Former MFDA IPC head Dorothy Sanford to chair new investor group

Dorothy Sanford, former head of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada’s contingency fund, will lead the new self-regulatory organization’s investor advisory panel.

The new SRO, which launched Jan. 1, named the members of its inaugural investor advisory panel (IAP) on Tuesday. The panel will provide the regulator with feedback on policy issues from the investor perspective.

Ensuring that the new regulator has greater input from the retail investor perspective was one of the fundamental objectives of the self-regulatory reform, starting with a merger of the MFDA and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).

In addition to the IAP, the new SRO also has an internal branch dedicated to investors, the Office of the Investor, which will support the independent IAP and is responsible for investor education and outreach.

The IAP is chaired by Sanford, former head of the MFDA IPC, with professor Moshe Milevsky from York University’s Schulich School of Business as vice-chair.

The other members are Kerry Baisley, a retired public servant; Heidi Conrad, an accountant; James Emmerton, a lawyer and former director of the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments; law professor Cristie Ford; François Lavallée, retired legal executive from National Bank Financial Group; retired regulator Andrew Nicholson; and Enoch Omololu, a personal finance educator focused on newcomers to Canada.

“We are pleased to have such an accomplished and qualified group of individuals join the Investor Advisory Panel,” said Andrew Kriegler, president and CEO of the new SRO, in a release.

“Their insights and guidance will be invaluable as we work to fulfill our mission of protecting investors.”

The IAP members have been appointed for a minimum term of two years. The group will provide the SRO with input on regulatory policy, annual priorities, strategic plans and other investor protection initiatives.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.