Trusted Contact Person Reforms in the Financial Sector

  • December 11, 2021
  • Harold Geller, MBC Law Professional Corporation

At long last the regulatory community is taking steps to protect our elders.  Not all financial regulators have taken meaningful action, but there is progress and the regulatory leaders are being watched by the laggards.  The most recent steps is by the consortium of Canadian Securities Administrators (“CSA”) with their Trusted Contact Person reforms (“TCP”).

The TCP reforms aim to protect older and vulnerable investors from both diminishing mental capacity and financial exploitation.  There are two parts:

  1. securities dealers and their advisors now must take reasonable steps to obtain from the client the name and contact information of a TCP that the dealers and advisors can reach out to on the client’s behalf about diminishing mental capacity or potential financial exploitation. This requirement is technically an amendment to National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations and Companion Policy 31-103, and