Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) firm employee compliance requirements

In this article:

Overview

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) is the national self-regulatory organization that oversees investment dealers and trading activity in Canadian debt and equity markets. If you or a member of your household is employed by a CIRO member firm, we're required to obtain written approval from that firm prior to opening a new account for you.

To meet this requirement, the employer's compliance department needs to send Wealthsimple a letter — called a Compliance Letter — authorizing you to open and/or continue holding accounts with us. In most cases, the employer will also ask us to send them copies of your statements (duplicate statements) so they can monitor your trading activity.

If you're not sure whether this applies to you, please check with the employer's compliance department.

Who needs to provide a Compliance Letter

You'll need to provide a Compliance Letter if:

  • You work for a CIRO member firm, or
  • A member of your household works for a CIRO member firm and you hold a Wealthsimple account in your name
Note: Chequing, USD savings, and Registered Savings Accounts don't have investment functionality, so we generally don't generate duplicate statements for them. If the employer requires copies of statements for these accounts, we can accommodate this upon request.

What your Compliance Letter must include

To be accepted, your Compliance Letter must be issued by the employer's compliance department and include the following:

  • The firm's letterhead
  • The date the letter was issued
  • Your full name
  • The name of the regulated person (if that isn't you — for example, if a member of your household is the one employed by the CIRO firm)
  • A statement that the firm authorizes you to open and/or maintain account(s) at Wealthsimple, and one of the following:
    • Confirmation that the authorization covers all current and future accounts you open at Wealthsimple, or
    • A list of the specific accounts the authorization applies to (in this case, a new Compliance Letter will be required each time you open an additional account)
  • All relevant account numbers (here's how to find your account number)
  • A request for Wealthsimple to arrange duplicate statements, including the delivery method (electronic delivery via SendSafely or physical mail) and the email address or mailing address:
    • Electronic delivery is preferred, but physical mail can be offered if needed
    • If your firm doesn't require duplicate statements, this should be stated in the letter so we can accommodate the request
  • A reference to your account(s) being designated as "PRO" (this designation flags your accounts as belonging to a regulated person — the employer's compliance department can confirm whether this applies to you)
  • A signature from a representative at the firm (typically a member of the compliance department, operations, or an executive)
Tip: If an account number on the letter is otherwise correct but is missing the "CAD" or "USD" suffix at the end, we can still accept it.

How to submit your Compliance Letter

Once your firm has prepared the Compliance Letter, you can submit it to us by following these steps:

  1. Log in to your Wealthsimple profile and go to our document upload page
  2. Upload the Compliance Letter
  3. Reply to the email you received from us to let us know the document has been uploaded
Note: Please contact us or reply to the email once your document is uploaded so we can review and process it. We won't be notified automatically when you upload the letter.

If you don't have a copy of the email or you need help, please contact our support team.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Compliance Letter need to be renewed?

No, as long as your firm's authorization stated that it covers all current and future accounts. If the letter only listed specific accounts, you'll need to provide a new letter each time you open a new account.

Can I open accounts at Wealthsimple before submitting the letter?

You can open most accounts, but we won't be able to fully activate them until we receive and review the Compliance Letter. You'll receive an email from us with next steps once your account is flagged.

What if my firm doesn't want duplicate statements?

That's fine — just have your firm indicate in the letter that duplicate statements aren't required. We can accommodate this.

What if I leave my CIRO firm or my household member changes employers?

Please contact our support team so we can update your account designation and stop sending duplicate statements.

Who can I contact if I have questions about the letter?

The firm's compliance department is the best first point of contact for questions about what the letter needs to say. If you have questions about uploading the letter or about your Wealthsimple account, please contact our support team.

Was this article helpful?

Have more questions? Submit a request

Comments

0 comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Update your profile

See more

Reach out for support

Our team is here to help - just get in touch.