March is Fraud Prevention Month

Submitted by admin on Mon, 03/02/2015 - 11:32

March is Fraud Prevention Month and we’re asking Nova Scotians to check to see if your financial adviser is registered before you invest.

Why is registration important? Securities industry professionals are required to register with the securities regulator in each province or territory where they do business. Registration helps protect investors because securities regulators will only register firms and individuals if they meet regulatory criteria.

It’s easy to check registration by using the National Registration Search to see if your adviser or firm is indeed registered. You can take it a step further and check the Report to see if your adviser has any fines against them.

Being an informed investor is one of your best defences against investment fraud. Although most investment advisers are honest and work in your best interest, you still need to carefully choose who you deal with.

Keep in mind that, just because an individual or firm is registered doesn’t mean the investment is a good fit for you. Those offering investment opportunities have varying skills, provide a variety of services and likely charge different fees. Ensure the person you’re working with understands your goals and is willing to work with you to meet them. It is important that they assess your current financial and personal situation, your investment objectives and risk tolerance. Working with a Financial Adviser Guide.

If you discover the person or company you are dealing with is not registered, is offering you something they don’t seem permitted to, or if you need help understanding the results of the National Registration Search tool, please contact us, or fill out our Report a Scam form.

Happy Investing

Failure to file annual financial statements.
Failure to file interim financial statements.
Failure to file an annual or interim management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A) or an annual or interim management report of fund performance (MRFP).
Failure to file an Annual Information Form (AIF).
Failure to file a certification of annual or interim filings required by Multilateral Instrument 52-109 Certification of Disclosure in Issuers’ Annual and Interim Filings (MI 52-109).
Failure to file required proxy materials or a required information circular.
Failure to file an issuer profile supplement on the System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders (SEDI).
Failure to file a material change report.
Failure to provide a written update after filing a confidential report of a material change.
Failure to file a business acquisition report.
Failure to file annual oil and gas disclosure prescribed by National Instrument 51-101 Standards of Disclosure of Oil and Gas Activities (NI 51-101) or technical reports for a mineral project required under NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (NI 43-101).
Failure to file a mandatory news release.
Failure to file corporate governance disclosure as required by national Instrument 58-101 Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices (NI 58-101).
Failure to file audit committee disclosure as required by Multilateral Instrument 52-110 Audit Committees (MI 52-110) or BC Instrument 52-509 Audit Committees.
Failure to include disclosure in an issuer’s MD&A relating to disclosure controls and procedures and their direct effectiveness that is referred to in a certificate filed under MI 52-109.
Financial statements of the reporting issuer, or the auditors’ report accompanying the financial statements, do not comply with the requirements of NI 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (NI 51-102), National Instrument 81-106 Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure (NI 81-106) or National Instrument 52-107 Acceptable Accounting Principles, Auditing Standards and Reporting Currency (NI 52-107).
The reporting issuer has acknowledged that its financial statements, or the auditors’ report accompanying the financial statements, may no longer be relied upon.
The reporting issuer’s AIF, MD&A, MRFP, information circular, or business acquisition reports do not contain information for each of the content items required by NI 51-102 or NI 81-106.
The reporting issuer’s technical disclosure or other reports do not comply with the disclosure requirements of NI 43-101 or 51-101.
Failure to pay a fee required by the Act or the regulations.
Failure to comply with any other requirement related to continuous disclosure.