Contact
Executive Summary
Dealer Members are required to provide CIRO with written notice of certain business changes, under the Investment Dealer and Partially Consolidated Rules and the Mutual Fund Dealer Rules, as applicable. For example, Members are required to notify CIRO of proposed ownership changes. Also, Investment Dealer Members must notify CIRO before any material changes to their business activities. These Member submissions need to contain the information and supporting materials necessary for CIRO to assess the proposed change.
CIRO is pleased to announce enhancements to the tools available for Members to prepare notices of material changes in business activities (for Investment Dealer Members only) and notices of proposed ownership changes. The new or updated tools for Members are intended to increase efficiencies for Members, provide greater transparency on the information and materials considered in CIRO’s review, and reduce unnecessary processing delays as the completeness and quality of the notice will impact the timeliness of CIRO’s review of the Member’s proposal.
A webcast outlining these tools and their benefits will also be made available soon.
Updated Tools and Templates
The following new or enhanced tools are designed to assist Members in preparing a comprehensive submission, making it possible for CIRO to commence its review without delay.
For Investment Dealer Members (ID Members)
1. Notice of Material Business Change (updated)
The Request for Business Change tool has been renamed Notice of Material Business Change and updated with more targeted questions regarding the ID Member’s proposal and the infrastructure that the ID Member has in place to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.
2. Supplemental Tools & Checklists (new)
Below are newly developed tools and checklists designed to assist ID Members in preparing supplementary materials to support their Notice of Material Business Change.
- Policy Review Checklist: This tool assists ID Members in assessing the impact of the proposed business change to their policies and procedures (P&P) and organize how those P&P changes are included in the Member’s Notice of Material Business Change.
- Financial and Operational Tools & Checklists: These tools assist ID Members in preparing information and materials to support business changes that pertain to the following:
- Fully Paid Lending
- Uniform Subordinated Loan Agreement (USLA)
- Introducing / Carrying Broker Agreements
- Outsourcing Agreements
- Internal Control Policies Rule Reference Tables
3. Notice of Ownership Change – Investment Dealer (new)
ID Members are required to notify CIRO in writing of any change of ownership of the Member or its holding companies, and in certain cases, obtain prior CIRO approval. We are pleased to introduce the Notice of Ownership Change (Investment Dealer) tool to assist ID Members in providing the required notice to CIRO.
For Mutual Fund Dealer Members (MFD Members)
1. Notice of Ownership Change – Mutual Fund Dealer (new)
Mutual Fund Dealer Rule 8.4 requires MFD Members to obtain prior approval from CIRO before permitting an investor, alone or together with its associates and affiliates, to own: (i) a “significant equity interest” in the Member; or (ii) special warrants or any other securities that are convertible or exchangeable at any time in the future, into a “significant equity interest” in the Member. We are pleased to introduce the Notice of Ownership Change tool to assist MFD Members in providing the required notice to CIRO.
Service Standards
In conjunction with the enhanced tools for Members, we are also pleased to announce newly established service standards associated with CIRO’s processing of new Member applications and material business changes for current Members. These service standards set out the expected response timelines by CIRO staff to Member (or applicant) submissions to CIRO for these two types of membership transactions.
For information on the service standards, please visit the Notice of Business Changes and Becoming a Dealer Member pages of the CIRO website.
Webcast
We will be publishing a webcast soon to discuss these developments in more detail. The webcast will be eligible for Continuing Education (CE) credits and an Education Bulletin will be issued once the webcast is available to view.