This story was updated on Dec. 2 with comment from CSI.
The designated financial services advisor (DFSA) credential, overseen by the Canadian Securities Institute (CSI), officially no longer qualifies for use of the “financial advisor” title in Ontario.
As announced in May, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) removed the DFSA — at CSI’s request — as an approved credential under title protection in the province. At that time, a six-month transition period was established so that affected DFSA holders — a “small number,” the regulator said — would have time to obtain another credential.
That transition period ended Friday.
FSRA has removed the DFSA from its approved credentials list. However, as of publication time, the designation still appeared in FSRA’s online registry of credential holders, with 2,079 records.
The DFSA, launched in September 2022 and then approved by FSRA, was described by investor advocates as a rubber stamp for the industry to use the financial advisor (FA) title, given that the credential’s requirements were similar to securities and fund registration requirements.
Then, in January of this year, FSRA approved the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) as a credentialing body, meaning all registered representatives, including mutual fund dealing representatives, could call themselves FAs.
In March, when CSI told FSRA it would no longer administer the DFSA for title protection purposes, licensing accounted for 96.4% of FA credential holders in Ontario, according to FSRA’s registry at the time.
RBC said it requires retail branch employees to have the DFSA if they want to use the FA title, and it will continue to do so.
“While the title can now be used if the advisor is CIRO-licensed as a dealing representative, we believe that having our financial advisors hold a designation brings advanced knowledge beyond the sale of investments to deliver additional value and benefit to our clients,” RBC said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
In addition to licensing, the DFSA requires mutual fund reps to take two other CSI courses.
Across Canada, there are about 4,000 DFSA holders, with about 2,500 in Ontario, a CSI spokesperson said in an email.
“We support clients who wish to maintain the DFSA designation for their financial advisors to ensure competency and reinforce high proficiency standards,” the email said.
RBC further said, “We do not know if other jurisdictions will follow the Ontario model as they implement their titling legislation, and as a national organization, we want to maintain an enterprise approach across all provinces (outside Quebec).” Quebec regulates the “financial planner” title and restricts other titles. No one in the province can call themselves an FA; those in Quebec who sell mutual funds are called “mutual fund dealer representatives.”
Other jurisdictions are taking a wait-and-see approach, with little progress announced on title protection in 2024. The latest development regarding the “financial planner” title in Ontario was a dropped lawsuit on Thursday, which arose from controversy over a FSRA-approved credential.
FSRA’s priorities, outlined in its 2024–27 business plan, include ensuring the “effectiveness of the title protection framework.” A key activity under that priority is publishing a report evaluating the framework and exploring “possible future enhancements.”
In an email, the regulator said it was committed to publishing that report by March 31, 2025.