New protections for senior investors on the horizon

New regulatory measures designed to help the investment industry protect senior investors with declining mental capabilities are on track to be adopted by the end of the year.

The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) said on Thursday that they expect to publish final rules that will introduce new provisions to help protect older and vulnerable clients by early summer. The amendments, which are subject to ministerial approvals, will take effect by Dec. 31.

The CSA said that the final rules are expected to be similar to proposals that were initially published in March 2020. Those proposals included having clients name a “trusted contact person” that advisors could turn to in circumstances such as suspected financial exploitation or when concerns about a client’s mental capacity arise.

The proposals also sought to enable firms to place temporary holds on transactions in cases of suspected abuse or when there are are concerns about a client’s capacity to make financial decisions.

The proposed amendments were developed along with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada.

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