Invest Skeptically

The Star ran an interesting series on regulation and enforcement in the Canadian securities markets. The tone of the work is best summed up by the quote, attributed to Barbara Stymiest, calling Canada’s securities enforcement an “international embarrassment.” Here are the links:

Why the OSC so rarely gets its man
“More than 450 employees work at [...]

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Over the last few weeks there has been intense media coverage of U.S. subprime mortgages (still), the securitization of such (still), Canadian ABCP programs (that’s new), and demands for new regulation (gasp). After much Googling and newspaper-flipping here are some of my comments.
U.S. Subprime Mortgages
I specify U.S. subprime mortgages because the Canadian [...]

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As part of a new package of changes, regulators are proposing a simple 2-page “Fund Facts” disclosure sheet. The idea is that potential investors would have to receive the sheet (and hopefully read it) before purchasing a mutual fund product. A similar package has been drafted for segregated funds.
Rob Carrick in The [...]

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In a previous blog I mentioned the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) and decided to add a little more about them.
OBSI is funded by its participating firms — which is not unusual. But, an interesting note is that they focus only on “independent and impartial” dispute resolution which means they are [...]

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James Daw writes, Legal help can tackle bad adviser, in the Toronto Star (June 12, 2007), about an investor’s options after they’ve received bad financial advice and lost money. In Canada there’s an Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) with participating firms that include:

Domestic and foreign banks
Some credit unions
Trust and loan [...]

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