Your investing questions, our clear answers.

Our response:

We are not able to provide advice, or suggest the names of online investment firms. However, companies and individuals that offer investment advice or sell investments must be registered to provide these services in the province or territory where they operate.

Always check the registration of any person or business trying to sell you an investment or give you investment advice. Take steps to better protect yourself by checking registration before you invest and knowing the common warning signs of investment fraud. Use the Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Registration Search to check the registration.

Since all firms registered as Investment Dealers are members of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC), which is a self-regulatory organization, another option is to review the list of IIROC dealer members on their website.

Being registered is not a guarantee that the person you deal with will always give you good advice or act ethically. Carefully choose who you invest with, and ask these questions before you invest with a new advisor.