The Ontario Securities Commission has published a cost-benefit analysis of the value of implementing the National Registration Database.

According to the study, the OSC estimates that the cost of of the NRD over five years will reach $47 million. On the other hand, the OSC forecasts that the benefits resulting from the project will total $85 million in the first phase, with another $41 million added in the second phase of implementation.

The study breaks the benefits down by firm size, estimating a $2,200 benefit per rep for small firms (0-50 employees), declining to $634 per rep for medium-sized firms (51-500 employees), and $264 per rep for large firms (>500).

The biggest benefit is expected to be one-stop shopping. The survey estimates that the ability to register with just one commission will amount to an $11.6 million benefit over five years.

The ability to accept both firm and individual applications online is seen to be worth $9.6 million, and the notion of permanent registration ranked third at $9.1 million.

The study was based on the notion that the NRD adds functionality to the existing registration process, and that examining cost savings alone could not capture the full potential benefit of the system.

Firms were asked to estimate the economic benefit by comparing each feature of the NRD to the present process required for registration. Each feature’s average benefit value per registered rep was multiplied by 102, 000 (total number of unique registrants in Canada, excluding Quebec).

The survey sample included a population of over 700 registrant firms, 131 responded, representing 47,217 reps. Respondents consisted of registered advisors, portfolio managers and dealers.