Financial Literacy Month: IIROC encourages investors to use advisor database to help in making informed decisions

TORONTO, Nov. 1, 2012 /CNW/ - The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) is promoting its online IIROC AdvisorReport educational tool during Financial Literacy Month as a way to help investors when they are choosing or using an advisor.

Since IIROC launched this free service in 2010, members of the public and investment industry and other stakeholders have generated more than 113,000 IIROC AdvisorReports, which detail the backgrounds of the more than 22,000 investment advisors at over 200 IIROC-regulated investment firms in Canada.

IIROC is participating in today's national launch of Financial Literacy Month in Ottawa, by distributing investor resources and a new bookmark promoting the IIROC AdvisorReport service. The event is hosted by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC).

"Protecting investors is core to IIROC's mandate and investor education is an important element of investor protection," said Susan Wolburgh Jenah, IIROC President and CEO.

Investors need access to relevant information and tools to help them make informed decisions. The IIROC AdvisorReport is a popular and easily-accessible online tool that is helping investors in making informed choices about working with individuals at IIROC-regulated firms.

Each IIROC AdvisorReport provides information about an advisor's educational qualifications, employment history with IIROC-regulated firms, the services and products that he or she is approved by IIROC to offer and a record of disciplinary cases, if any, with direct links to related documents.

Other investor education tools and resources available on IIROC's website include brochures, webcasts and online tutorials on:

• How to make a complaint to your firm, or to IIROC directly;
• Exploring the range of dispute resolution options available to help investors when they are seeking compensation; and
• Learning how trading works with "IIROC's Guide to Trading on Equity Markets."

IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada.  Created in 2008 through the consolidation of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada and Market Regulation Services Inc., IIROC sets high quality regulatory and investment industry standards, protects investors and strengthens market integrity while maintaining efficient and competitive capital markets.

IIROC carries out its regulatory responsibilities through setting and enforcing rules regarding the proficiency, business and financial conduct of dealer firms and their registered employees and through setting and enforcing market integrity rules regarding trading activity on Canadian equity marketplaces.

SOURCE: Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) - General News