JASON HEATH | Special to the Financial Post | Published April 10, 2012
Ontario sent a clear message to Ottawa in the provincial budget last week, raising several concerns about the current Pooled Registered Pension Plan (PRPP) proposal that was tabled at the federal level in 2011. Of particular note was the comment that it “is unclear if PRPP’s fiduciary framework adequately protects plan members.”
For those of you who don’t know what a fiduciary is, it comes from the Latin wordfiducia and describes an ethical relationship between two parties where one party is in a vulnerable position (like a consumer) and another in a position of confidence (like a financial advisor). A fiduciary is expected to act in the best interest of the party who has trusted them.
The intention of this article is not to debate the true nature of Canadian financial advisors’ fiduciary responsibility, success or lack thereof. But suffice to say it speaks volumes when Parliament suggests that the PRPP model, to be overseen by the broader financial industry, may not “adequately protect” Canadians.
