Download PDF:
August 2024 Advocacy Newsletter
Summary:
Timely, accurate, and decision-useful corporate disclosures are the lifeblood of our public capital markets. CFA charterholders rely on them to perform financial analyses and make investment decisions and recommendations for their firms and clients. The laws that define public companies’ disclosure obligations are the subject of a case now before the Supreme Court of Canada, which is expected to be heard in the coming months. Among the arguments being presented to the court is that public companies’ obligation to make prompt disclosure of material changes to their business, capital, and operations ought to be read much more narrowly than reflected in current market practice. If the court accepts these arguments, this could have significant, negative implications for the efficiency of our public markets.
It is for this and other reasons that CFA Societies Canada sought leave to intervene as a friend of the court, and present a perspective on the issues raised in the case that is informed by charterholders’ experience using and relying on public companies’ disclosures in their work. This is an avenue for advocacy that we haven’t tried before, but I’m pleased to say it’s yielding positive results—the court accepted the request to intervene earlier this month. Seasoned counsel, working pro bono, are currently at work on submissions to the court. I’m grateful to CFA Societies Canada Board Chair Ron Schwarz, CFA, and Managing Director Michael Thom, CFA, for their leadership in this matter, and look forward to continuing to follow the progress of the appeal.