What is the difference between a financial advisor and an insurance advisor?

• Insurance licensing is provincial; securities registration is provincial and administered through CIRO for many firms.
• "Financial advisor" is not a uniformly protected title across all provinces.
• Ontario and several other provinces now restrict Financial Planner and Financial Advisor titles.
• You can verify insurance licences with your provincial regulator and securities registration through the CSA.
• Ask what products a professional can and cannot offer, and how they are paid.

A life-licensed advisor can recommend and place life, critical illness and disability insurance, annuities and segregated funds. A securities-registered representative can recommend and trade securities within their category of registration. Advice on a product you are not licensed for is not permitted.

Search the provincial insurance regulator's licence database for the individual's name, and use the Canadian Securities Administrators' national registration search for securities registration. Both are free and take a few minutes.

How are you licensed? Which companies can you place business with? How are you compensated — commission, fee, salary, or a mix? What happens to my file if you leave the business? Will you provide written recommendations and disclosure documents?

• Designations such as CFP or CLU indicate education, not regulatory authority.
• Compensation models each carry different potential conflicts; disclosure is the key protection.
• CanadaGFI.ca is an independent network site; contributors are licensed professionals in their own provinces.

• Insurance regulation across Canadian provinces and territories — Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators
• Investor resources and registration checks — Canadian Securities Administrators
• Insurance and financial basics for consumers — Financial Consumer Agency of Canada