The Ontario Securities Commission has announced the agenda and list of panellists for its upcoming roundtable on the possible impacts of discontinuing embedded commissions.

The OSC event, to be held in September as part of the Canadian Securities Administrator’s current consultation, is scheduled to include three panel discussions that “explore a different alternative to the option of discontinuing embedded commissions and discuss the extent to which the alternative may address the CSA's concerns with respect to embedded commissions,” says an Aug. 17 announcement from the OSC.

Capping or standardizing trailing commissions

The first panel will look at the alternative of capping or standardizing trailing commissions. The panellists are scheduled to be: Rob Strickland of Fidelity Investments Canada; Neil Gross of Component Strategies Consulting; Warren Collier of Blackrock Asset Management Canada; Scott Findlay of the Independent Financial Brokers of Canada and Nicole Lee of RBC Global Asset Management.

Discontinuing the use of the DSC option

The second panel will discuss discontinuing, or implementing additional standards for the use of the deferred sales charge purchase option. The panellists are scheduled to be Barry McInerney of Mackenzie Investments; John Adams of PFSL Investments Canada; Marian Passmore of the Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR) and Sonny Goldstein of Goldstein Financial.

Enhancements to disclosure

The third panel will look at enhancements to disclosure and choice for investors. Panel participants are scheduled to be: Paul Bourque of the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC); Sandra Kegie of the Federation of Mutual Fund Dealers; Duane Green of Franklin Templeton Investments Canada and Dan Hallett of HighView Asset Management.

The roundtable will take place on Sept. 18 from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the 22nd floor of the OSC's offices, located at 20 Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario. Anyone interested in attending the roundtable should register online on the OSC’s website. Space is limited.