CFA Institute Reaffirms Its Support for Uniform and Consistent Regulatory
Systems

NEW YORK, May 26 /CNW/ - In reaction to today's release of the Canadian Securities Act which, if passed, would establish a national securities regulator in Canada, CFA Institute reaffirmed the position of its Canadian members from a June 2009 survey that markets should have a single, unified securities regulator with enforceable jurisdiction.

CFA Institute is the global association of investment professionals with nearly 11,000 members in Canada. It believes that a national regulator would eliminate regulatory arbitrage and confusion, reduce costs for issuers and market participants, reduce the likelihood of inconsistent enforcement and oversight, and make regulations less burdensome and complex. In 2009, 75 per cent of these members who responded to the June survey expressed support for a single national regulator.

Jim Allen, CFA, head of capital markets policy at CFA Institute said, "A significant majority of our Canadian members have consistently told us that Canada's capital markets, generally, and investors, specifically, are poorly served by the fragmented nature of the current regulatory system."

The 2009 CFA Institute Financial Market Integrity Index reported that Canadian CFA charterholders have low levels of confidence in the effectiveness of Canadian regulatory and investor protections. Those who commented on regulation in Canada often endorsed a one-regulator model to help coordinate regulation and strengthen regulatory enforcement. The recently released 2010 Index (https://www.cfainstitute.org/learning/products/publications/ccb/Pages/ccb.v2010.n8.1.aspx) reports that "Respondents inside Canada raised their ratings of regulatory effectiveness and investor protections from below to above average during the 2008-10 period, but 2010 ratings still generally remain below the ratings of respondents outside Canada. The comments received from Canadian investment professionals - who are closest to the issues - help explain this disconnect in their calls for reforms in the areas of financial adviser integrity and the fragmented Canadian regulatory system, which has been the top issue of concern among survey respondents for the last two years."

"CFA Institute welcomes the opportunity to participate in the national discussion on the issue of adopting a national securities regulator in Canada," Allen said. "We firmly believe that our global experience, investor-focused approach, and expertise in securities regulation will provide a neutral and balanced voice to this issue."

CFA Institute

CFA Institute is the global association for the investment profession. It administers the CFA and CIPM curriculum and exam programs worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA Institute has nearly 100,000 members, who include the world's 87,000 CFA charterholders, in 134 countries and territories, as well as 136 affiliated professional societies in 57 countries and territories.

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