Andrew Auerbach and Jean Blacklock are contributing columnists for The Globe and Mail. They are co-founders of Delisle Advisory Group, an independent wealth management firm serving high-net-worth families.
Firms offering discretionary investment management were often referred to as investment counselling firms. Ones that took decisions from clients were known as brokerages. Firms were generally understood to offer one type of service and not the other. A family of ETFs from Emerge Canada was delisted last year by the Ontario Securities Commission and ordered to liquidate owing to its significant debt. Last month, the Globe and Mailon the part of the founder of brokerage firm Wellington-Altus, which
across the investment industry. The industry must pay close attention to the application of fiduciary standards, given the unique trust clients place in discretionary relationships.