Insurance And Financial Planning

 

To pursue an outside activity, the advisor must satisfy certain conditions.

  • The advisor must disclose the activity in writing to each firm to which they are attached, if applicable, and notify them of any change (they need not declare every outside activity to the Autorité, only those listed in the tab to this effect).
  • The activity does not put them in a situation of conflict of interest and does not call their objectivity into question.
  • Pursuing this activity will not likely give rise to confusion surrounding the advisor’s duties. For instance, a client who benefits from the advisor’s services as part of an outside activity must not be led to believe that the advisor is pursuing this activity on behalf of a firm.
  • Any privileged or confidential information the advisor has access to as part of the outside activity must not be used in the performance of their duties as an advisor, unless their client has provided their consent in writing.
  • The activity allows them to demonstrate availability and diligence in the pursuit of their duties as an advisor. They may therefore pursue these activities on a part-time basis or pursue an outside activity as long as they remain available and demonstrate diligence towards their clients in financial services.

The advisor must only declare these specific activities to the Autorité if:

  • The activity requires a segregation of clienteles because the advisor is prohibited from soliciting and acting as a financial services advisor for clients for whom they are pursuing the outside activity. For instance, the profession of judge, lawyer, bankruptcy trustee or any other activity that places the advisor in a position of influence.
  • Activities constituting a provision of finance-related services that do not arise from a right to practice. For instance, accounting, financing or money lending services.

The specific rules and list of activities that must be declared to the Autorité des marchés financiers can be found on its website.

After submitting this declaration to the Autorité, the advisor does not need to cease pursuing their outside activities. The Autorité will not contact the advisor if the declaration is complete and complies with regulatory requirements.

The advisor has 30 days to notify the Autorité of any change to their information or any change in a document provided pertaining to these outside activities.

An advisor also registered as per the Securities Act or the Derivatives Act must also declare their activities related to securities or derivatives to each firm to which they are attached. If the firm is also a company for which they act, they can submit a declaration to the National Registration Database (NRD) to meet this obligation. More information about these obligations can be found in the Mutual Funds And Scholarship Plans section.