Christopher Richter speaks on defining practice areas of financial planning

Partner Christopher Richter spoke with Advisor’s Edge on the new restrictions financial planners and advisors face in Ontario. With Ontario’s Financial Professionals Title Protection Act receiving royal assent, financial advisors and planners must obtain credentials from approved bodies.

In the midst of these changes, Christopher stresses the importance in defining the practice areas of this new regulated sector—vital for the complaints process against advisors, for courts, and for errors and omissions insurers.

“At what point must they provide all the services of a financial planner if they are certified as a financial planner?” Christopher asks. “There’s always a grey line…it’s not a clear demarcation”.

Christopher states that fact-specific situations are where defining these grey lines becomes important.

Distinguishing financial planning is “something that clients have to deal with regularly and call us about. The more general it is in terms of the person’s financial situation, then the more likely it is that it’s financial planning”.

Although there may be overlap when defining professional obligations, Christopher makes one thing clear: the need to define these professions is growing alongside the desire for greater professionalization within financial services.

Christopher, along with the rest of our team, provides insight on developments in litigation and dispute resolution on the relevant practice page.