Industry

The IIROC enforcers

Last year was a busy one for securities regulators. As the credit market – and subsequently the economy – collapsed, they faced public pressure to take aggressive action against risky investments and Ponzi-like schemes that left many investors holding the bag. In Canada, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) bore the same pressures […]

By David Di Paolo, Cait Sainsbury |June 28, 2010

7 min read

Industry

Ghosts of the TFSA exorcized

It seems they will beat the Tax Free Savings Account bum rap after all. The Government of Canada all but announced on Friday an amnesty on TFSA overcontribution penalties for 2009. This comes as a relief to some 70,000 TFSA holders who inadvertently fell foul of the tax law. A statement issued by Keith Ashfield, […]

By Vikram Barhat |June 28, 2010

4 min read

Industry

Face-Off: Is leverage worth the risk?

Moderated by: Vikram Barhat Participants: Blair Falconer, vice-president, HSBC securities, Toronto. Serge G. Pepin, head of investments, BMO Investments Inc. Falconer: The biggest pitfall of leveraging is it magnifies losses. I mean, it magnifies gains as well, but it becomes your biggest risk when your investment strategy turns against you and then all of a […]

By Vikram Barhat |June 26, 2010

9 min read

Industry

Countering fund industry misconceptions

Misconceptions among regulators and consumers are hurting advisors and indeed the entire mutual fund distribution industry. It’s a double-edged sword that slashes the value of advice on the one side and pares participants’ trust on the other, says George Aguiar, president and CEO of GP Wealth Management in Toronto. Aguiar talked about the viability of […]

By Vikram Barhat |June 26, 2010

4 min read

Get the dirt on prospective agents

Credit bureaus can be misleading: they can make a potential agent look good if you don’t know how to find the skeletons in the closet. “Hidden within the credit bureau is a lot of useful information that people don’t pay attention to,” said Ian Robinson, president of Greengrass Group, in a session entitled “Hiring Smart,” […]

4 min read

Portfolio Managers: Europe is a bargain

Never count Europe out. It has a long industrial heritage and despite its troubles it still makes up 25% of the world’s economy powered by corporations more than able to withstand the stress of the sovereign debt crisis and the remnants of the 2008 subprime mess. Canada’s European portfolio managers are sifting through rubble and […]

3 min read

Face-Off: Buy and hold

Moderated by: Vikram Barhat Participants: Tony De Thomasis, president, De Thomas Financial Corp., Mark Yamada,president, PUR Investing Inc. Tony De Thomasis: In my mind nothing has changed. What happened in 2008 was like the Black Swan book. It’s something that happens once every 80 or 100 years. I’m not going to change the way I […]

7 min read

China’s yuan move causes ripples

China’s reputation sure does precede itself. Canadian financial industry made it clear they are unimpressed with China’s recent decision to de-peg its currency, the renminbi or yuan, to the U.S. dollar. Industry experts are looking at it against the backdrop of a poor track record and fickle international policy, as they point out that the […]

4 min read

IIROC eyes outside business activity

Compliance officers and branch managers should keep an eye on their reps for any evidence of outside business activity. A look at several recent hearing notices issued by the Investments Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) shows the regulator taking registered persons to task when they sell products outside their registration mandates. Among the actions […]

3 min read

Pension plans revisit risk management

Risks abound for pension plans – even while they are in the midst of restructuring the kinds of risks they are exposed to. Ask Errico Cocchi, pension fund investment manager for the City of Montreal. The end of 2008 and early 2009 “were a pretty tough year for our plan,” explained Cocchi at the IMN’s […]

By Scot Blythe |June 22, 2010

3 min read