October is Investor Education Month. It’s a good time to grab a pumpkin spice latte (if that’s your thing) and take stock of your investor know-how. The Ontario Securities Commission is hosting investor education activities throughout the month to help you make informed financial decisions.

Before you invest, it’s good to know the basics about yourself. This includes your financial readiness, investing goals, time horizon and risk tolerance level.

World Investor Week takes place from Oct. 3 to 9. The OSC is proud to participate in this global initiative of the International Organization of Securities Commissions. The campaign raises awareness about the importance of investor education and protection. It also highlights initiatives of securities regulators in these two critical areas. Themes for this year include investor resilience, fraud prevention, sustainable finance and crypto assets.

One area of focus for World Investor Week is sustainable finance, including environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing. If you are considering ESG investing, be on the lookout for greenwashing. That’s when products are mislabeled or marketed in a misleading way.

We’re hosting a Twitter chat today (Oct. 4) about investing and protecting yourself in uncertain times at 1 p.m. Learn from experts and see what people are saying by following the hashtag #SmartInvestor and our Twitter handle @smarter_money.

Rising costs are making many people second-guess their finances. Our new educational video looks at the impact of inflation on your savings and why it’s still important to save.

OSC CEO to speak at the Economic Club of Canada

Grant Vingoe, CEO of the OSC, will make an address titled “Buyer Aware: Applying essential protections to the crypto world” on Oct. 6 from 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Economic Club of Canada.

Many investments involve the stock market. Find out more about how it works and what makes the price of stocks go up or down.

Investor Protection Conference

“Access to Justice and Fair Outcomes For Harmed Investors” was the theme of the Osgoode Investor Protection Clinic (IPC) conference held on Sept. 8. It marked Osgoode IPC’s fifth anniversary of providing free legal advice to people who believe their investments were mishandled and who cannot afford a lawyer. The conference included a keynote panel with Andrew Kriegler, New SRO CEO, Stan Magidson, CSA Chair, and Grant Vingoe, OSC CEO, and other OSC speakers including directors Tyler Fleming and Jeff Kehoe.

Regulatory Updates & Initiatives

• IIROC and MFDA are seeking members for the inaugural new SRO Investor Advisory Panel. 
• The OSC announced it will be making targeted inquiries to certain public accounting firms that conduct audits of Ontario reporting issuers.
• The OSC is seeking applicants for membership on its Registrant Advisory Committee.
• The CSA is reviewing mutual funds practices that have principal distributor relationships with registrants to distribute their securities.
• The CSA is adopting a new prospectus exemption for issuers listed on a Canadian stock exchange, aimed at providing a more efficient way for them to raise capital.
• The CSA published proposed amendments that would provide an alternative to delivering financial statements and management reports of fund performance for investment fund reporting issuers.

Getting answers to your questions

Find answers to investing questions you might have been too embarrassed to ask. And don’t be shy. You can always ask us a question too.

Warnings & Alerts

Upcoming events