IIROC's Online Resource Centre Promotes Financial Literacy and Investor Knowledge

November is Financial Literacy Month

TORONTO, Nov. 1, 2013 /CNW/ - The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) is kicking off Financial Literacy Month today by participating in a national launch in Ottawa where it will showcase investor education resources it has created for Canadians.

At a special event hosted by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC), IIROC joined other organizations to raise awareness and promote financial literacy across generations.

"Financial Literacy Month is an opportunity for Canadians to stop and think about their financial goals and whether they have the knowledge and information needed to make informed decisions," said IIROC President and Chief Executive Officer, Susan Wolburgh Jenah.

In time for this year's Financial Literacy Month, IIROC launched an online Glossary of Financial Certifications to help Canadians make sense of the wide range of certifications in use.   IIROC is partnering with Better Business Bureau to distribute 40,000 bookmarks throughout the country to inform the public about this new service.  It is also highlighting IIROC's popular AdvisorReport, another online searchable database that enables investors to check the backgrounds and disciplinary history when selecting or working with an advisor at an IIROC-regulated firm.

"IIROC offers terrific resources that will help consumers make smarter investment decisions and avoid scams," said Spencer Nimmons, Vice President of Business Relations for the Council of Better Business Bureaus (CBBB). "BBB is pleased to be part of this effort, and we look forward to working with IIROC to get these materials into the hands of consumers across the country."

Also in time for Financial Literacy Month, IIROC is continuing to partner for its second year with Junior Achievement of Central Ontario (JACO) to educate and motivate young people about financial literacy.  IIROC staff volunteers will be in several Greater Toronto Area classrooms on November 7, 2013, to teach for one full school day in JA's Economics for Success program.

"Junior Achievement of Central Ontario is delighted that IIROC has chosen once again to partner with us where IIROC staff get a chance to share their knowledge and experience in a classroom environment and make a meaningful difference in the lives of young people," said Jane Eisbrenner, President and Chief Executive Officer of JACO.

IIROC's full suite of investor education tools and resources includes:

• Online investor resource centre featuring brochures, webcasts and online tutorials;
• How to check the background, education and disciplinary history of an advisor working for an IIROC-regulated firm online through AdvisorReport;
• Making sense of commonly used financial certifications in Canada and understanding what it takes to achieve them by accessing IIROC's online Glossary of Financial Certifications;
• Learning how trading works with "IIROC's Guide to Trading on Equity Markets"
• How to make a complaint to a firm or to IIROC directly;
• Exploring the range of dispute resolution options available to help investors when they are seeking compensation;
• Best practices and insights from international financial literacy and investor education practitioners who participated in the 2013 global conference, hosted by IIROC in June, 2013.

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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.

FACT SHEET

November 2013

IIROC Financial Literacy and Investor Education Initiatives

Mandate

• Protecting investors is core to IIROC's mandate and investor education is an important element of investor protection. IIROC offers a suite of investor education tools and resources to help investors make informed decisions.

IIROC Online Tools

• NEW - IIROC's Glossary of Financial Certifications - The glossary is a free, easy-to-use service that helps investors sort through the large number of certifications in use by financial professionals, and understand what it takes to achieve them. Investors can access information about 42 commonly used financial certifications in the Canadian financial services industry in one central location.
• IIROC AdvisorReport - This popular resource provides background information about advisors at IIROC-regulated firms to help investors when they are choosing or using an advisor. Each report 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 history, if any, with direct links to related documents.
• IIROC's Guide to Trading on Equity Markets - This interactive guide is designed to help investors understand the rules and mechanics involved in trading. The guide features lessons about trading on different marketplaces, the benefits and risks of using different order types, how orders are executed and filled and the rules that protect investors.
• IIROC Website - IIROC's website has an investor-dedicated centre with additional information and resources.

IIROC Brochures

• Opening Your Retail Account - provides investors with detailed information on required documentation and personal information during the account application process.
• An Investor's Guide to Making a Complaint - gives investors information on how to make a complaint to IIROC and an IIROC-regulated firm.
• Why IIROC Matters to You, the Investor - informs investors about IIROC's regulatory mandate and responsibilities and its role in investor protection.

IIROC Partnerships

• Better Business Bureau (BBB) - In 2013, IIROC launched a partnership with BBB to distribute investor-related materials including 40,000 bookmarks to consumers across the country to raise awareness about the Glossary of Financial Certifications and AdvisorReport.
• Funny Money - IIROC began sponsoring Funny Money in 2009 to help expand the program nationally, in conjunction with the Investor Education Fund. This award-winning program teaches financial literacy through highly interactive, entertaining and humourous presentations using language and scenarios to which senior high school students can relate. The program provides lessons on saving, budgeting, debt management and investing by using real-life scenarios to teach youth about  spending habits, the dangers of credit card debt and the benefits of saving and investing.
• Junior Achievement (JA) - In 2012, IIROC kicked off a corporate partnership with Junior Achievement that saw IIROC staff in Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto, spend one full day in local schools teaching the JA Economics for Success Program. In 2013, a number of IIROC Toronto employees will be in several Greater Toronto Area classrooms to share their knowledge and experience to educate and motivate young people about financial literacy.
• Social and Enterprise Development Innovations (SEDI) - IIROC has partnered with the non-profit group, SEDI, in developing a financial literacy framework. SEDI has been able to use IIROC's support to create and distribute a resource kit of evaluation tools that organizations can use to monitor and improve community-based financial literacy programs.
• IOSCO Gateway Initiative - IIROC recently participated in the International Organization of Securities Commissions' Investor Education Gateway initiative on IOSCO's website. This new online tool contains investor education materials from many of IOSCO's members, including IIROC, and aims to enhance the sharing of information among members and the public.
• Canadian Foundation for the Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR) - IIROC supports FAIR Canada, a national non-profit investor advocacy organization.

IIROC Events

IIROC participates in events designed to promote investor education and financial literacy, including Fraud Prevention Month in March and Financial Literacy Month in November.

• In 2013, IIROC was pleased to take part in a national launch of Financial Literacy Month hosted by the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada (FCAC) in Ottawa, where IIROC joined other organizations to raise awareness and promote financial literacy across generations.
• IIROC is a member of the International Forum for Investor Education (IFIE) and was proud to host the fifth IFIE-IOSCO Global Investor Education Conference in Toronto in June 2013. Click here to read more about the best practices and insights from international financial literacy and investor education practitioners who participated.
• IIROC is participating in the 2013 Morningstar Canadian Investment Awards as a juror for the IFIC Investor Education Award.

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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 by creating and enforcing rules regarding the proficiency, business and financial conduct of dealer firms and their registered employees and through the creation and enforcement of market integrity rules regarding trading activity on Canadian marketplaces.

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