The Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators is establishing a committee to help implement its total cost reporting plan.
The plan aims to increase investor and policy-holders’ awareness of the ongoing costs of owning investment funds and individual segregated fund contracts. The committee, which is comprised of joint forum members and industry representatives, will provide guidance and assistance to registrants and insurers as they operationalize the total cost reporting enhancements.
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“The [total cost reporting] initiative came about as a result of extensive consultations with investor advocates and market participants,” said Stan Magidson, chair of the Canadian Securities Administrators and chair and chief executive officer of the Alberta Securities Commission, during the forum’s latest meeting. “Collaboration between the implementation committee and industry participants is important to the successful implementation of the [total cost reporting] enhancements.”
Also speaking during the meeting, Cristie Ford, a law professor at the Peter A. Allard School of Law, noted the importance of the joint forum’s existing infrastructure, adding members continue to expand information-sharing and joint initiatives where appropriate, particularly when products are complex and regulatory boundaries are unclear.
The forum brings together members of the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities, the CSA, the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators and representatives from the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations and the Mortgage Broker Regulators’ Council of Canada.
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