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 Advisor
Your complaint should first be
explained to your financial advisor. The person who sold you
the product or service will solve most problems quickly.
Sentinel Financial Management Corp.
At Sentinel, we strive to make your experience
with us and our representatives a good one. If, however, an
issue arrises that you would like to bring to our attention,
these are our procedures.
Contact your mutual fund dealer (Sentinel
Financial Management Corp.). We are responsible to you, the
investor, for monitoring the actions of our 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.
A complaint is defined as: “Any written
statement of a client or any person acting on behalf of a
client alleging a grievance involving the conduct, business
or affairs of Sentinel Financial Management Corp. or any registered
salesperson, partner, director or officer of Sentinel Financial
Management Corp.” Although this definition refers only
to written complaints, there may be instances in which you
may make a verbal complaint which merits the same treatment
as a written complaint. Such situations depend on the nature
and severity of your allegations and require the professional
judgment of our supervisory staff handling the complaint.
When receiving a complaint, Sentinel Financial Management
Corp. is required to report it to the MFDA within 5 or 20
days, depending on the nature of the complaint.
When we receive your complaint, we will document the complaint
and your representative will attempt to contact you to resolve
the issue. Each step will be recorded in a Complaint Log.
This log will contain the following:
- Date of the complaint
- The name of the Complainant
- The name of the Representative
- The nature of the complaint
- Complete details of the complaint
- How, when, and by whom the complaint was resolved
- Evidence of review by a supervisor, and
- Date and conclusion of the decision rendered
We will retain the log for a period of seven years from the
date we received your complaint. Your representative is obliged
to advise the CCO (Chief Compliance Officer) of the complaint.
When we receive your complaint, we will open a complaints
file, where all activity will be initiated and monitored by
our Compliance Officer.
The Compliance Officer will execute the following:
- Prepare a Complaint File
- Request client statement(s) from Branch Manager
- Request a written response from the representative, and
copies of their client file(s)
- Review representative’s Licensing & Registration
file
- If required, will notify regulator(s) (MFDA, Securities
Commission)
- Acknowledge all of your complaints in writing within 24
hours of receiving your complaint. This acknowledgment letter
will state in part that an investigation has been started
and that further information will be provided within three
weeks. You will also receive a copy of the MFDA’s
disclosure document, Client Complaint Information Form.
- Convey the results of the investigation of your complaint
in writing to you within three weeks and one day of receipt
of the complaint.
- Inform you if the investigation has not been completed
within the allotted time, and provide you with an estimated
time line for resolution and a request for patience in the
matter.
Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada
(MFDA)
Clients of Sentinel Financial Management Corp.
who are not satisfied with a financial product or service
have a right to make a complaint and to seek resolution of
the problem. Sentinel Financial Management Corp. has a responsibility
to our clients to ensure that all complaints are dealt with
fairly and promptly. If you have a complaint, these are some
of the steps you can take:
- Contact Sentinel Financial Management Corp. We are responsible
to you, the investor, for monitoring the actions of our
representatives to ensure that they are incompliance with
by-laws, rules and policies governing their activities.
The firm will investigate any complaint that you initiate
and respond back to you with the results of our investigation
within the time period expected of a Member acting diligently
in the circumstances, in most cases within three months
of receipt of the complaint. It is helpful if your complaint
is in writing.
- Contact the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada
("MFDA"), which is the self-regulatory organization
in Canada to which Sentinel Financial Management Corp. belongs.
The MFDA investigates complaints about mutual fund dealers
and their representatives, and takes enforcement action
where appropriate. You may make a complaint to the MFDA
at any time, whether or not you have complained to your
mutual fund dealer.
The MFDA can be contacted:
- By completing the on-line complaint form at www.mfda.ca
- By telephone, toll-free at 1 (888) 466-6332
- By e-mail at complaints@mfda.ca
- In writing by mail to 121 King Street West, Suite 1000,
Toronto, ON M5H 3T9 or by fax at (416) 361-9073
Compensation:
The MFDA does not order compensation or restitution to clients
of Sentinel Financial Management Corp. The MFDA exists to
regulate the operations, standards of practice and business
conduct of its Members and their representatives with a mandate
to enhance investor protection and strengthen public confidence
in the Canadian mutual fund industry. If you are seeking compensation,
you may consider the following:
- Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments ("OBSI"):
After the dealer's Compliance Department has responded to
your complaint, you may contact OBSI. You may also contact
OBSI if our Compliance Department has not responded within
90 days of the date you complained. OBSI provides an independent
and impartial process for the investigation and resolution
of complaints about the provision of financial services
to clients. OBSI can make a non-binding recommendation that
Sentinel Financial Management Corp. 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, toll-free at 1 (888) 451-4519
- By e-mail at ombudsman@obsi.ca
- Legal Assistance: You may consider retaining a lawyer
to assist with the complaint. You should be aware that there
are legal time limits for taking civil action. A lawyer
can advise you of your options and recourses. Once the applicable
limitation period expires, you may lose rights to pursue
some claims.
- Manitoba, New Brunswick and Saskatchewan: Securities regulatory
authorities in these provinces have the power to, in appropriate
cases, order that a person or company that has contravened
securities laws in their province pay compensation to a
claimant. The claimant is then able to enforce such an order
as if it were a judgement of the superior court in that
province. For more information, please visit:
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