Fund and asset management · Provincial securities commissions
Canadian portfolio manager and investment fund manager registration
Canada regulates asset management provincially, with registration categories for portfolio managers and investment fund managers and a coordinated passport system that lets a firm registered in its principal province operate more easily in the others. The capital base, particularly the pension plans, is globally significant.
The regulator
Each provincial securities commission administers registration, with the principal regulator taking the lead under the passport system. Proficiency requirements for individuals are specific and prescriptive, and they are enforced at the individual level rather than the firm level.
What the licence permits
Regulated under the Provincial securities commissions
- Provide discretionary portfolio management to Canadian clients
- Act as investment fund manager for Canadian funds
- Approach some of the largest pension allocators in the world
- Operate across provinces under the coordinated passport system
Who it suits
Managers raising from Canadian pension and institutional capital, and firms building a genuine Canadian client base.
Market access
Access across Canadian provinces through the passport system, from a principal regulator in the home province.
What to weigh
Individual proficiency requirements are strict and cannot be satisfied at firm level, so the team has to be built to fit them. Quebec adds language and local requirements of its own.
We run the Canada application end to end
Whether you build from new or acquire an existing licensed entity, BrokLicense handles incorporation, the regulator application, the AML and compliance framework, safeguarding and banking arrangements, and the operating stack. You stay the principal. We do the work, in confidence, and stay on for compliance once you are live.
Cost, capital, and timelines depend on your model and are set out in a first consultation, under NDA, not published here.
Other permissions in Canada
Related reading
- Fund Manager or Investment Firm? Choosing the Right Asset-Management AuthorisationManaging mandates and managing funds are different regulated activities under different regimes. Applying under the wrong one costs a year and a rejection.
- The MiFID Investment Firm Licence: What the Permissions Actually CoverA MiFID licence is not one permission but a set you choose from. The combination you pick sets your capital, your obligations, and your supervisory weight.
- Licensing an Investment-Management Firm: What Changes When You Manage Other People's MoneyRunning an asset or portfolio manager sits under a different permission than broking. Here is what the licence covers and what regulators expect.
- EU Passporting Explained: One Licence, Thirty MarketsA single EU investment-firm licence works across the whole European Economic Area. Here is how passporting works and why it shapes where firms base.
Fund and asset management in other Americas jurisdictions
All jurisdictionsDiscuss your mandate in confidence
Every engagement begins under a mutual NDA. Set out the firm you intend to operate and the timeline you are working to, and you leave the first consultation with a recommended jurisdiction, the route to the licence, and a defined scope of work.
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