The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) recently released its Annual Summary Report for Dealers, Advisers and Investment Fund Managers (the Report), providing a summary of new and proposed rules, initiatives and current compliance trends resulting from the OSC's review of registrants and their activities. The Report provides a detailed overview of the OSC's views with respect to many topics, and registrants are recommended to thoroughly review the Report and use it as a self-assessment tool to strengthen their compliance systems.

The Report can be accessed here.

Certain items included in the Report are highlighted below.

Information for dealers, advisers and investment fund managers

  • Inadequate referral arrangements
  • Incomplete or inadequate books and records
  • Failure to provide notice of ownership changes or asset acquisitions
  • Incomplete applications for exemptive relief
  • Changes to participation fee calculations
  • Outside business activity disclosure
  • Failure to complete KYC, KYP and suitability assessments
  • Inappropriate "renting out" of EMD registrations
  • Inadequate supervision of dealing representatives
  • Failure of EMDs to provide adequate disclosure of underwriting conflicts
  • Failure to provide adequate relationship information
  • Inadequate written policies and procedures on portfolio management
  • Inadequate updating of client's KYC and suitability information
  • Inadequate collection of client's insider status
  • Commingling of client assets by IFMs

Registration of firms and individuals

  • Update on pre-registration reviews
  • Voluntary surrenders of registration
  • Peer-to-peer lending (P2P)
  • Common deficiencies in firm registration filings
  • Changes to firm registration filings
  • Common deficiencies in individual registration filings, including with respect to the improper use of reinstatement notices and reactivations of registrant applications
  • Non-disclosure or late disclosure of information previously submitted by individuals on their Form 33-109F4s.

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