What happens to my shares if my investment dealer or mutual fund dealer merges with another firm?

Our response:

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) oversees all investment dealers, mutual fund dealers, and trading activity on Canada’s debt and equity marketplaces.  To help protect investors, CIRO requires the dealers it regulates to follow rules for handling client accounts and assets.

CIRO’s rules include requirements for dealers to:

1. Identify and protect client property, including keeping it separate from the dealer’s own property.
2. Maintain complete and accurate records of client accounts and provide clients with meaningful and timely account information.
3. Maintain appropriate internal controls for safeguarding and keeping track of client assets.
4. Transfer client accounts between dealers promptly when required.

When one dealer merges or amalgamates with another, these responsibilities remain. There should be records showing the client assets held by the original dealer and how those assets and accounts were transferred to, or accounted for by, the continuing dealer.

If assets were held for you before a merger, the dealer should be able to investigate its records and explain what happened to those assets.

For more information, visit CIRO’s Dealer and Consolidated Rules page or contact them.