The Investment Dealers Association is raising its entrance and membership fees.

The entrance fee jumps from $5,000 to $25,000. The IDA says that studies have shown that the current fixed entrance fee is generally not adequate to cover the costs associated with reviewing a membership application.

The overall minimum fee has been increased from $10,000 to $25,000 per year, subject to an exception. The exception is, where a member firm has total IDA costs of less than $20,000 for the immediately preceding fiscal year, the member’s annual fee will be $15,000.

The IDA says that it is believed that by raising the fees, they will be more closely aligned with the cost of regulating, and the provision of services to each firm.

It says that a significant amount subsidization by a few member firms still exists under the new fee formula. It has estimated that even for the smallest dealer category, the estimated costs of regulation average in excess of $34,000 annually.