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Regulatory Information
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- The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) is our primary regulator. Provisus accepts clients from advisors on a referral basis. Once referred, Provisus is then responsible for coordinating the portfolio management services and overseeing the investment mandates.
- Registered portfolio managers are available to contact clients and discuss securities related issues.
- Both Provisus and the custodian share know-your-client and compliance responsibilities for the referred accounts.
- Provisus Wealth Management, as a Portfolio Manager, will manage the trading of securities in the clients' individual accounts.
- No prepaid fees of any kind will be collected and the client owns their assets held at a custodian bank. Provisus does not have custody of client assets.
- Provisus cannot accept funds directly from clients (i.e. no cheques are ever made payable to Provisus and cheques payable to Provisus will be returned to the client un-cashed), nor accept client funds from a custodian.
- Provisus will not be a signatory to clients' custodial accounts, nor act as a trustee for a client, nor have power of attorney over client assets.
- Provisus can not debit client accounts for payments other than investment management fees.
- Assets can not be removed from accounts without client authorization and can only be transferred to the client's bank account of record.
Fiduciary Standard
We Are Portfolio Managers
Provisus Wealth Management as a firm and its individual representatives are registered in the category of a Portfolio Manager.
The Portfolio Manager category is subject to the highest Canadian regulatory standard as Portfolio Managers with discretion over client accounts have a fiduciary obligation. This means that by law we are required to act in the best interests of our clients. All of our investment decisions must therefore be independent, free of bias and always in your best interests.
Fiduciary Obligation
Portfolio Managers are the only Canadian financial professionals who have a fiduciary obligation.
The requirement for firms and their epresentatives registered in any other category is only that they recommend products that are suitable: even if there are alternatives which would be more appropriate. The suitability requirements are based upon two obligations; firstly that the advisor understands their client's general investment needs and bjectives, and secondly that they understand the attributes and risks of the products they recommend. While these standards are important, they do not address conflict of interest situations where recommendations can be based upon the advisor's own interests such as higher fee products.
Canadian Common Law
By way of explanation, the fiduciary obligation is not imposed by the regulator but is determined by Canadian common law.
The Canadian courts have identified five non-exclusive and interrelated factors to assist in this determination: vulnerability, trust, reliance, discretion and professional rules or codes of conduct. Of these five factors the fourth, having discretion over a client's account or investments, is key. A discretionary or managed account means the advisor has the discretion to make investment decisions and transact in securities without the client's express consent for each transaction. It is this discretion that creates the fiduciary obligation.
Highest Level Of Education
As fiduciaries, securities regulators require that Portfolio Managers have the highest level of education and experience in the investment industry.
Provisus' key Portfolio Managers hold the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and as such must also abide by the CFA Institute's strict code of ethics.
Counterparties
Founded in 1846, Laurentian Bank of Canada is a pan-Canadian banking institution that has more than $34 billion in balance sheet assets and $36 billion in assets under administration.
Laurentian Bank is the 7th largest Canadian bank and employs more than 4,200 people. It is the only Canadian bank to have increased its quarterly dividend each year since 2007 and more than 50% of its profitability is generated outside Québec. The bank has built a solid reputation across Canada in the area of real estate and commercial financing thanks to its teams working out of more than 35 offices in Ontario, Québec, Alberta and British Columbia. Its subsidiary, Laurentian Bank Securities is an integrated broker, widely known for its expertise and effectiveness nationwide.
Laurentian Bank Securities is registered as an Investment Dealer and is a member of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization (IIROC), the national self regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada.
Laurentian is also a member of the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), which is a non-profit organization that protects investors in the unlikely event that a registered dealer becomes bankrupt. Laurentian is a participating organization of the Toronto, Montreal and CNQ Stock Exchanges. Laurentian common shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: LB). For more information, please visit https://www.laurentianbank.ca/en/personal_banking
Contact Us
18 King St. East Suite 303
Toronto, ON
M5C 1C4