Securities regulators have adopted rule amendments that allow firms to provide links to required disclosures in research reports that are distributed electronically.
The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) issued a notice indicating that the provincial regulators have approved its proposed amendments, which will allow dealers to direct readers to research report disclosures with hyperlinks in reports that are delivered electronically.
“The objective of the amendments is to create a regulatory framework that facilitates the practical and effective disclosure of required information through the use of technology and in a way that promotes the protection of the investing public,” IIROC says in its notice.
The rules still require dealers to include required research disclosures in the body of a report that is paper-based and covers less than six issuers; and, to allow dealers to direct readers to where the disclosures can be found in a report that covers six or more issuers.
Now, under the amended rule, when a dealer distributes research electronically, the report can direct readers to its required disclosures through a hyperlink, regardless of the number of issuers covered in the report.
If a hyperlink is used in a report covering six or more issuers that is paper-based, an additional method of accessing the disclosures must also be provided (such as a toll-free number to call, or a postal address) to ensure that clients who do not have Internet access can still obtain the disclosures, it notes.
The amendments are effective immediately.