It’s a problem that’s getting more and more attention: people banned in one regulatory jurisdiction jump over to another. IIROC’s president and CEO, Andrew Kriegler, put the spotlight on this issue—and what he wants to do about it—in comments he made Thursday before the Ontario government’s Expert Committee to Consider Financial Advisory and Financial Planning Policy Alternatives.
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The Committee would like to see regulators, including IIROC, working together to develop harmonized standards that would apply consistently to all financial planners.
That was music to Kriegler’s ears.
“I would […] like to highlight what we see as an indirect but very positive consequence of your recommendation,” he said. “As regulators responsible for Financial Planning in Ontario, we would need to ensure that Financial Planners adhere to the common standards we establish. And when they don’t, we would need to enforce them and bring disciplinary action as appropriate. Bringing the regulators together opens the door for greater mutuality and reciprocity of sanctions—which is something that IIROC has already been working hard to achieve across the country.”
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Kriegler continued: “For example, if an individual was sanctioned by one regulator for sufficiently serious misconduct relating to his or her Financial Planning activities, the partner regulators would recognize that sanction, and that individual would not be permitted to register as a Financial Planner with them. We would also expect that the individual would not be able to be registered in any capacity with any of the regulators” (emphasis in original).
The Committee’s also proposing a central registry, which received strong support from Kriegler. “IIROC currently offers a web-based tool which allows consumers to research the background, qualifications and disciplinary information of over 28,000 individuals at IIROC-regulated firms. We would be happy to discuss the potential to leverage this database and our expertise in implementing your recommendation,” he said.