Kevan Cowan will be the Chief Regulator of the new Capital Markets Regulatory Authority (CMRA) after it launches in 2018, and is currently Chief Executive Officer of the interim Capital Markets Authority Implementation Organization (CMAIO). The Investor Office recently sat down with Kevan to discuss his background, the CMRA, the work that’s underway and his current priorities.

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) – the umbrella organization of Canada’s provincial and territorial securities regulators that includes the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) – recently published CSA Consultation Paper 81-408 – Consultation on the Option of Discontinuing Embedded Commissions for a 150-day comment period. The consultation seeks input on the option of discontinuing embedded commissions for mutual funds and the potential impacts of such a change.

Evidence gathered by the CSA suggests that the payment of embedded commissions raises investor protection and market efficiency issues. As the CSA notes, this suggests a need to consider transitioning to direct pay arrangements, where an investor directly pays the dealer’s compensation.

Check Before You Invest
The OSC and the Investor Office remind you to always check the registration of any person or business trying to sell you an investment or give you investment advice. 

Visit CheckBeforeYouInvest.ca to learn more about checking registration and disciplinary histories, spotting the warning signs of fraud and receiving investor alerts and warnings from the OSC.