The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) says unsuitable investments generate the greatest number of complaints from investors.

Over the last two fiscal years (April 1, 2014 to March 31, 2016), IIROC received 838 complaints from clients of the firms it oversees. Unsuitable investments topped the list with 222 complaints, followed by service issues, disputed fees, firm policies and procedures, and unauthorized trading. Together IIROC says these five issues accounted for 48% of all the complaints it received during the period.

Who are making these complaints? IIROC says seniors between the ages 61 and 100 accounted for approximately 63% of complaints. Between the sexes, men made more complaints than women.

IIROC says the results are consistent with statistics published in its 2015 Enforcement Report, which found that almost 50% of prosecutions against individual registrants involved violations of suitability requirements. The majority of these suitability cases also involved elderly or vulnerable clients.