(December 11, 2007) The founder and former president of Norbourg Asset Management was convicted in a Montreal court of 51 counts of fraud.
Vincent Lacroix was accused by l’Autorite des marches financiers (AMF) of making 134 “irregular” withdrawals from a fund he managed, totaling $115 million.
In handing down the verdict, Quebec court judge Claude Leblond said the Lacroix fraud affected more than 9,200 investors. The Ernst & Young trustee recovered approximately $75 million by distributing $31.7 million to a group of 5,600 investors in June 2006.
Norbourg was shut down by AMF in August 2005 as the regulator investigated allegations that $130 million had gone missing.
Lacroix could face up to five years less per day in prison and a $1 million fine on each of the 51 counts.
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IDA raps two for stock fraud
(December 11, 2007) IDA found Jeffrey Bradford Kasman and Clinton Anderson guilty of violating Regulation 29.1, which prohibits “conduct that is inappropriate or harmful to the public interest.”
The hearing panel found that between January 30, 2003 and April 30, 2003, the pair facilitated manipulative and/or fraudulent trading in shares of publicly traded company Pink Sheets. During this period, Kasman and Anderson’s three foreign clients accounted for 76% of the stock’s trading volume.
Transactions between the three accounts resulted in a price increase in 41 cases and were concluded “within minutes or even seconds of each other.”
“Although Mr. Kasman and Mr. Anderson were thoughtless and unaware of the significance of the transaction at issue, their failure to conduct an appropriate investigation in the circumstances meant that “conduct fell far short of that required and expected of a registered representative,” the IDA said in a statement.
The penalties will be imposed at a hearing on February 6, 2008. Kasman and Anderson were at all times approved persons at the Toronto branch of Desjardins Securities. They are both currently registered representatives at Research Capital’s Toronto office.
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PIP adopts the Univeris platform
(December 11, 2007) Partners in Planning Financial Group has selected the Univeris corporate asset management system to administer the activities of mutual funds and segregated funds.
“It was critical that Partners in Planning financial advisors, with a reputation for excellence in financial planning, had the best advisory solution that would enable the company to have a strong commitment to excellent client service, and the Univeris EWMS wealth platform will certainly make this possible,” says Hugh Gabruch, COO, Planning Partners. “We needed an innovative wealth management solution to execute our market growth strategy, and the Univeris EWMS wealth platform is the best solution to help us achieve this.”
Thanks to this, over 600 advisors will be able to use the EWMS platform, which integrates all information about clients, portfolios and investments.
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Connor, Clark & ​​​​Lunn pursues fund merger
(December 11, 2007) Board of Directors of Connor, Clark & ​​Lunn Capital Markets Inc. approved the proposal to merge the company’s Global Financials Fund and Global Financials Fund II.
Both funds have the same powers and both are managed by New Star Asset Management Limited. The merger should reduce costs for investors and increase the fund’s liquidity and market capitalization.
Investors in GF1 will receive warrants for GF2, which they will continue to trade. Special meetings of GF1 and GF2 unitholders have been called on January 17, 2008 to vote on the proposal.
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The CFA Institute promotes Johnson
(December 11, 2007) The CFA Institute has named Robert R. Johnson as deputy CEO, with the newly created position reporting to CEO Jeff Diermeier.
Johnson will continue to lead the CFA Institute’s education division and manage the association’s professional ethics initiatives. Johnson joined the CFA Institute in September 1996 as vice president of instruction for the CFA program.
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UBS doubles KeyClient Group
(December 11, 2007) Competition for high-net-worth clients is about to heat up as UBS announced it is expanding its Canadian KeyClient Group.
The expansion doubles the number of KeyClient advisors nationwide, from four to eight, with offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.
“Despite market volatility, we have seen the Canadian economy generate a significant amount of lasting wealth over the last 10 years,” says Grant Rasmussen, head of UBS wealth management in Canada. “Recent research has shown that the number of affluent Canadians is growing, so a targeted strategy for this market is really needed.”
The group provides a comprehensive suite of wealth management services to Canadians with over $50 million in investment assets. What does “comprehensive” mean? In addition to investment strategies, clients have access to aircraft financing, wine banking, art banking and non-traditional asset classes.
“Key clients come to us as much for professional advice related to their family situation, such as family management and philanthropic strategies, as for investment solutions,” said Sam Sivarajan, head of Canadian KeyClient Group. “We now have a steady stream of global UBS experts working with our Canadian clients to provide the specialized advice and strategies that wealthy Canadians are looking for.”
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Sprott will launch a new hedge fund
(December 11, 2007) Sprott Asset Management announced the launch of the Sprott Global Market Neutral Fund, which will be available to investors on February 1, 2008.
The primary objective of the fund will be to provide long-term capital growth by investing in long and short positions in equities and equity-linked companies, using a neutral approach. It will invest in mid- and large-cap companies with relative changes in fundamentals, anywhere in the world.
(12/11/07)
