financial services industry in order to ensure that consumers are adequately protected and that future crises are avoided. The Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue TACD is a forum of US and EU consumer organizations which develops and agrees on joint consumer policy recommendations to the US government and European Union to promote the consumer interest in EU and US policy making…
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US Reform Initiatives to Protect Consumers and Investors
The Obama Administration’s White Paper on Financial Regulatory Reform (summary here) would require all financial product advertising and other communications to be “balanced in their presentation of benefits, and clear and conspicuous in their identification of costs, penalties, and risks.” The proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency would define standards for “plain vanilla” financial products and require all financial service providers to offer these products prominently. The White Paper also proposed imposing fiduciary responsibilities on all managers, advisors and salespeople of investment products, and addressing conflicts of interest caused by compensation practices…
Read more»FAIR Works with Quebec Coalition for the Protection of Investors
FAIR Canada met in Montreal on May 26, 2009 with 11 senior members of the Coalition for the Protection of Investors. The two organizations decided to work together on some of the key issues described below. Coalition co-founder and spokesman Robert Pouliot has since joined the FAIR Board of Directors. The list of participants can be found at the end of this report…
Read more»FAIR Canada welcomes new Board Director – Robert Pouliot
Robert Pouliot is a co-founder of the Coalition for the Protection of Investors, with a life-long interest in investor representation and advocacy. He has 26 years of experience as a financial consultant specializing in credit, corporate governance and risk ratings. Mr. Pouliot now serves as the managing partner and board member of FidRisk Investor Services, affiliated with investment consultant Morneau Sobeco. FidRisk aids pension funds and endowments to assess investment managers and to promote best fiduciary practices…
FAIR Canada Calls upon Regulators to Take Action to Protect Investors
In a report released today entitled: “Heads You Lose, Tails You Lose: The Strange Case of Leveraged ETFs” FAIR Canada described the hazards of investing in leveraged and inverse ETFs for periods longer than the daily performance that these funds promise. The 9 page report describes the growth of this very popular product in both the U.S. and Canada and how they pose threats to the health of investor portfolios…
Read more»FAIR Canada expands its team…
FAIR Canada is pleased to announce the latest addition to the FAIR Team: Associate Director, Steven Garmaise. An investor, analyst and senior manager since 1983, Steve Garmaise has seen the best and worst of Bay and Wall Streets…
FAIR Canada Board of Directors
FAIR Canada is pleased to announce changes to its Board of Directors. Stanley Beck, the Chair of FAIR Canada…
Read more»OSC Responds to Submission of FAIR Canada and Other Stakeholders
On April 7, 2009 the OSC appeared before the Standing Committee on Government Agencies…
Read more»FAIR Canada makes submission to TSX on Shareholder Rights
FAIR Canada wrote to the TSX in January urging the TSX to act promptly to amend its rules…
Read more»Is the TSX leading Canada in a “Race to the Bottom”?
Canada falls below international best practice in maintaining shareholder rights…
Read more»FAIR Canada loses a Strong and Insightful Voice
Whipple Steinkrauss, a FAIR Canada Director, passed away on Friday, January 31, 2009.
Although retired, Whipple remained just as active – as a strong and insightful voice and was very well respected and admired by many in the consumer and investor advocate communities.
An example of her advocacy and expertise can be seen from her recent [...]
FAIR Canada Applauds OSC Decision in HudBay Case and Urges TSX to Bring Shareholder Approval Requirements in Line with Major Markets
The Canadian Foundation for the Advancement of Investor Rights (“FAIR“), an organization committed to advancing the rights of shareholders and individual investors, announced today that it has written to the CEO of the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX“) urging the TSX that it adopt shareholder approval requirements consistent with other major financial markets and global corporate [...]
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