The academic who carried out groundbreaking research on mutual fund fee structures for Canadian regulators has been named to the Ontario Securities Commission’s (OSC) policy advisory group on small firms.

The OSC announced on Wednesday the new members of its Small and Medium Enterprises Committee (SMEC), which advises the regulator’s staff on issues involving small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including their particular operational and capital-raising challenges.

The new edition of the committee includes Douglas Cumming, the professor from the Schulich School of Business that carried out independent research for the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) last year, revealing the impact of fee structures and distribution arrangements on fund sales and returns.

Hard data on the impact of trailer fees

It also features representatives from the Private Capital Markets Association of Canada (PCMA), the National Exempt Market Association (NEMA), and the National Crowdfunding Association of Canada (NCFA), the TSX Venture Exchange, the Canadian Securities Exchange, and assorted lawyers and consultants.

The committee, which is chaired by the OSC’s manager of corporate finance, Jo-Anne Matear, meets approximately five times per year. Its members serve a one-year term.