James Langton
Accurate labelling is Consumer Protection 101. Yet, in the retail investment business, this principle proves fiendishly difficult to implement.
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) has undertaken the latest effort to ensure that individuals who call themselves financial advisors or financial planners are qualified to provide advice or planning services.
In August, FSRA published a proposed rule that sets out minimum standards to qualify as a “financial advisor” or “financial planner.” The proposal also establishes requirements credentialing bodies must meet in order to be recognized by FSRA as approved administrators of the titles.
Comment letters on FSRA’s proposed regime suggest the regulator isn’t having much more success than predecessors that sought to clean up the messy jumble of industry titles.