Posts tagged as:

registration

Is your adviser properly registered?

by Natalie MacLellan on May 28, 2010

in Securites Laws, Working with an Adviser

Earlier this week, the Nova Scotia Securities Commission reprimanded a financial planning firm for allowing their adviser to carry out trades in Nova Scotia though he was not registered to do so. The firm had to pay $10,000 in fines and $1200 in costs. Is your adviser properly registered?

In Canada, anyone trading securities or in the business of advising clients on securities must be registered with the provincial or territorial securities regulator, unless an exemption applies.  A securities regulator will only register firms and individuals if they meet certain standards.

Remember that an adviser must be registered in the jurisdiction where their clients live. So if you chose to do business with an adviser in Toronto, but you live in Antigonish, your adviser must be registered in Nova Scotia. If you are working with an adviser in Sydney, and you move to Alberta, you must either transfer to an adviser registered in Alberta, or your current adviser must register there to keep your business.

Use the National Registration Search to find out if an individual or firm is registered in your province or territory.

The category of registration tells you what products and services a firm or individual can offer.  Being registered, however, doesn’t mean that firms and individuals have the same skills, provide the same services or charge the same fees.  Make sure you understand their qualifications, and the product or service they are selling you.

Tagged as: advisers, registration, rules

{ 0 comments }

Earl Jones – A Canadian Ponzi?

by Natalie MacLellan on July 20, 2009

in Choose an Advisor, Fraud Prevention, In the News

Madoff’s sentencing was still making headlines when the latest investment scheme hit Canadian headlines. Quebec businessman Earl Jones disappeared, along with as much as $50 million of his clients’ money, in an alleged Ponzi scheme.

(Read the Globe and Mail article: Dozens fall victim to apparent scheme.)

The Jones case displays some very real and disturbing characteristics of investment fraud, primarily:

1.  You don’t have to be rich to be a target of fraud.

According to reports, while some of Jones’ alleged victims lost hundreds of thousands of dollars, others had invested much less – as little as a few hundred dollars.

2.  Fraud is often carried out by someone you know and trust.

Jones was well known to his victims: a hockey coach, a longtime friend. He gained their trust, and then became their financial adviser. It didn’t occur to anyone to check the credentials of someone they knew so well. Had they looked further, they would have seen that Jones was not registered to trade in securities.

Jones’ clients were not limited to Quebec, they ranged from coast to coast, including Nova Scotia.

Anyone who believes they were victimized by Jones (or anyone else) should contact their local securities administrator. For more information, read how to report a suspected scam.

Tagged as: advisers, Earl Jones, fraud, madoff, ponzi, registration

{ 0 comments }

Choosing a registered financial adviser – one step in fraud prevention

March 20, 2009

An estimated 72,000 Canadians were victims of investment fraud in 2007.
Atlantic Canadians are more likely than the average Canadian to be approached with a fraudulent investment, according to research conducted by the Canadian Securities Administrators in 2006.  Atlantic Canadians are also much less likely to believe that investment fraud is a problem in their province.
Nova [...]

Read the full article →