On January 23, 2024 , the OSC, CIRO and FRSA announced FSRA’s approval of CIRO as a credentialing body under Ontario’s Financial Professionals Title Protection Act, 2019 (FPTPA). The FPTPA and its related framework remains redundant and brings pointless administration for those professionals licensed through the OSC or CIRO.

Though FSRA, the OSC and CIRO’s deal seeks to minimize the impact of a bad situation, it doesn’t eliminate regulatory duplication. CIRO and the OSC already have and use their authority to permit qualified individuals to use ‘Financial Advisor’ and ‘Financial Planner’ titles in Ontario and require that these individuals put their clients’ interests first.

Receiving a FSRA accreditation through CIRO tries to justify too many regulators in the same space. FSRA’s commitment to review the Financial Professionals Title Protection Framework by March 31, 2024 is welcomed, but three is a crowd: FSRA is not needed to evaluate CIRO’s proficiency standards, complaint handling or disciplinary practices. The clear need is exemptions, which are long overdue.