OSC flags portfolio manager with 600 clients per advisor
Bank branches, suspensions and new cost reports
The OSC and CIRO are now examining five large bank-affiliated mutual fund dealers, a review that began in November 2024 after a media report of high-pressure sales practices at some bank branches. The examinations look at pay and incentive practices and the related conflict controls. The OSC says it will share more later in 2026.
Eight Director’s decisions were published during the fiscal year. The Director suspended the registrations of exempt market dealer Ternion Financial Services Inc. and Alison Travers after staff raised concerns about a product that, in the Registrant Conduct Team’s view, appeared to have several characteristics of an RRSP strip scheme. In a settlement involving Bellwether Investment Management Inc., Robert Sewell admitted that, on one occasion, he moved shares of the firm’s thinly traded parent from taxable accounts held by himself and his mother into non-taxable accounts at $0.37 per share instead of the most recent price of $1.35.
Client Relationship Model Phase 3 amendments took effect January 1, 2026, and the first annual reports under the new total cost reporting rules are due in 2027 for the year ending December 31, 2026.
“Evolving markets require an equally adaptive approach to oversight,” said Matthew Onyeaju, senior vice president of RIE at the OSC. “This year, we strengthened our supervisory toolkit through targeted reviews, greater engagement with industry and the thoughtful adoption of technology, all while keeping investor protection at the centre of our work.”
The full text of OSC Staff Notice 33-762 is available at https://www.osc.ca/en/securities-law/instruments-rules-policies/3/33-762/osc-staff-notice-33-762-registration-inspections-and-examinations-division-2026-annual-report.
