The Ontario Securities Commission’s Office of the Investor says that regulators will be looking at advisor titles and proficiency requirements as part of their examination of the possibility of imposing a “best interests” standard on financial advisors.

The OSC’s Office of the Investor has published a summary of the results of its consultations with ordinary retail investors so far this year — through its program known as OSC in the Community in 2013, which has been to various cities this year, including Thunder Bay, Kingston, London, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Peterborough and Brampton.

The report touches on a number of familiar issues, including regulators’ efforts to improve disclosure (through the Client Relationship Model (CRM) reforms, and Fund Facts), along with their recent initiative to examine the idea of requiring a statutory best interests duty on advisors. “As part of our analysis of the best interest standard we will consider the impact that advisor titles and proficiency standards have on investor protection,” it says.

These issues were not big features of the Canadian Securities Administrators’ (CSA) original consultation paper, however the lack of regulation of the titles advisors use, and the adequacy of proficiency requirements, were issues raised in roundtables hosted by the OSC over the summer as part of its consultation on the CSA paper. The CSA has indicated that it intends to publish an update on the outcome of its consultations during the fall.

“The provision of fair advice by qualified advisers is a key element that affects investor confidence. An expectation gap exists if investors incorrectly assume that their adviser/dealer must always give advice that is in their best interests,” the Office of the Investor’s report notes. “We are considering the issues around the relationship between financial advisers and their clients and ways to improve this. The key question is whether or not the current standard, requiring advisers to ensure an investment is suitable, offers sufficient investor protection.”

Additionally, the report also notes that it heard from investors that they are concerned about investment fraud, the risk of outliving their savings, and the adequacy of disclosure, in its meetings in various cities around the province. It is planning more of these sessions in the coming months, the report adds, noting that it will be starting with Windsor, Ottawa and Barrie.

“Our increasing engagement with investors has improved our understanding of their needs and has informed how we undertake our outreach and education, regulatory policy, compliance oversight and enforcement work,” it says.