Regulators want to know if fund fees sway your advice

The Canadian Securities Administrators has awarded two research contracts for reviewing Canada’s mutual fund fees.

This research will contribute to policy decisions on whether rules on fees need to be changed, says the Ontario Securities Commission.

Read: OSC proposes amendments to fee rules

Douglas J. Cumming, Professor of Finance and Entrepreneurship at York University’s Schulich School of Business will collect and review data on whether sales and trailing commissions influence fund sales.

He’ll request data from a representative sample of investment fund managers in the coming months.

Read: U.S. regulators want better fee disclosure

The second contract is with the Brondesbury Group. They’ll conduct a literature review to assess whether fee-based compensation or commission-based compensation changes the nature of advice to clients and investment outcomes over the long term.

The reports are due in early 2015 and should be made public then.

In December 2012, the CSA published a discussion paper identifying potential investor protection issues arising from the current fee structure. The CSA then consulted stakeholders, including a public roundtable in June 2013 and discussion forums in the summer and fall of 2013.

Read: Report questions CPP fees

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.