The Small Investor Protection Association says that it supports the brief submitted by the Coalition for the Protection of Investors (Coalition pour la protection des investisseurs) to the Public Finance Committee, as part of the Quebec National Assembly’s consultation on the protection of investors in Quebec.

The coalition says that it is concerned with a growing imbalance between the needs of investors and the functioning of the investment industry. “The aim is to alert the government and the public to the critical changes which have affected pooled investments over the past decade. These changes will fundamentally affect the lifestyle expectations and security of millions of small investors in Quebec and across Canada for generations to come,” SIPA notes.

It reports that the coalition is proposing to establish a saving and investment policy for Quebec that makes all parties fully accountable for their actions. The four main recommendations are: establish an indemnity fund against fraud and fiduciary negligence to provide restitution for victims and help restore investor confidence; restructure and simplify the governance of mutual funds to make both custodians and managers more accountable to investors; provide certification and rating of investment management firms instead of products; and, provide national monitoring of savings and investments to determine financial trends and deliver an annual report.

“We believe that the recommendations of the coalition can improve investor protection,” SIPA says. “Such initiatives could serve not only Québécois investors but all investors across Canada.”

In addition, SIPA recommends that a national Investor Protection Authority be established, with the power to order restitution in cases of investment industry wrongdoing; and, that limitation periods across Canada be reinstated to six years to ensure that investors who have been victimized by investment industry wrongdoing will have sufficient time to access justice.