The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC) has added more resources to its online Vulnerable Investors Resource Centre, a site dedicated to assisting advisors and their firms address the unique needs of senior clients, the industry trade group announced on Thursday.
New materials on the website, which focus on diminished capacity and decision making, share insights and best practices to help advisors recognize the signs of cognitive decline in their clients and understand the steps to safeguard their clients’ financial security. The new materials include a video and accompanying presentation.
“The issue of aging investors and diminished capacity raises challenging legal, regulatory and ethical questions and affects all financial services stakeholders,” says Paul Bourque, president and CEO of IFIC, in a statement. “Our objectives with these new resources are to make advisors more aware of this complex issue and to help them more confidently serve these clients.”
Adds Dr. Carole Cohen, a geriatric psychiatrist at Sunnybrook Health Services Centre, in a statement: “As the population ages, financial advisors will interact with more clients who have diminished decision-making capacity. The materials developed by IFIC provide information to guide advisors in thinking about the concept of capacity as they continue to work to improve their interactions with older investors.”