The slow and lazy days of summer are drawing to a close, soon to be replaced by an extensive schedule of seminar and workshop dates, fund-company road shows and industry conferences.

No matter what part of the industry you work in, there are a number of opportunities coming up to get out of the office, network, learn, and earn continuing education credits. In addition to the usual regulatory updates, the IFIC annual conference, Independent Financial Brokers Fall Summit dates and Knowledge Bureau tax sessions, there are also a number of new and interesting offerings available.

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Mutual funds, dealers and financial planning

To fee or not to fee is a half-day seminar being presented in Toronto on August 30 by fee-for-service planner, Marc Lamontagne. Seminar participants will examine different fee models, services and bundling, transitioning, and implementation plans. More information is available at Lamontagne’s website, www.tofeeornottofee.com.

September 21 to 22, the ADVISOR Group of publications and the Federation of Mutual Fund Dealers present Changing Channels: The Future of Mutual Fund Dealers, being held at the Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood, Ontario. The two-day conference for owners, presidents and senior dealer-firm executives will focus on compliance and regulation, new products and due diligence practices, niche opportunities, and how different firms prepare for a buyout. For more information, visit www.advisorlive.ca or click here for agenda details.

Other ADVISOR Group presentations this fall include Objectif Conseiller presentations on buying and selling a book of business and the Financial Intelligence at Work Series with Annie Boivin and Michel Lavoie. For more information, visit www.conseiller.ca/formation.

The IFIC 20th Annual Conference kicks off at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre on September 27. The three-day conference, attended by investment professionals from across Canada, includes concurrent compliance, operational, leadership and marketing seminars, breakfast roundtable discussions, service provider exhibits and four keynote presentations, including comments from Sherry Cooper and Peter C. Newman. Details and conference agenda are available at the IFIC website, www.ific.ca.

The Institute of Advanced Financial Planners, meanwhile, is holding its fourth annual symposium, Beyond the Georgia Strait, from October 19 to 21 at the Delta Victoria Ocean Pointe Resort in Victoria, B.C. Seminar topics include ethics in financial planning, the financial planner’s role in collaborative divorce, new perspectives on portfolio yield, long-term-care solutions and options, tax planning, legal and estate planning and practice management options. Click here for the conference agenda or visit www.iafp.ca for more details.

The Independent Financial Brokers association Fall Summit series for life insurance brokers is being held in various locations across the country between November 1 and November 27. For locations, dates, times and agenda details visit www.ifbc.ca.

Knowledge Bureau sessions this year include the third annual Distinguished Advisor’s Conference, being held in San Antonio, Texas, November 7 to 10. The conference for Canadian tax and financial services advisors focuses on strategic business planning and will explore opportunities related to the conference theme, Boomers: The Economic Time Bomb.

Knowledge Bureau Education Days, meanwhile, run from November 20-24 and January 15-19 in Ottawa, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver. The interactive, one-day group study sessions focus on year-end tax updates in November and a line-by-line T1 tax update in January. For registration and other information, visit www.knowledgebureau.com.

Finally, the Knowledge Bureau and Advisor’s Edge present Take This Case and Solve It: Retirement Income Planning for Business Owners. Hosted by Deanne Gage and Evelyn Jacks, the one-day conference for independent advisors is being held in Calgary on December 6. Speakers David Christianson and Daryl Diamond will examine the structure and process for generating retirement income for business owners. Visit www.advisorlive.ca for more details.

Other financial planning dates of interest coming up in the new year include the World Critical Illness Insurance Conference at the Fairmont Empress Hotel in Victoria, B.C., January 25 to 27. Conference speakers include Dr. Marius Barnard, creator of the world’s first critical illness policy, physician and author Gabor Maté, as well as product and sales experts, health expert, academics and other leading critical illness authorities from around the world. Visit www.criticalinsurance.ca for more information.

Pensions

For institutional managers, the Association of Canadian Pension Management (ACPM) National Conference is being held this year at the Fairmont Winnipeg Hotel, September 19 to 22. Sessions will cover lessons learned from the U.S. and U.K. pension industries, the future of defined benefit pension plans and workshops on using alternative investments, ways to reinvent defined contribution plans, hedging and currency management, communication strategies and recent case law affecting Canadian pension plans. For more information, visit www.acpm.com.

The following week, the Canadian Institute is hosting the Institutional Investing for Plan Sponsors and Trustees conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto, September 25 to 26. Speakers include representatives from Canadian investment and pension consulting firms, law firms and investment counsellors, who will discuss declining returns, increased risk and other pressing investment and governance issues facing institutional investors. Visit www.canadianinstitute.com for more information.

Regulation, litigation and compliance

The Strategy Institute kicks off the lineup of regulatory conferences on October 18 with the two-day National Registrant Regulation Conference at The Grand Hotel & Suites in Toronto. Conference agenda includes a preview of proposal NI 31-103 and sessions on the steps firms can take to prepare for registration reform initiatives, proficiency requirements and exemption changes. Sessions also include interactive question and answer periods with representatives from the OSC and the Autorité des marchés financiers, IDA, MFDA and others. More information is available at the Strategy Institute website, www.strategyinstitute.com.

Dialogue with the OSC takes place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre this year on November 10. For speaker and agenda details, visit www.osc.gov.on.ca.

The Canadian Institute 12th Annual Regulatory Compliance for Financial Institutions is also being held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, November 16 and 17. Topics for discussion include OSFI’s latest position on reputation risk, corporate governance, anti-money laundering, outsourcing, Basel II reporting and pandemic planning, FINTRAC’s latest position on the verification and maintenance of customer information and AML priorities for the coming year, how to create a culture of compliance to manage reputation risk and updates from the Finance Department and Privacy Commission.

November 28 and 29 the Institute is also running the 6th Annual Advanced Forum on Securities Litigation, designed for public companies, at the St. Andrew’s Club and Conference Centre in Toronto. More information on both conferences is available at the Canadian Institute website, www.canadianinstitute.com.

Education

On the educational front, the Knowledge Bureau and the York University Schulich Executive Education Centre is holding an information session on the Master’s Certificate in Investment Planning in Toronto on September 26. The six-week Master’s Certificate in Investment Planning & Distinguished Financial Advisor (DFA) Designation runs from November 6 to December 8.

For the philanthropically inclined, the Strategy Institute is hosting the 6th Annual Foundation, Endowments and Not-For-Profit Investments Summit at The Grand Hotel & Suites in Toronto, October 11 to 12. Details are available at www.strategyinstitute.com.

Finally, a two-day intensive course on securities law and practices, led by Dee Rajpal of Stikeman Elliott LLP, will be held at the InterContinental Bloor Yorkville Hotel in Toronto, October 26 to 27. Coursework includes a review of the framework and guiding policies used in securities regulation, dealer, advisor and other market player registration, interactive analysis of commonly arising securities issues, best practices for managing contact with regulators, recent enforcement priorities and trends, U.S. securities regulation, secondary market liability and special considerations for those preparing IPOs or cross-boarder public offerings. For more information, visit the Canadian Institute website, www.canadianinstitute.com.

Filed by Kate McCaffery Advisor.ca, kate.mccaffery@advisor.rogers.com

(08/25/06)