SIPA
Small Investor Protection Association
a voice for small investors
Consumer AdvocatesThere are many individuals who are taking action to address the issues effecting small investors. This section provides information on individuals or groups who are fighting for the small investor and consumer/investor protection. SIPA does not control the linked sites and is not responsible for the content, including, without limitation, the truthfulness or accuracy of any statement or other content, of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site. SIPA has not reviewed the information contained in the linked sites and does not endorse the companies, products or sites to which it links. If you decide to access any of the third party sites linked to our site, you do this entirely at your own risk. Canadian Fund WatchThis web site is dedicated to investment fund investor education and protection. The multi-billion fund industry plays a key role in the savings and retirement plans of millions of Canadians. Many industry practices provide beartraps for the unsuspecting investor and securities regulations have not kept up with the pace of change in the industry. Crimes of PersuasionCrimes of Persuasion - Schemes, Scams and Frauds. A writer with a mission to inform the public, along with law enforcement personnel, justice officials and victim support groups, on the workings and scope of telemarketing and investment fraud, so that efforts can effectively be taken to minimize the impact on its victims, and ensure that adequate penalties are in place to deter the perpetrators.
FAIR (Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform)FAIR (Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform) promotes integrity and accountability within government by empowering employees to speak out without fear of reprisal when they encounter wrongdoing. FAIR's aim is to support legislation and management practices that will provide effective protection for whistleblowers and hence occupational free speech in the workplace. Founded in 1998 by Joanna Gualtieri, FAIR is a registered Canadian charity, run by volunteers. The Executive Director David Hutton is supported by an eminent Advisory Board which includes David Kilgour, David Swann, Gerard Seijts and Robert Stenhouse. Contact FAIR at: David Hutton, Executive Director FAIR CanadaThe mission of FAIR Canada is to be a national voice for investors in
securities regulation and a catalyst for enhancing the rights of Canadian
shareholders and individual investors. FAIR Canada will seek to advance the interests of investors and the integrity and fairness of Canadian capital markets, among other things, by:
Fund DemocracyFund Democracy was founded by Mercer Bullard in the United States. Fund Democracy's purpose is to serve as an advocate and information resource for mutual fund shareholders. Fund Democracy's advocacy program is multi-faceted. Fund Democracy publishes articles that target mutual fund practices, policies and rules that are harmful to fund shareholders. Fund Democracy also formulates advocacy initiatives and, with the support of a consortium of consumer groups, seeks to effectuate reforms that will benefit mutual fund shareholders. These initiatives include submitting comment letters on rule proposals, asking for hearings on requests for exemptions from fund regulations, lobbying federal and state legislators, submitting rulemaking petitions, filing briefs as a friend of the court in cases that may affect mutual fund shareholder interests, and participating in selected litigation on a pro bono basis. Investor Advisory PanelThe Ontario Securities Commission’s Investor Advisory Panel was formed in August 2010. The Panel is an initiative by the OSC to enable investor concerns and voices to be represented in its rule and policy making process. The panel's mandate centers upon written submissions to the OSC that we will provide regarding various regulatory initiatives including proposed rules and policy statements. The panel is committed to functioning independently from the Commission and will continue to discharge responsibilities with this objective in mind. In addition, the panel is committed to making the process transparent, which is accomplished by posting the agendas and minutes from each of the meetings and posting information notices from time to time to inform the investor community of the issues that are being considered and to request input from you. Investor Advocates - ForumA forum has been created at www.investoradvocates.ca to discuss topics and issues related to investing. It is refreshing to see a forum to publish comment when so much of the communication through the media is controlled by the establishment. This forum seems to be responsibly run and provides a lot of excellent commentary on issues effecting investors. It's worth a visit. InvestorVoice.caThis website provides a critical view of the Self Regulatory Organizations in the Canadian Securities Industry. The website is well organized and in addition to commentary it provides a wealth of factual information. There are a number of sections including "Media" with the latest news articles, "Cases" providing the full text of decisions, "The Law" providing the full text of some applicable legislation, and a "Search" mechanism enabling a site search for particular information. This is an excellent source as a reference for investors and investor advocates. Investorism.comJoe Killoran is a former stockbroker and now a dedicated investor advocate promoting a one page checklist for the sale of mutual funds. Killoran was the first person to report Dino DeLellis to the Ontario Securities Commission back in 1995. An article Charges Provide Small Comfort in the London Free Press by Shelly Lawson on May 7, 1999, says: "For London and area investors who have lost millions of dollars and face uncertain financial futures, charges announced yesterday by the RCMP against three prominent Londoners are small comfort. Killoran, a former stockbroker and Londoner now living in Oshawa, first reported the practices of former mutual fund salesperson Dino DeLellis to the Ontario Securities Commission in 1995. DeLellis, 38, who was eventually fined $50,000 for tax evasion by Revenue Canada in 1997 and banned from selling securities by the OSC in 1998, will appear in court June 24 to face criminal charges for receiving a secret commission. Killoran has been lobbying for years for more investor education, better up-front disclosure about commissions, trailer fees and the salesperson's track record with the securities commission. He also wants to see a mandatory code of ethics for sales people and a requirement that, like physicians, they must report unethical practitioners." Money Managed ProperlyThis Tamris Consultancy website is dedicated towards improving the structure and quality of wealth and asset management for the private investor; to creating a competitive financial services market place; to educating those in positions of responsibility about the reality of and the need for the integration of the management of assets and the management of financial needs. StrombergMs. Glorianne Stromberg, former OSC Commission and securities litigator is one of Canada's best investor advocates. Her report Investment Funds in Canada and Consumer Protection - Strategies for the Millennium prepared for the Office of Consumer Affairs, Industry Canada in October 1998 is a definitive work detailing the problems for small investors and recommending solutions. Jonathan Chevreau writes in the Financial Post on September 25, 2004 "Regulators miss the real fund scandals - Conflicts of interest, high fees hurt more than late trading". In this article Jonathan writes "the commodity being sold by the investment industry is supposed to be quality objective advice meant to improve the financial well-being of its clients. That's why investor advocates make such an issue over trust and fiduciary responsibility. Stromberg says the bottom line is that by condoning practices that put their interests ahead of investors, the fund industry 'is breaching the trust that it has long encouraged investors to place in it. They are losing the right to claim that they act with integrity.' " WhistleblowersPrime Time Crime provides an outline of Whistleblowers, or TruthTellers as we prefer to call them, and their experience when they came forward to tell the truth. SIPA believes that legislation to protect all Canadians when they are prepared to come forward to tell the truth is an essential part of regulatory reform. The financial services industry is so large and complex that it is impossible to mobilize a regulatory system that can adequately monitor all the activity to identify wrongdoing. It is improbable that an industry where wrongdoing appears to be systemic can be expected to reform without strong encouragement. Enforcement of regulations can only be accomplished if regulators can identify breaches. Encouraging honest individuals to report misdeeds without fear of reprisal will enable regulators to function effectively. TruthTeller protection is an essential ingredient for an effective regulatory system.
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