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(December 15, 2006) Canada’s national net worth grew nearly 3% in the third quarter to $4.8 trillion, about $146,700 per person, according to Statistics Canada.

The increase in the market value of residential real estate continued to be the major contributor to the increase, StatsCan said, although non-residential assets, such as strong business investment, also added to the gains.

Household net worth, a component of national net worth, was also higher in Q3, thanks mostly to real estate values, but also increases in the value of pension assets, corporate shares and mutual funds, StatsCan said.

However, that growth was accompanied by a rise in household debt. Households had 18 cents of debt for every dollar of net worth at the end of the third quarter, the agency noted. Debt service charges remained relatively stable at about 8% of personal disposable income.

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Alberta man facing court charges

(December 15, 2006) An Edmonton man will appear in court following allegations that he violated an Alberta Securities Commission order. Three years ago, the ASC ordered Orest Rusnak to cease trading in securities and banned him from acting as an officer or director of any public company for 20 years.

The ASC alleges that Rusnak breached this order by acting as a director or officer of 20 different Alberta corporations, including Academy Financial and Legal Structures.

Rusnak was sanctioned for illegal distribution of shares of the Internet-based World Stock Exchange. Rusnak and Thomas Seto solicited a number of Albertans and Alberta companies to raise money and to list on the WSE.

The first court appearance has been set for January 17, 2007.

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CFAs call for improved income trust disclosure

(December 15, 2006) The Canadian Advocacy Council, a group representing Canada’s 12 member societies of the CFA Institute, has issued a white paper, pushing for additional disclosure in the income trust sector.

Among its recommendations, the council suggests that the Canadian financial community be encouraged to report net income per unit as well as cash distribution per unit. In addition, it says securities regulators need to intervene, since disclosure by income trusts has not improved significantly over the past several years.

“The CAC hopes that the white paper creates more dialogue and moves us toward developing a robust framework of income trust disclosure and accounting,” says CAC co-chair Blair Carey. “We are looking for input on how income trusts should be treated, the appropriate amount of regulator guidance, how to improve current accounting and securities rules, and other important questions.”

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Peak president becomes IFIC’s vice-chair

(December 15, 2006) Robert Frances, president of Montreal-based Peak Financial, has been named first vice-chair of IFIC’s board of directors.

In this position, Frances will perform the duties and exercise the powers of IFIC’s chair in the absence of the chair, and perform any other duties requested by the board. Joanne De Laurentiis, president and CEO of IFIC, cited Frances’s knowledge of the industry and the high regard in which he is held by industry colleagues.

“He brings with him two very important perspectives since he comes from one of the largest independent mutual fund dealers in Canada as well as from Quebec,” she said in a statement.

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