As part of the new Financial Professional Title Protection Act and its corresponding Financial Professional Title Protection Rule, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has published proposed fees for financial planners and financial advisors that at least one industry association is calling duplicative.
“The Act and the rule are not relevant to CIRO (the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization) members who are already subject to the same oversight by CIRO and the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC),” this according to the Investment Industry association of Canada (IIAC), representing investment firms, portfolio managers and advisory services providers.
The association’s submission to FSRA, they add, “recognizes the efforts made to date but also states the amount of fees that will be charged to CIRO members is unclear. Any fees should be nominal and payable with administrative ease. If passed, a post-implementation review of the fees should be conducted soon. CIRO members should be exempted from the Act and the rule which does not provide additional investor protection to their clients.”
They add that costs related to oversight already being conducted by other regulators, like the OSC and CIRO, should not be duplicated. “We continue to strongly encourage FSRA to eliminate regulatory duplication and burden by providing CIRO members with an exemption from the Act and the rule.”
