Securities regulators are proposing that advisers and dealers provide better information to their clients about the costs and performance of their investments.
You would get information about transaction fees at key times, like when your adviser recommends a purchase, and an annual report that shows the dollar amounts of all charges you paid for your adviser’s products and services. You would also get a plain-language annual report showing how your investments have performed. The new proposals are out for public comment, so if you have feedback, this is your chance to be heard.
What is happening?
On June 22, 2011, the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) issued a proposal which would have registered advisers and dealers [see comment above] disclose two vital pieces of information to their clients:
- All of the fees related to their investments
- How their investments are performing
You have until September 23, 2011, to share your input before the proposal develops into a regulation.
Why does this matter?
Your account statement tells you what your investments are worth today. But it may not tell you how they have done over time. In addition, the costs of investing eat into your return. Without this information, how do you know if you’re getting value?
This consultation process is important to ensure that investor needs are met. Specific issues that are open for your input include:
- Clear disclosure of account-related charges, including commissions and service fees
- Proposals to ensure that investors receive detailed, easy-to-understand information about account performance
- When and how account fees and performance are measured and reported
- What a performance report might look like if the proposal is adopted. See a sample.
Investor call to action!
If you agree with Rob Carrick at the Globe and Mail who recently wrote that we have been “living in a state of investing ignorance,” it’s time to be part of the solution.
If you support this initiative, let the regulators know. The regulators would also welcome hearing from you about cases, issues or examples of how the current process works or could be improved.
Or if you think that the processes currently in place work just fine, let them know that too.
How can you participate in the discussion?
- Official comment
Write your comment in Microsoft Word and send it electronically to:
John Stevenson, Secretary
Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)
20 Queen Street West, Suite 1903 Box 55
Toronto ON M5H 3S8
Fax: 416-593-2318
E-mail: jstevenson@osc.gov.on.caOR Me Anne-Marie Beaudoin
Corporate Secretary
Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF)
800, square Victoria, 22e è tage
C.P. 246, tour de la Bourse
Montréal (Qué bec) H4Z 1G3
Fax: 514-864-6381
E-mail: consultation-en-cours@lautorite.qc.caAs this is a public process, all comments will be posted on OSC and Autorité des marches financiers.
- Join in the discussion
Investor Education Fund would like to know what you think about fees and account performance reporting. We’ll be looking at the implications of the proposed changes over the coming weeks and we would love to hear from you.
Or post a quick comment below on this blog or find IEF on Facebook.
I think that investor fees (Dominion Securities, Scotia McLeod, etc) should be tied to a net gain in my portfolio value…….therefore no fees when my portfolio has not gained.. Seems they take 1.5% or more annually regardless of how the portfolio performs. I know it is asking a lot but the investor should have a better anticipation of a market pulklback than myself and protect me from the loss.
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