Portfolio manager agrees to pay $50,000 for repeated deficiencies

VANCOUVER, April 24, 2013 /CNW/ - As part of a settlement agreement with the British Columbia Securities Commission, Quantum Financial Services (Canada) Ltd. has agreed to pay $50,000 to the commission after acknowledging repeated procedural deficiencies.

Quantum is a B.C.-registered restricted dealer and portfolio manager restricted to dealing in or advising on exchange contracts doing business in Richmond. The agreement states that in July 2005, BCSC staff identified several deficiencies during a compliance examination of the company. The deficiencies were in the area of Know Your Client procedures, Policy and Procedures manual and Compliance Officer performance and oversight.

Subsequent examinations carried out by staff in July 2008 and February 2010 found similar deficiencies.

In the settlement agreement, Quantum acknowledged that repeat deficiencies in the same area are not acceptable and should have been addressed.

The agreement also notes there is no evidence that the deficiencies negatively impacted Quantum's clients, and that a 2011 examination initiated at the request of Quantum found that the company had corrected the deficiencies.

In addition to paying the $50,000, Quantum has agreed to engage an independent consultant (approved by BCSC staff in advance) to review Quantum's ongoing response to the deficiencies on a quarterly basis for a period of one year.

The B.C. Securities Commission is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating trading in securities within the province. You may view the settlement agreement on our website www.bcsc.bc.ca by typing Quantum Financial Services (Canada) Ltd. or 2013 BCSECCOM 37 in the search box.  Information regarding disciplinary proceedings can be found in the Enforcement section of the BCSC website.

Please visit the Canadian Securities Administrators' Disciplined Persons List for information relating to persons disciplined by provincial securities regulators, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association (MFDA).

For media inquiries, contact Richard Gilhooley, media relations, 604-899-6713. For public inquiries, call 604-899-6854 or 1-800-373-6393 (toll free).

Learn how to protect yourself and become a more informed investor at www.investright.org

SOURCE: British Columbia Securities Commission

Richard Gilhooley
604-899-6577 or
(Canada) 1-800-373-6393