OSC’s Investor Advisory Panel releases 2022 Annual Report

TORONTO – The Investor Advisory Panel (the IAP) today released its 2022 Annual Report summarizing its activities, submissions, consultations and meetings in 2022. 

In 2022, the IAP focused on the impact of technological innovations and disruptive influences on capital markets and retail investors, and on the implications of the OSC’s new mandate components – fostering competition and capital formation – on the Commission’s central investor protection mandate.

Additionally, the IAP reiterated its strong support for what it considers to be key opportunities to enhance investor protection, including:

• ensuring investors receive accurate information regarding the risks of participating in the crypto asset markets, and that regulation in this area is innovative, timely and keeps pace with the shifting investment environment;
• implementing needed reforms to the dispute resolution system in Canada, including granting binding decision-making authority to the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments;
• providing investors with clear information about the full costs of the products and services they purchase; and
• modifying access equals delivery proposals so as to utilize technology to deliver information to investors in an efficient, effective and environmentally responsible manner.    

In 2022, the IAP also continued to examine emerging transformative forces in the financial services sector that could reshape securities regulation and investor protection in Ontario. Building on the findings of its 2021 Horizon Project report, the IAP continued to explore potential risks and opportunities for investors from disruptions in the capital markets.   

“We strongly urge the Commission to prioritize investor protection as the cornerstone of its multi-pronged mandate, especially as investors are faced with fast-paced innovation in the financial services sector, challenging economic conditions, as well as highly speculative and non-traditional investments,” said IAP Chair Ilana Singer. “In 2023, the IAP remains committed to bringing forward issues and views on initiatives that will improve investor outcomes.”

About the IAP
The IAP is comprised of up to nine members appointed by a selection committee composed of the Chief Executive Officer and two Executive Directors of the Ontario Securities Commission following a public application process. Members of the IAP are appointed for terms of up to two years, with possible reappointment for one additional term. (See the 2022 Annual Report for biographies of IAP members). 

– 30 –