PROTECTING YOUR ASSETS 

At CI Assante Wealth Management, ensuring the security of assets entrusted to us by clients is a key priority. It goes hand in hand with our mission – to help create wealth and prosperity for Canadian families.

In partnership with our professional advisors, who are among the most highly respected and accredited in the country, we are pleased to outline here four key safeguards that are in place to protect your assets: our strong corporate backing, the security safekeeping measures we follow, our adherence to strict industry standards and industry-wide investor protection.

Sincerely,

Sean Etherington
President
CI Assante Wealth Management

STRONG CORPORATE BACKING

The first level of client protection is provided by our comprehensive governance processes and the substantial financial resources of Assante’s parent company, CI Financial Corp. Assante’s legal and compliance personnel keep senior management, as well as CI Financial’s board of directors, aware of legal, regulatory, and compliance matters on a continuous basis. In addition, CI Financial’s Internal Audit Department plays an integral role by reviewing and testing the processes and internal controls of Assante to ensure they meet regulatory requirements. 

SECURITY SAFEKEEPING MEASURES

 Assante is required by regulators to maintain adequate capital to cover our business risks, keep comprehensive and accurate records, and employ appropriate securities handling procedures. Most securities owned by our clients are held through central industry-wide electronic or book-based systems. In this approach, investments are tracked using independent service providers, including Fundserv in the case of mutual funds, and the Canadian Depository for Securities for most equity securities. In situations where fully paid-up securities are physically held by us, they are kept separate from any securities related to our corporate investing activities and are subject to regulatory audit on an annual basis. This safeguard helps to ensure that clients’ investments are not subject to any risks related to their dealer’s business activities and are adequately segregated for the client’s benefit. Custodial services for securities, other than mutual funds held in client nominee accounts, are provided through CI Investment Services Inc. The provision of security recordkeeping and custody by independent service providers results in multiple parties being involved in transactions within our clients’ accounts. The benefit to clients is additional oversight of the firm’s procedures to ensure all assets are accounted for accurately. 

STRICT INDUSTRY STANDARDS

Assante’s dealer subsidiaries, Assante Capital Management Ltd., and Assante Financial Management Ltd., are members of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) and are subject to the oversight of the provincial securities commissions. Both Assante Capital Management Ltd. and Assante Financial Management Ltd. are required to adhere to regulations governing investor protection, financial market integrity, and stringent recordkeeping. These requirements are monitored by CIRO, respectively, through independent audits conducted regularly by external auditors and by examiners of the regulators. CIRO examiners conduct sales compliance audits of their registered dealers that include marketing materials, trades, disclosures on client statements, and branch operations, as well as financial compliance audits that include a detailed review of the firm’s financial and custodial procedures and adherence with regulatory policies. In addition, every financial advisor at Assante is subject to regulatory oversight. For every relationship you have, we encourage you to check with the applicable regulator to ensure the firm is registered and in good standing. 

INDUSTRY-WIDE PROTECTION

 Although our clients’ assets are segregated from the dealer’s assets, additional security is provided through an industry investor protection plan that will reimburse investors, within predefined limits, if their dealer becomes insolvent or bankrupt and their assets are missing as a result. The Canadian Investor Protection Fund may reimburse clients of securities and mutual fund dealers up to a maximum loss of $1 million per qualifying account for assets held at the dealer. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

To find out more about how your assets are protected, we encourage you to visit these online sources:

OSC Get Smarter About Money: getsmarteraboutmoney.ca
Canadian Securities Administrators: securities-administrators.ca
Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization: ciro.ca
Investment Funds Institute of Canada: ific.ca
Canadian Investor Protection Fund: cipf.ca
Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association: clhia.ca
Assuris: assuris.ca