In a recent submission, FAIR Canada supported revisions to the Financial Planning Standards Council’s CFP Code of Ethics to include as a First Principle: Client First. FAIR Canada sees this as a positive step as financial advisors who hold the CFP designation will be bound by the Code and suggested further changes to the wording of the Code to improve clarity to investors and bring it into line with current client expectations.

FAIR Canada believes that having the Code apply to all of a CFP’s dealings with a client, and not just in respect of its financial planning engagement, would be more in line with client expectations and provided suggested changes to the wording for the benefit of investors and to provide more clarity to the client-advisor relationship, including that the advisor works in the client’s best interests and that the advisor place the client’s interests ahead of their own and the firm’s interests.

In the submission, FAIR Canada continues to advocate for broader securities regulatory reform, in the form of a revised  framework of securities regulation which would require all industry participants to put their clients’ best interests first. FAIR Canada believes that such a model is essential for effective investor protection and in order to meet their needs.