Many of us were happy to wave good-bye to 2021 for so many reasons. The news was always grim with Covid infection numbers, and heat domes, wild fires, and atmospheric rivers in Western Canada. We have had an exhausting year dealing with the effects of climate change and the inequalities of the Covid pandemic.
It’s not surprising that one of the fastest growing trends in the investment industry is Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investment products. Wait a minute, Ryan has been talking about ESG products for years, am I a trendsetter? I am pleased to say that yes, as the cool kids say, you are an influencer! In fact, it was your early interest in ESG investment products that influenced a change in the way regulators require advisors to speak to their clients about responsible investing.
Last year the Responsible Investment Association (RIA) submitted a proposal to the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (our regulator) that clients’ ESG preferences and personal values be added to your Know Your Client (KYC) document as part of the investment objectives. Ryan has been a proud member of the RIA since 2000.
The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) recently accepted the RIA's proposal. Now, when you update your KYC with Ryan (as many of you have done this past year) part of that update process will a conversation on your ESG preferences – a conversation that Ryan is quite happy to have.
Below is an excerpt from the updated rules below:
“Dealers should provide their clients with the opportunity to express their investment needs and objectives in terms that are meaningful to them, such as saving for retirement to maintain a certain lifestyle, increasing wealth by a certain percentage in a specific number of years, investing for the purchase of a home, investing for the post-secondary education of their children, or investing in accordance with environmental, social and governance criteria or other personal preferences.” Know-your-client and suitability determination for retail clients | IIROC Section 2.3.3 Client’s investment needs and objectives
If you are interested in learning more about where your own environment, social and governance values lay, why not take our responsible investment questionnaire. After a year like 2021 you might be surprised to see your interests have changed. Give us a call or drop us an email.
