Earlier this month, I attended the International Capital Market Association’s 50th AGM and Conference. Issuers, investors, intermediaries and market infrastructure providers from the cross-border fixed income markets, together with market experts, regulators and policy makers, discussed the state of the global industry and future developments.

In Europe and elsewhere, financial markets are continuing to evolve rapidly, influenced by regulation, disruptive financial technology, demographic trends and an increasingly important environmental agenda.

The Canadian industry is closely watching developments in Europe in the advent of MiFID II. The general view in Europe is that improved post-trade transparency should help … Continue reading →

The Investment Industry Hall of Fame honours excellence, integrity and leadership in Canada’s investment industry. The Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC) is proud to announce the 2018 Inductees into the Hall of Fame:

– Jean-Guy Desjardins, Chair of the Board and CEO, Fiera Capital Corporation

– Bob Dorrance, Chair, CEO and President of TD Securities; Group Head, Wholesale Banking, TD Bank Group

– Monique F. Leroux, Strategic Advisor, Fiera Capital Corporation; Vice-Chair of the Board, Fiera Holdings Inc.; and former Board Chair, President and CEO, Desjardins Group

– Gordon Cheesbrough, former Chair … Continue reading →

The CSA released its long-awaited proposals to address the client-registrant relationship. The IIAC is pleased the CSA has proposed a harmonized approach and moved away from an overarching best interest standard that would have created confusion and negative consequences for advisors and their clients.

The IIAC will respond vigorously within the 120-day comment period, engaging with member firms, to put forward recommendations for more practical and cost-effective rules and greater clarity in terms of expected conduct.

Click here to read our news release.

It was an honour for the IIAC to host Bank of Canada Deputy Governor Lynn Patterson at a luncheon in Toronto today. She spoke about interest-rate benchmarks and the work underway in Canada and globally to strengthen them.

Interest rate benchmark reform is important to our clients in the financial sector and to the safety and stability of global financial markets. Millions of financial contracts valued in the trillions of dollars rest on these reference rates and affect many of our clients that do business across nearly all asset classes, including derivatives, bonds, loans and other financial instruments. Robust benchmarks … Continue reading →

At its Annual General Meeting in Montreal today, the Investment Industry Association of Canada (IIAC) announced its 2018-19 Board of Directors, including the re-appointment of Charyl Galpin, Chief Regulatory Officer, BMO Wealth Management, as IIAC Board Chair, and Steven Donald, Executive Vice-President, CI Financial Corp., as Vice-Chair.

“I am honoured to continue serving as Chair of the IIAC,” Galpin said. “I look forward to working with our Board to ensure the IIAC remains an effective advocate for member firms, fighting for efficient regulation and capital markets, promoting capital formation and supporting members with … Continue reading →

The June 2018 IIAC Letter from the President focuses on the proposed tax treatment of passive investment income in Canadian-controlled private corporations and the implications for small business financing.

Roughly 50,000 large private corporations are negatively impacted by the proposals, many of them deeply integrated into the small and mid-sized business sector, engaged in debt and equity financing, strategic corporate advisory services, and merchant banking. The government’s proposed measures will discourage them from undertaking these types of activities, constricting the already scarce flow of capital to new and emerging enterprises.

My Letter offers a number … Continue reading →