Industry

Improved ethics, increased regulation can help restore investor confidence, says U.S. regulator

(March 7, 2003) Acts of malfeasance within the financial services industry have lead to a loss of faith by investors, costing the advisor community heavily in both client confidence and falling revenues, says Mary Schapiro, vice-chair of the NASD, the American self-regulatory organization covering brokerage firms and their registered representatives. NASD, formerly the National Association […]

By Art Melo |March 7, 2003

3 min read

Independent agents better able to cope with brokerage downturn, but OSC still says no

(March 6, 2003) Traditional brokerage firms are getting walloped as retail trading declines and investors prove loathe to put new money into mutual funds. Despite that, Raymond James finds its U.S. brokers are faring well. A major reason is that most of them are cost-conscious independent contractors, something that still isn’t allowed in Canada. The […]

By Scot Blythe |March 6, 2003

4 min read

IFIC calls for NRD fee reduction

(March 6, 2003) The Investment Funds Institute of Canada wants regulators to reduce the first annual fee for the National Registration Database, scheduled to launch at the end of the month. IFIC says the Canadian Securities Administrators plans to collect a full year of fees for 2003 on May 30, even though the database will […]

By Doug Watt |March 6, 2003

2 min read

RRSP season brings lower contributions, advisors report

(March 5, 2003) “Slow and low.” That’s the succinct phrase Denzil Feinberg of Feinberg Financial in Winnipeg uses to describe this year’s just-completed RRSP season. While not all advisors report the same experience, there’s no question that weak markets have put a dent in contribution levels for 2002. Yesterday, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada […]

By Doug Watt |March 5, 2003

3 min read