Recent Quadrus News
You may have recently seen or read in the local press a segment regarding Quadrus Investment Services Ltd, my mutual fund dealer. The news story relates to a particular investment representative, no longer licensed with Quadrus, who allegedly betrayed the trust of a local family. This news is indeed alarming and, while disturbing, it is important to remember that there are always those few individuals who try to take advantage of the trust that has been vested them… in every industry or organisation… and this potential betrayal would be due to the actions of the individual representative and should not be construed to be reflective of the firm that I have chosen to partner with to safeguard and administer your investments.
It is important to remember that Quadrus is a division of a much larger parent company, Great West Life, which itself is in turn owned by Power Financial, one of Canada’s largest and most diverse corporations. I can assure you that Quadrus has rigorous standards of monitoring transactions and suitability for its clients. There are limits to this oversight, however, when, as is claimed in the article, the clients made many of the cheques payable personally to the representative, not to Quadrus as securities regulations require.
Betrayal of trust is understandably unsettling when it occurs, given the high degree of implicit trust in the client-advisor relationship. It happens to all firms, despite the best efforts of the supervision of the organization. I agree that it is particularly troubling when the accused was licensed with the same firm where you have your money invested; and doubly so when the potential victims are close to home. I can appreciate that this story may be unsettling but I can assure you I have the greatest confidence in Quadrus/Great West Life.
I am also very aware that issue is particularly sensitive to any of the most recent client relationships that I have entered into. I want to assure everyone that your investments are completely safe and that you are invested with, in my mind, one of the most reputable firms in Canada.
In order to protect yourself from situations such as this with Quadrus or any other financial institution, there are several precautions you can take as a client. Read your quarterly statements when they arrive and check your accounts online regularly to be sure no fraudulent or unauthorized activity has taken place. Confirmations of transactions are always mailed to the address on file, compare these confirmations with the forms you signed or instructions you gave. If you gave transaction instructions and don’t receive a confirmation within a few weeks, call our office to ensure your address is correct and there are no other problems.
I feel confident that you appreciate there are always a few bad apples in any industry and sincerely hope that this in no way reflects on the integrity of Quadrus, or Great West Life as its parent, as a firm. If you would like to discuss further, please do not hesitate to get in touch.