Abbreviation MFDA Legal status active | Formation 1998 | |
Type Organizations based in Canada Purpose monitors members for compliance and enforces regulations through quasi-judicial proceedings Headquarters Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) is a Canadian self-regulatory organization (SRO) that provides oversight to dealers that distribute mutual funds and exempt fixed income products. It is licensed under all Canadian provincial securities regulators (except Quebec, where it cooperates with the AMF instead). Its members consist of the distribution side of the industry that typically provide mutual funds and exempt fixed income products to Canadians through financial planners.
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It works in parallel to another Canadian SRO, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), which is responsible for the distribution of equities, ETFs, and other exchange traded products such as closed-end funds.
History
The MFDA was created in June 1998 through an initiative by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) in response to the rapid growth of mutual funds in Canada in the late 1980s.
As of July 2013, it represented 115 mutual fund dealerships. These dealerships represent 81,134 salespeople, and 359.4 Billion dollars in investor assets, commonly referred to as Assets under Administration (AUA).
Purpose and structure
The MFDA regulates the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its Members and their representatives with a mandate to enhance investor protection and strengthen public confidence in the Canadian mutual fund industry.
The mutual fund Dealerships collectively and formally represent themselves to the MFDA through the Federation of Mutual Fund Dealers FMFD.