Understanding fees remains a challenge for investors, CSA says

Canadian securities regulators’ latest investor education campaigns focus on fees and registration.

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced the launch of two national, online investor education campaigns for October, which is investor education month.

One of the campaigns focuses on investors understanding the impact of fees on investments, while the other encourages investors to ensure they’re dealing with registered industry personnel by checking registration with the CSA database.

The CSA also published its annual report on the investor education activities of the various provincial and territorial regulators today. In the report, CSA notes that, while there have been improvements in investor understanding of fees since they started receiving annual costs and compensation reports as part of the Client Relationship Model 2 reforms, CSA research shows that “investors need to continue to put in effort to build their knowledge and understanding when it comes to the investment fees they pay.”

The regulators’ digital campaign on investment fees ran earlier this year, from May 1 to June 25, and is now being revived for three weeks in October.

“Securities regulators are giving Canadians important information to make informed investing decisions and are working towards improving the investor experience,” said Louis Morisset, chair of the CSA and president and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers, in a release.

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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.