The funds industry should not shy away from greater transparency, more competition, and enhanced investor protection efforts, said Investment Funds Institute of Canada chairwoman Brenda Vince at the association’s annual conference on Thursday.

Vince stressed that the role of IFIC is, “To take a leadership role in encouraging debate among members on issues that would enhance the overall competitiveness and longer term health of the industry.

“If one of those issues is to encourage an expanded range of pricing options for mutual fund product than what is broadly available today, then we should consider IFIC’s role,” she said. “If trust in mutual fund product overall would be enhanced in the market with more transparency in pricing, then we as an association that has actively chosen to continue to represent both managers and dealers should not hide from the questions. We should ensure that the debate is fair, accurate and fully represents the value of advice and advisors.

“Others will carry on the debate without us, sometimes with inaccurate or incomplete information, if we as an industry are not prepared to speak to each other, regulators and our unit holders about how mutual fund managers and advisors are paid for their services,” she noted.

Vince also said that the fund industry, “Must acknowledge that overall cost–effective consumer protection that supports ongoing trust in our products is very important for the ongoing health of our industry. If there are a limited number of business practices that, while fully allowed from a regulatory perspective, should be actively discouraged with consumers best interests in mind, we should take more specific steps to address them industry wide. Trust in our product and advice will be enhanced if we do.”

She pointed out that competition has benefited consumers in most other industries, “The same applies to the mutual fund industry. We compete against one another on such factors as performance, value for money, the range and quality of solutions and service. And we compete against alternative products whose presence compels us to improve our own offering or rightfully lose balances to them. In each case, the end result of healthy and reasonably regulated competition can and should be satisfied consumers who make informed decisions in pursuit of their financial objectives.

“During the past year IFIC’s board has worked very hard to lead the process of change. We’ve strengthened the way IFIC operates. We’ve increased and improved the dialogue with our internal and external stakeholders. And we’ve worked hard to consider the interests of investors along with those of industry members,” Vince concluded. “Looking forward, I believe we have cause to be confident as we work together in pursuit of our shared objectives. The best way to deal with a changing environment is to lead that change rather than be led by it. Our industry is too large, our members are too talented and our investors too important for us to take a back seat in shaping our future.”