Introduces the ethical foundations of wealth management, including conflicts, codes of conduct, fiduciary ideas, and the consequences of misconduct.
This chapter introduces the ethical foundation of wealth management in Canada. It focuses on how advisors should identify conflicts, exercise sound judgment, maintain trust, and respond when conduct falls short of professional standards.
Students should use this chapter to recognize how ethics operates in real fact patterns, not as an abstract ideal. The main themes are:
why ethics supports investor protection and market confidence
how conflicts, confidentiality, suitability, and supervision create ethical pressure points
how firms use codes of ethics, escalation channels, and controls to guide conduct
what legal, regulatory, and reputational damage can follow when ethics is ignored
Defines ethics in wealth management and explains why client-first conduct, confidentiality, due diligence, and regulatory compliance matter beyond minimum rules.
Explains a structured approach to resolving ethical dilemmas through fact gathering, stakeholder analysis, escalation, documentation, and client-focused judgment.
Explains what a code of ethics should contain, how it differs from law and personal values, and how firms use it to support ethical culture, supervision, and discipline.
Explains trust, agency relationships, and fiduciary duty in wealth management, and shows how these concepts shape disclosure, conflict management, and client-first conduct.