Self-regulatory organizations are set to propose new complaint-handling rules, and securities regulators are working on an electronic system to provide registration information, Susan Wolburgh Jenah, president and CEO of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, told investors in Toronto last night.

The Investor Forum, hosted by the IDA, the Ontario Securities Commission, the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada, and the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments, marked the second town hall meeting between regulators and investors.

In her remarks, Wolburgh Jenah provided an update on actions taken in response to the first meeting held two years ago.

She noted that last December both the IDA and the MFDA issued notices to provide guidance to firms on how they could improve the clarity and consistency of communications with investors who filed complaints. This is to be followed by proposed new standards on complaint handling for IDA and MFDA firms.

Under these new standards firms would be required to: facilitate access to their complaint handling process; provide a specific point of initial contact for complaints; have procedures in place so that its senior management is made aware of complaints of serious alleged misconduct; and, set deadlines, so that they must send an initial response to a complainant within five business days, and a follow-up response within a specified period (the IDA is proposing 90 days; the MFDA has proposed six months).

“We’ve told our members that we attach a high priority to this initiative and alerted them to our expectations. We encourage you to participate in the public comment process on the new proposed standards,” she said.

Wolburgh Jenah also noted that the IDA has a project underway to improve its investor information service. “We are working to develop a fully automated electronic information service that will provide more detailed information about registrants’ qualifications and background,” she said, adding, “And, the CSA is working toward a central registry that would contain all of the decisions by commissions and SROs across the country.”

The other changes include new and improved brochures on a variety of issues, and efforts by the regulators to better co-ordinate their complaint handling.