BCSC releases 2016 Annual Compliance Report Card

VANCOUVER, June 13, 2016 /CNW/ - The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) today published its 2016 Annual Compliance Report Card. The report card summarizes the compliance strengths and weaknesses found in B.C.-based portfolio managers, investment fund managers, and exempt market dealers over the past year.

"We provide this information to help chief compliance officers understand the areas that we focus on during our examinations and to help them improve their compliance programs," says Mark Wang, the BCSC's Director of Capital Markets Regulation.

At March 31, 2016, there were 114 firms registered with the BCSC. The BCSC assigns relationship managers to build strong relationships and maintain communications with each firm in order to fully understand its business and compliance programs.

In fiscal 2016, the BCSC found positive practices at firms that included:

• several know-your-client and suitability assessment best practices 
• CRM2 implementation preparation

The report card also noted deficiencies found over the past year. In the 35 compliance reviews BCSC staff conducted of registered firms, they found an average of 4.29 deficiencies per review. The top five categories where staff spotted deficiencies were:

• policies and procedures
• disclosures
• registration administration
• compliance officer function
• know-your-client and suitability

These categories represented 58 per cent of the total 150 compliance deficiencies found over the year.

The BCSC identified an increased level of repeat deficiencies at firms last year, and as a result, imposed registration conditions on firms more frequently than in previous years.

"We will focus our compliance reviews for fiscal 2017 on the top five deficiency categories we noted, as well as reviewing firms' compliance with CRM2 requirements," added Wang.

More detailed information can be found in the 2016 Annual Compliance Report Card, now accessible on the BCSC website.

About the British Columbia Securities Commission (www.bcsc.bc.ca)

The British Columbia Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in British Columbia through the administration of the Securities Act. Our mission is to protect and promote the public interest by fostering:

• A securities market that is fair and warrants public confidence
• A dynamic and competitive securities industry that provides investment opportunities and access to capital

Learn how to protect yourself and become a more informed investor at www.investright.org

SOURCE British Columbia Securities Commission

Media Contact: Alison Walker, Media Relations, 604-899-6713; Public inquiries: 604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 (toll free)