Fund dealers and investment dealers will face a new, common set of fees in the coming year, after regulators approved the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization’s (CIRO) proposed new integrated fee model.
According to today’s OSC Bulletin, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) approved the self-regulatory organization’s proposed integrated fee model, which adopts a common fee methodology for dealers. It takes effect April 1, for fiscal 2026 (the year ended March 30, 2026).
When CIRO was first created in a merger of the industry SROs it adopted an interim fee structure for fund dealers that was separate from investment dealers and marketplaces.
The new integrated model is being adopted to introduce, “a consistent and harmonized approach to collecting fees … regardless of size or business model.”
CIRO published its proposed model for comment back in April 2024. In response, the SRO made some changes to its proposals, which it deemed to be non-material.
For instance, in response to feedback that complained about planned fees for new member applications — which commenters argued could put a strain on smaller dealers, and potentially become a barrier to entry for smaller firms — CIRO is reducing those fees.
As a result, the new fund dealer application fee will be set at $10,000 (down from the initial proposal of $20,000), new investment dealer applications will cost $30,000 (down from $40,000) and new crypto platform application fees will be $40,000 (down from $60,000).
CIRO initially proposed higher fees for crypto platforms, given that it costs the SRO much more to review those applications.
After reducing that proposed fee, in response to industry feedback, CIRO noted that there would now only be a $10,000 difference between the fee for a new crypto firm and the fee for a traditional investment dealer, “which is still considerably less than the added cost of reviewing [crypto platform] applications.”
CIRO said that it will continue to monitor the costs of reviewing new member applications, and the appropriateness of the associated fees.
“There is an expectation that as time progresses and the industry matures, the time required for regulatory reviews of [crypto platforms] will lessen, and the cadence of [crypto platform] membership applications should slow down,” it also noted.