Scotia Securities Inc. today announced the creation of an independent board of advisors to oversee certain aspects of the operations Scotia Mutual Funds. The board has three independent members, Murray Paton, Rob Bell and Eric Kirzner, who will chair the board.

Kirzner is a professor of finance and John H. Watson Chair in Value Investing at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto. He is the external advisor to jospitals of the Ontario Pension Plan, director of Market Regulation Services Inc., director of University of Toronto Asset Management Corp. and vice chairman of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada equity trading committee.

Bell is president of R S Bell & Associates Ltd. He was a founder and president of BellCharts Inc. and served as president of both the Association of Fellows of the Canadian Securities Institute and the Investment Funds Standards Committee.

Paton, a retired senior partner of Canada’s largest law firm with extensive experience providing financial institutions with advice on corporate, governance and regulatory matters. Paton serves as an officer and director for a number of financial services institutions and other business and not for profit corporations.