The Exempt Market Dealers Association of Canada (EMDA) will be working with the IFSE Institute, wholly owned by the Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC), to revise and update the content for the Exempt Market Products (EMP) course, the two groups said Thursday.
The IFSE EMP is the only prescribed proficiency course focused on the exempt market in Canada and it is designed for individuals seeking registration as dealing representatives and chief compliance officers of exempt market dealers.
“We believe education is key to a successful exempt market industry and the EMP course is the essential starting point in developing industry expertise and ultimately to investor protection,” said Brian Koscak, EMDA chairman
“IFSE and its parent company, the Investment Funds Institute of Canada, have played a major role in financial services education for many years and we are delighted to be working with them to reinforce the learning opportunities in the exempt market,” he added.
The EMDA will consider the feedback of industry, regulators and the public to assess the EMP course and identify areas of improvement and areas of new focus. The association expects to add entirely new content and update other areas based on the increasing complexity of exempt market products and the rapid development of the exempt market across Canada.
“The EMP course has been very successful since it was introduced in 2009 as the exempt market dealer category was implemented across Canada and we continuously strive to improve the content of the course and exam as the needs of industry and the market evolve,” said John Parker, executive director of the IFSE Institute.
The IFSE Institute will continue to administer the EMP exam based on the new EMDA-IFSE course curriculum and IFSE and the EMDA will be developing a new series of EMP exam preparatory seminars and exam tools to accompany the release of the new EMP course.