Canadian Lawyer InHouse

CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 39 A s the percentage of the population in Canada that is either at retirement age or close to it continues to increase, there is a common frustration regardless of the size of one's investment portfolio — trying to read and understand financial disclosures outlining key information. "Something I would like to see is readable documents," says Harold Geller, a lawyer at MBC Law PC in Ottawa. "The print is too small and we are still not communicating in plain English," says Geller, co-leader of the firm's financial loss advisory group and a former member of the Ontario Securities Commission's investor advisory panel. "What is time horizon? Is it the first dollar out or the last dollar out?" Clarity, he says, even if it is something as seemingly obvious as larger type, in print or online, is not a trivial issue. "Readability is the key. It is also your defence and will lessen your litigation risk," he suggests. It is a view echoed by Arthur Fish, a partner at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, es - pecially when dealing with older investors. "Let's get the basics right — the basics of good communication," says Fish, who man- ages the firm's family wealth practice in its Toronto office. Aiming to reduce jargon in written infor- mation provided to investors in the financial services sector and limiting the fine print in these documents is obviously good practice no matter what the age of the client. But these are just a couple of the many issues that are likely to increase in importance at a time when there is an ongoing spike in the number of clients who are considered older investors and a heightened awareness by regulators about the need for a framework to protect these individuals. The latest census in 2016 revealed that nearly six million Canadians are over the age of 65. Almost five million more Cana - dians are in the 55-to-64 age group and not far away from traditional retirement age. It is a huge percentage of the country's overall population and a segment with a wide range of wealth and investment portfolios. "It is good business to be elder friendly," says Laura Tamblyn Watts, national direc - tor of law, policy and research at CARP (formerly known as the Canadian Associa- tion for Retired Persons). "You want to make sure you value these customers or someone else will take these clients," says Tamblyn Watts, a lawyer and former director of the board of the Canadian Foundation for the Advancement of Investor Rights. She explains that good investment advice is just one aspect of showing older cli - ents that you understand and respect their needs. "It can be as simple as having doors [to a meeting room] that are wide enough to get a walker through," she notes. Fish points out another unique aspect related to these groups of investors. "Since people are living longer, we now have two aging generations simultaneously, the baby boomers and their parents," he says. As a result, both regulators and the finan - cial services sector are taking steps to try to reduce the possibility that older or vulner- I n d u s t r y S p o t l i g h t Protecting vulnerable investors As the baby boomers and their parents age, both regulators and the financial services sector are taking steps to try to reduce the possibility that older or vulnerable investors are taken advantage of or provided with negligent advice. BY SHANNON KARI

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