Mutual fund dealers will be required to notify clients that they are regulated by the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) in their account statements and on their websites under a new policy proposal.
The purpose of the rule is to “promote client awareness of the regulatory oversight exercised by the MFDA” and it would specifically require dealers to include the MFDA logo on the front of each client account statement, along with the self-regulatory organization’s (SRO) website address. The MFDA’s logo and a link to its website will also have to be post of on each dealer’s website.
An earlier set of proposals would have made the inclusion of the logo voluntary. Yet, the MFDA’s notice indicates that the provincial regulators asked the SRO to consider making the use of the logo mandatory.
The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) began requiring its members to include a link and its logo on their websites as of Jan. 1; and, it will require similar disclosure on client account statements starting July 1, 2018.
The MFDA board approved the proposed rule on June 6 and it has now been published for a 90-day comment period.
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