OSC’s Investor Advisory Panel Releases 2019 Annual Report

TORONTO – The Investor Advisory Panel (the IAP) today released its 2019 Annual Report summarizing its activities, submissions, consultations, and meetings during the calendar year.

In 2019, the IAP continued to focus on what it considers to be critical areas of investor protection including: discontinuing embedded commissions such as deferred sales charges (DSCs); understanding the impact of disruptive trends in the investment space on retail investors; implementing the client focused reforms; continuing to maintain focus on investor protection and market integrity while undertaking burden reduction initiatives and improving the retail investor experience; strengthening the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI); and improving investor representation in self-regulatory organization (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA)) governance and organizational structures.

In 2019, the IAP also commissioned a survey regarding the quality and quantity of investment advice and published a report on the results of the survey, entitled “A Measure of Advice: How much of it do investors with small and medium-sized portfolios receive?” This research was intended to provide policymakers with relevant empirical evidence to evaluate the merits of trailing commissions and other forms of embedded compensation.

“Input and engagement from retail investors is essential to achieving a fair and balanced regulatory regime,” said IAP chair Neil Gross. “We strive to make the IAP an effective conduit for that input, and a useful sounding board for the OSC in developing policies and rules that protect investors, promote fair and efficient capital markets, and contribute to the stability of Canada’s financial system.”

About the IAP

The IAP is an independent committee of the Ontario Securities Commission that advises and comments on proposed rules, policies and investor protection initiatives while considering the views of a broad range of investors through consultation with investors and organizations representing investors.

The IAP is comprised of nine members appointed by the Chair of the Ontario Securities Commission following a public application process and on the advice of a selection committee consisting of two Commissioners and a Vice-Chair. Members of the IAP are appointed for terms of up to two years, with possible reappointment for one additional term. (See the 2019 IAP Annual Report for biographies of IAP members).

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