Securities regulators have recently sanctioned a few mutual fund companies for spending excessively on promotional events and gifts to financial advisors who sell their funds. This is harmful to investors since it really treats the advisor – not...
I recently participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). The purpose was to delve more deeply into the industry’s response to regulators’ proposal to eliminate commissions embedded in investment...
The Canadian Securities Administrators launched a lengthy consultation period in January on their proposal to eliminate embedded commissions – i.e. commissions paid to those selling investment products that are built into the product’s price or...
Over the past two decades, investors have had seemingly little patience for an underperforming investment or money manager. Investors tend to dump the laggard for “something that’s doing better”. But an understanding of market...
For virtually my entire career, bond yields have been characterized as “historically low” – yet have fallen with few interruptions. Since the Financial Crisis, however, yields have been super skinny and have continued falling. Razor...
“Fund Facts” is a 2 to 4 page regulatory summary document designed to inform investors on a mutual fund’s salient features. A version for exchange-traded funds – i.e. ETF Facts – will be required starting next September. One of the most...
Robo-advisors offer investment advice through websites and mobile applications. In the U.S. this segment – which was born after the Financial Crisis – manages tens of billions of dollars for clients. American robo-advisors can provide investment...
On July 15, 2016 the second phase of Client Relationship Management (CRM2) became official. CRM2 is a new set of rules requiring most “financial advisors” to provide two new annual reports to each client – one detailing amounts paid to...
As seen in the May 2016 edition of Investment Executive. Recently published research on mutual fund commissions’ influence on fund flows led by Douglas Cumming, finance professor at the Schulich School of Business at York University in Toronto...
Marketing is a critical component of every business, and the investment industry is no different. But an industry trusted with the management of individuals’ life savings should be held to a higher standard. To an extent, it is. Regulators...