The Canadian Foundation for Advancement of Investor Rights (FAIR Canada) has secured a couple of significant corporate donations.
FAIR Canada, which advocates on behalf of retail investor interests, said Wednesday that it has received funding commitments from Manulife Financial Corp. and Talisman Energy Inc.
Manulife has agreed to donate $300,000 to FAIR over the next three years. The amount from Talisman was not disclosed, with FAIR saying only that it is a “substantial donation”. In both cases, the donations are being made on an arms’ length basis and without conditions.
Earlier this year, FAIR announced the launch of a funding campaign that was initially seeded with a $2 million endowment from the Jarislowsky Foundation, along with additional funding from the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) and the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). FAIR was originally established with funding from IIROC in order to represent investors’ interests with securities regulators and other policymakers.
Commenting on the donation from Manulife, FAIR Canada’s executive director, Neil Gross, said, “Manulife has shown its strong support for a principled approach to policy development through constructive input from all sides. This approach leads to better policy outcomes, benefitting both the investor community and the investment industry. FAIR Canada congratulates Manulife for having the vision and the sincere desire to foster this alignment of interests.”