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A security is a tradable financial asset. The term commonly refers to any form of financial instrument, but its legal definition varies by jurisdiction. In some countries and languages people commonly use the term "security" to refer to any form of financial instrument, even though the underlying legal and regulatory regime may not have such a broad definition. In some jurisdictions the term specifically excludes financial instruments other than equity and fixed income instruments. In some jurisdictions it includes some instruments that are close to equities and fixed income, e.g., equity warrants.
In financial services, a broker-dealer is a natural person, company or other organization that engages in the business of trading securities for its own account or on behalf of its customers. Broker-dealers are at the heart of the securities and derivatives trading process.
Fidelity Investments, formerly known as Fidelity Management & Research (FMR), is an American multinational financial services corporation based in Boston, Massachusetts. Established in 1946, the company is one of the largest asset managers in the world, with $5.8 trillion in assets under management, and $15.0 trillion in assets under administration, as of September 2024, Fidelity Investments operates a brokerage firm, manages a large family of mutual funds, provides fund distribution and investment advice, retirement services, index funds, wealth management, securities execution and clearance, asset custody, and life insurance.
The Canadian Securities Institute is a Canadian organization that offers licensing courses, advanced certifications, continuing education and custom training for financial services professionals in Canada and internationally.
In finance, assets under management (AUM), sometimes called fund under management, refers to the total market value of all financial assets that a financial institution—such as a mutual fund, venture capital firm, or depository institution—or a decentralized network protocol manages and invests, typically on behalf of its clients. Funds may be managed for clients, platform users, or solely for themselves, such as in the case of a financial institution which has mutual funds or holds its own venture capital. The definition and formula for calculating AUM may differ from one entity to another.
A financial planner or personal financial planner is a qualified financial advisor. Practicing in full service personal finance, they advise clients on investments, insurance, tax, retirement and estate planning.
A custodian bank, or simply custodian, is a specialized financial institution responsible for providing securities services. It provides post-trade services and solutions for asset owners, asset managers, banks and broker-dealers. It is not engaged in "traditional" commercial or consumer/retail banking like lending.
A financial adviser or financial advisor is a professional who provides financial services to clients based on their financial situation. In many countries, financial advisors must complete specific training and be registered with a regulatory body in order to provide advice.
The Canadian Securities Administrators is an umbrella organization of Canada's provincial and territorial securities regulators whose objective is to improve, coordinate, and harmonize regulation of the Canadian capital markets.
The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada is a non-profit, national self-regulatory organization (SRO). Established through the merger of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada (IDA) and Market Regulation Services Inc. (RS) on June 1, 2008, IIROC oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity markets in Canada.
The Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI) is the Canadian external dispute resolution organization whose responsibility is to handle the financial disputes of consumers and small businesses that could not be resolved by the customers and the financial firms on their own. The OBSI provides the service on an impartial and independent basis, and free of charge to the consumer as an alternative to the legal system.
The Autorité des marchés financiers is a self-funding government agency responsible for financial regulation in the Canadian province of Quebec. It regulates the province's financial markets and provides assistance to consumers of financial products and services. As provided for under its incorporating legislation, the AMF's mission is to enforce the laws governing the regulation of the financial sector, notably in the areas of insurance, securities, deposit institutions and the distribution of financial products and services.
Securities regulation in Canada is conducted by the various provincial securities commissions and self-regulating organizations (“SRO”) such as the MFDA and IIROC. Securities are issued under the authority and oversight of these bodies with the result that a broad range of rules apply to companies seeking to raise capital and to the parties acting as their agents in such transactions. However, there is a useful simplification that can be applied in Canada to provide some clarity for issuers - based on the criteria below securities issuers fall into two broad categories:
Exempt market dealer (EMD) is a Canadian financial regulatory category of broker-dealer that is allowed to deal in exempt market securities across the country. Unlike other dealer types they have less regulation and are not required be a member of a self-regulatory organization such as the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) but still need to be registered and still have the same know your customer (KYC) requirements as other brokers.
The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) is the securities commission responsible for administering and enforcing securities legislation in the Canadian province of Alberta.
Credential Qtrade Securities Inc., operating as Qtrade, is a stockbrokerage firm based in Vancouver, Canada. It runs the online investment platform Qtrade Direct Investing and robo-advising service Qtrade Guided Portfolios. As of November 2016, it claimed to have $11.5 billion in assets and partnerships with over 150 Canadian credit unions, as well as insurance companies including Sun Life and Great West Life. Like all brokerages and investment dealers, they are members of Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and as such, the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF) protects investors should the brokerage become insolvent.
Securities market participants in the United States include corporations and governments issuing securities, persons and corporations buying and selling a security, the broker-dealers and exchanges which facilitate such trading, banks which safe keep assets, and regulators who monitor the markets' activities. Investors buy and sell through broker-dealers and have their assets retained by either their executing broker-dealer, a custodian bank or a prime broker. These transactions take place in the environment of equity and equity options exchanges, regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), or derivative exchanges, regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). For transactions involving stocks and bonds, transfer agents assure that the ownership in each transaction is properly assigned to and held on behalf of each investor.
The Chambre de la sécurité financière is the self-regulatory organization for representatives subject to Autorité des marchés financiers (Québec) distributing financial products and services, and Financial Planners of Quebec (Canada).
The Bureau des services financiers (BSF) was an organization in the Canadian province of Quebec responsible for the distribution of financial products and services covering the various disciplines defined by the "Act on the distribution of financial products and services": Insurance of persons, group insurance of persons, damage insurance, claims adjudication, financial planning, mutual fund brokerage, brokerage in investment contracts and brokerage in stock exchange plans studies. The BSF was in operation from 1998 to 2004, when its mission was absorbed under the Autorité des marchés financiers (Quebec).
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization is a non-profit, national self-regulatory organization (SRO). Established through the merger of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA) on January 1, 2023, CIRO oversees all investment dealers, mutual funds and trading activity on debt and equity markets in Canada.
References
- ↑ "Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA)". Ontario Securities Commission . Retrieved 2024-12-24.
- ↑ "Membership Statistics | MFDA".
- ↑ "New single Canadian SRO officially launched". 17 May 2023.
- ↑ "CIRO name approved". 18 May 2023.
- ↑ "Home". mfda.ca.
- ↑ "History | Federation of Independent Dealers". Federation of Independent Dealers. Retrieved 2024-12-24.