Speaking to the Standing Senate Committee on Banking, Trade and Commerce today, David Brown, chair of the Ontario Securities Commission, said regulators must do more to protect retail investors as financial consumers.

Brown focused his remarks on the OSC’s Investor Town Hall, held on May 31 in Toronto. “The Town Hall underscored the fact that too often the system that’s supposed to address the grievances of investors has been a source of frustration instead,” he noted. “Many investors don’t know where to turn. Among many who have that knowledge, there’s a lack of trust.”

“While securities regulators have made it a priority to pursue investor protection issues-such as corporate governance-it’s increasingly apparent that there’s a need to place more emphasis on providing protection to the investor as a consumer of financial services,” Brown said. “We have to make sure that the system can respond to investors who have legitimate grievances. We have to make sure that investors are able to access the system easily. But first we have to identify what issues are important to investors.”

Brown suggested the first Town Hall was a start, and that it’s planning to provide more opportunities for input from investors. At an industry conference on Tuesday, OSC executive director Charlie Macfarlane revealed the OSC plans to set up a consumer advisory panel, among the various industry panels it already runs.

He noted the system should be made easier to navigate, that investors find it to be fragmented and complex; it’s exploring a workable mechanism, which would allow investors to pursue restitution in a timely and affordable manner; that it’s recommending the Ontario government reconsider its new act, imposing a two-year limitation period, applies to all actions.

“One of the most important results of the Town Hall was the validation of dialogue. Investors have a right to relate their experiences and views to the organizations responsible for protecting their rights, and to hold us accountable in a public forum. Regulators need to hear their stories, in their own words,” he concluded. “This wasn’t the last OSC Investor Town Hall. It will become a regular event-to provide an opportunity for constructive dialogue between consumers and regulators.”