MFDA Working to Protect Seniors From Financial Harm
TORONTO, June 10, 2015 /CNW/ - Seniors across Canada are celebrated during Seniors' Month and Seniors' Week events held across the country in the month of June. The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (the "MFDA") is marking this by encouraging senior investors to visit the Seniors' Section of the MFDA website.
On the Seniors' Section, investors can find links to resources for seniors organized by Province and Territory, as well as links to investor education resources from the MFDA, its regulatory partners, and other organizations. Seniors can also complete the MFDA Fraud Awareness Quiz to learn about ways to better protect themselves from fraud and financial abuse. In addition, seniors can learn about the assistance that MFDA staff can provide to seniors if they wish to file a complaint to the MFDA.
"The protection of seniors from financial harm is of the utmost importance to the MFDA, and is integral to the maintenance of investor confidence in the Canadian capital markets. Seniors have worked hard their whole lives to save for their retirement and have accumulated substantial assets. The regulatory activities of the MFDA, as well as the informational resources we have made available to seniors on the MFDA website, can help seniors protect themselves from fraud and other financial abuse," said MFDA President and CEO Mark Gordon.
In addition, below are some additional activities that the MFDA is undertaking in 2015 to better protect seniors:
- Enforcement department staff continues to use case screening procedure to flag all cases involving seniors and other vulnerable groups. Flagged cases are prioritized and dealt with accordingly. In 2014, 33% of all formal disciplinary proceedings commenced by the MFDA enforcement department involved seniors or other vulnerable groups. Highlights from enforcement proceedings involving senior investor and other vulnerable investors are set out in the 2014 Annual Enforcement Report.
- As part of its on-going examinations of Members, the MFDA is reviewing the use of titles or designations that imply expertise in dealing with seniors' issues or retirement planning by Approved Persons. This information will be used to determine how widespread the practice is among MFDA registrants, and whether further action is necessary.
- The MFDA has formed a consultation group on servicing senior clients comprised of Approved Persons and Member representatives in order to solicit feedback about the challenges Members and Approved Persons are facing in servicing senior clients. The MFDA will incorporate this feedback into further training and guidance to Members on ways to best serve senior clients.
The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its 102 Members and their approximately 80,000 Approved Persons with a mandate to protect investors and the public interest. For more information about the MFDA's complaint and enforcement processes, as well as links to 'Check an Advisor' and other Investor Tools, visit the For Investors page on the MFDA website.
SOURCE Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada
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