IAP Notice: Investor Advisory Panel Releases Annual Report

Investor Advisory Panel Releases Annual Report

TORONTO – The Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) Investor Advisory Panel has submitted its first annual report to the OSC, which summarizes the ongoing work by the Panel in analyzing key issues of importance to investors in today’s capital markets.

In its first year, the Panel has demonstrated a strong commitment to representing the interests of investors and has provided valuable input to the OSC on its statement of priorities as well as a variety of other issues, including OTC derivative regulation, point of sale, cost disclosure and performance reporting, credit rating agencies and shareholder democracy.

Additionally, the Panel has been active in building awareness of its activities within the broader community through contact with industry experts and retail investors and through a number of consultations and speaking engagements. As a result, the Panel has generated substantial feedback with respect to the regulation of the capital markets from investors’ viewpoints which has, in turn, been fed into the OSC’s policy making process.

“We are pleased with our success this year in tackling issues of great importance to investors and in relaying these concerns to the OSC,” said Professor Anita Anand, Chair of the Investor Advisory Panel. “We look forward to extending our consultations with investors across Ontario and further understanding their views. It is only by hearing from investors directly that we can accurately represent them.”

In addition to further outreach, the IAP has identified a number of priorities for the upcoming year, including support for: the implementation of a fiduciary duty on financial service professionals, a restitutionary remedy for wronged investors, transparency in information at point of sale and whistleblowing rights. The Panel supports these policy initiatives within the context of a national securities regime.

The seven member Investor Advisory Panel was created in 2010 as an independent body to contribute an investor perspective to the OSC’s rule and policy making process. The Panel’s annual report to the Commission and additional information are available on the OSC website at www.osc.gov.on.ca.

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