General
The disclosures contained herein are general in nature and make
reference to a number of issues including compensation, fees,
performance, confidentiality and more. Equity Associates Inc.
encourages all investors to read the prospectus for a more detailed
explanation of the risks & fees associated with each investment as well
as the compensation provided to advisors and dealers.
Reporting
In accordance with industry standards Equity Associates Inc. shall provide to you
on an annual basis, a statement of account detailing over a twelve (12) month
period, the opening balance in your account, any transactions activity that took
place in your account over the twelve months being reported on, and finally,
the closing balance on your account at the end of the reporting period.
Front End Load
Mutual funds purchased with a Front End Load may be subject to an up
front sales charge that may range from 0-5. This fee will be deducted
from the invested funds and will reduce the dollar value of the funds
purchased by an amount equal to the commission fee charged.
Typically these funds are not subject to redemption fees but may
require the funds to remain invested for a minimum period of time or
be subject to an early redemption fee.
Deferred Sales Charge (DSC)
Mutual funds purchased on a Deferred Sales Charge schedule are not
subject to an up front fee, all funds provided for investment will go to
purchase mutual funds. Typically DSC funds are subject to a fee if
redeemed prior to the expiry of the DSC schedule that can range from
5-7 years resulting in fees ranging from 0-6 or more depending on the
funds purchased. Please see the prospectus for the DSC schedule
applicable to the funds you are purchasing.
No Load
Mutual Funds listed as "No Load" funds may be Front End Load funds
purchased at 0 or funds with no sales charge at all. Again these funds
may require a minimum investment period or may be subject to an
early redemption fee. Please see the prospectus for further details.
Service Fees
Many mutual funds provide on going compensation to advisors to
acknowledge the work done on an annual, quarterly or monthly basis
by the advisor in continuing to service the account by among many
other things, providing advice, statements and answering any of the
questions or concerns raised by the investor. These fees very for each
fund but in general are lower for DSC funds and higher for Front end
Load or No Load funds. Please see the prospectus for further details.
Other
Some fund management companies may provide additional
compensation to representatives such as subsidies for educational
seminars and conferences, reimbursement for advertising, promotion.
merchandising and other programs. The payment of any such fees must
be in accordance with National Instrument 81-105 and other relevant
Provincial and National regulations as stipulated by the MFDA, OSC,
CSA and other provincial commissions.
Self Directed Retirement Savings Plans (SDRSP)
The trustee of retirement products such as the SDRSP charge an
administration fee for the record keeping and reporting they are
required to make in order to operate such a product. These fees may be
deducted directly from the plan itself or may be charged directly to the
investor outside of the plan. Please review the documentation for each
product carefully to ensure you fully understand these charges.
Introducing Carrying Dealer Disclosure (MRS, B2B, etc.)
Equity Associates Inc. is an Introducing Dealer and MRS and B2B are Carrying
Dealers. With respect to any transactions entered into, each Carrying Dealer
will be responsible for trade execution, trade settlement, custody of cash and
securities, the preparation of confirmations and statements. Equity Associates Inc.
will be responsible for determining the suitability and ensuring appropriate
supervision is performed for all trading activity in my account. The Carrying
Dealers may pay a portion of it’s fees to Equity Associates Inc. and Equity
Associates Inc. may pay the Carrying Dealers for trade execution on my behalf.
Introducing Carrying Dealer Disclosure (MRS)
Equity Associates Inc. is an Introducing Dealer and Multiple
Retirement Services Inc. is a Carrying Dealer. With respect to any
transactions entered into. Multiple Retirement Services Inc. will be
responsible for trade execution, trade settlement, custody of cash and
securities, the preparation of confirmations and statements. Equity
Associates Inc. will be responsible for determining the suitability and
ensuring appropriate supervision is performed for all trading activity in
my account. Multiple Retirement Services Inc. may pay a portion of its
fees to Equity Associates Inc. and Equity Associates Inc. may pay
Multiple Retirement Services Inc. for trade execution on my behalf.
Settlement of Trades
Most mutual funds price at the end of each trading day, however, some
funds price on a weekly or monthly basis. Be sure to read the
prospectus for each fund carefully to understand the pricing schedule.
A fund that prices only once a week will result in a delay in the
settlement of any purchases or redemptions for up to 5 days or until the
fund is next valued according to it's pricing schedule. Accordingly
Equity Associates Inc. and it's Partners will use all best efforts to
ensure all transactions are processed in a timely fashion, however we
can not guarantee trade dates due to the number of variables involved
in completing any trade.
Client Complaints
Equity Associates Inc. has a complaint policy in accordance with industry regulatory
requirements. Complaints can be presented to Equity Associates Inc. either by contacting our office directly at 1-800-752-1850 or in writing delivered to the attention of the Compliance Department, Equity Associates Inc. 60 Columbia Way, Suite 700, Markham, Ontario Canada, L3R 0C9.
Clients of a mutual fund dealer who are not satisfied with a financial product or service have a right to make a complaint and to seek resolution of the problem. If you have a complaint, these are some of the steps you can take.
- Your complaint should first be explained to your financial advisor. The person who sold you the product or service will solve most problems quickly.
- Contact your mutual fund dealer. Member firms are responsible to you, the investor, for monitoring the actions of their representatives to ensure that they are in compliance with the legislation, rules and guidelines governing their activities.
Some problems are easily solved by a phone call. Some matters can be resolved through the Branch Manager.
The dealer's Compliance Department will investigate any complaint that you initiate in writing and respond back to you with the results of their investigation.
Contact the Mutual Fund Dealers Associations of Canada (MFDA), which is the self regulatory organization in Canada to which your mutual fund dealer belongs. The MFDA investigates complaints about mutual fund dealers and their representatives, and takes enforcement action where appropriate. There is no cost to clients for referring a complaint to the MFDA.
The MFDA can be contacted:
- By telephone in Toronto at (416) 361-6332, or toll free at 1-888-466-6332
- By e-mail at complaints @ mfda.ca
- In writing, using the complaint form which is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca
Contact the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI), an organization independent of the MFDA, government, and the financial services industry. OBSI provides an independent and impartial process for the investigation
and resolution of complaints about the provision of financial services to clients. OBSI will investigate your complaint only if you have first exhausted your firm's internal complaint-handling processes. OBSI can make a non-binding recommendation that your firm compensate you (up to $350,000) if it determines that you have been treated unfairly, taking into account the criteria of good financial services and business practice, relevant codes of practice or conduct, industry regulation and the law. The OBSI process is free of charge and is confidential. OBSI can be contacted:
- by telephone in Toronto at (416) 287-2877, or toll free at 1-888-451-4519
- by e-mail at ombudsman @obsi.ca
- Retaining a lawyer to assist with the complaint.
Privacy & Confidentiality
As a business carrying on "commercial activity" and registered in the
Province of Ontario, Equity Associates Inc. is subject to Bill C-6 "The
Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act".
Accordingly the collection, use storage and disclosure of all personal
information as defined by the act must be disclosed to all individuals
who provide such information to Equity Associates Inc. The
information collected by Equity Associates Inc. is for the sole and
specific purpose of reporting and processing mutual fund transactions
in accordance with the then current applicable rules, regulations and
legislation governing this industry and for no other purpose
whatsoever.
Information provided to third parties
All client accounts held through Equity Associates Inc. are registered in
"Client Name'' with the Mutual Fund Companies. This type of
registration ensures that as an investor you are able to access your
funds at any time directly with the Mutual Fund Companies. This type
of registration requires that we provide to the Fund Companies your
personal information including, name, address, telephone, SIN, DOB
and those of any other individuals so named on the account. This
information may be forwarded electronically via fax or in industry
standard files to the fund companies via "FundSERV" to initiate trades
and to update databases with current information for tax reporting,
statement generation and transaction confirmation mailings.
Security
Equity Associates Inc. has taken steps to ensure that access to your
private information is limited to authorized personal only through the
use of on site security personal, electronic security cards, controlled
access to filing cabinets, electronic firewalls, passwords and controlled
access to computer rooms and servers.
Your Advisor & The Business of Equity Associates Inc.
Equity Associates Inc. is proud to sponsor the mutual fund license of Mervyn Fried as an independent Advisor. We refer to your Advisor as a Partner and in many cases they may in fact own shares in Equity Associates Inc. Each Partners ownership does entitle them to a share of the profits of the firm. Equity Associates Inc. is a Mutual Fund Dealer and a member of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada. Please be advised that Equity Associates Inc. is in the business of Mutual Funds only. Your advisor may also be licensed to sell or advise on insurance based products or may provide financial planning or other services to you that are not related to Equity Associates Inc. You are advised that any such activity is outside of, and not the responsibility of Equity Associates Inc.