Verdx Seeks Canadian Investment Dealer Approval for Event Contracts

October 1, 2026 | NCFA Market Activity | Capital Markets And Market Infrastructure, Wealthtech Investing And Trading, Regulation And Policy

Former Vanguard Canada CEO, Event Contracts And CIRO Review

On September 30, 2026, Verdx submitted its CIRO investment dealer application to build a Canadian business focused on permitted event contracts and prediction markets. The company is led by Atul Tiwari, who helped establish Vanguard Investments Canada and later served as its chief executive. Verdx is not registered, approved or operating as an investment dealer.

Tiwari says Verdx is seeking approval as an order execution only investment dealer under Canada's existing securities framework. It would connect Canadian clients to permitted event contracts traded and cleared on regulated outside venues rather than create or operate the underlying market itself. No launch date or trading venue has been announced.

Verdx Wants To Put A Dedicated Dealer Behind Event Contracts

CIRO has authorized two investment dealers to facilitate trading in permitted contracts, including contracts available through regulated foreign prediction markets. They operate under the existing investment dealer framework with additional conditions, not under a separate prediction market licence.

Wealthsimple offers prediction markets alongside its wider investment platform. Verdx is proposing something narrower. Its business would depend on event contracts attracting enough retail and institutional activity to support a dedicated dealer model.

Tiwari told Advisor.ca that Verdx expects to serve both retail and institutional investors. He described event contracts as potential information and hedging tools and said they can provide “actionable information that investors can use to position portfolios.” No institutional customers or commercial agreements have been announced.

See: Regulated Event Contract Infrastructure

The leadership gives the application an unusual capital markets pedigree. Tiwari helped launch Vanguard Canada in 2011 and led the business until 2018 after previously serving as founding president of BMO Exchange Traded Funds. Verdx also has executives with investment dealer finance, compliance and risk backgrounds. Its advisers include former OSC chair Ed Waitzer, NEO Exchange founder Jos Schmitt and former RBC global chief compliance officer David Lang.

Canada Limits The Contracts Verdx Could Offer

Approval would not give Verdx access to the full range of contracts available on large U.S. prediction platforms. CIRO currently permits authorized dealers to offer contracts based on economic forecasts, environmental forecasts and financial indicators. Contracts must have at least 30 days to maturity, leverage is prohibited and political event contracts cannot be offered.

On August 27, the CSA and CIRO ruled out sports and entertainment contracts through the securities and derivatives route. Dealers seeking to offer event contracts beyond the categories CIRO currently permits must file a material change to their business activities.

Tiwari says Verdx is “definitely building within the CSA and CIRO parameter.” For now, that means a much smaller product universe than U.S. platforms that generate substantial activity from sports, politics and short duration contracts.

In Canada the policy debate is still active. Wealthsimple has proposed wider event contract eligibility, while FAIR Canada argues that regulators need stronger evidence of investor benefit, market purpose and adequate protection before expanding retail access.

Talking Point

Verdx brings mainstream capital markets experience into a still narrow Canadian event contract market. The key question is whether today’s permitted contracts can support enough trading activity to sustain a dedicated dealer, or whether the model ultimately depends on regulators allowing a wider range of event contracts.

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