The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) intends to introduce mandatory CRM2-style disclosures in the segregated funds sector.
The regulator announced it will propose a rule that would provide investors in SEC funds with annual disclosures about their funds’ costs and performance, the same as those introduced by the Canadian Securities Agency (CSA) as part of the second phase of its Customer Relationship Model reforms (CRM2).
The CSA recently published a study examining the effectiveness of these reforms, which found that investors are generally paying less and receiving higher returns on their investment funds since the CRM2 reforms came into effect.
The research did not conclude that the reforms were the cause of these trends, but it did note that the industry was evolving in ways that regulators had anticipated as they sought to improve cost transparency.
Now, FSRA is seeking similar reform in the SEC funds industry, expanding the scope of disclosures required to be provided to investors to include embedded fees (such as management fees and transaction costs).
“Ontarians need greater transparency to make informed decisions about their financial future,” Huston Loke, vice-president of market behaviour at FSRA, said in a news release.
“If approved, this rule would provide individual clients of segregated funds with basic information to help them assess whether these investments are suitable for them and ensure they understand the fees they are being charged,” he said.
The regulator noted that the proposals should facilitate comparisons between investment funds and segmented funds.
Comments on the proposals are open until July 26, and FSRA will host a webinar on June 19 to discuss the proposed regulations.
