At Sentinel Financial Management Corp. (“Sentinel”), we strive to make your experience with us and our representatives a good one. If, however, an issue arises that you would like to bring to our attention, these are our procedures.
A “complaint” shall be deemed to include any written or verbal statement of grievance, including electronic communications from a client, former client, or any person who is acting on behalf of a client and has written authorization to so act, or of a prospective client who has dealt with Sentinel or a representative, alleging a grievance involving Sentinel, or a current or former representative of Sentinel, if the grievance involves matters that occurred while the representative was a representative of Sentinel.
When receiving a complaint, Sentinel is required to report it to the Mutual Fund Dealers Association (“MFDA”) within 5 or 20 days, depending on the nature of the complaint.
When we receive your formal complaint, we will document the complaint and our Chief Compliance Officer (“CCO”) will attempt to contact you to resolve the issue. Each step will be recorded in a Complaint Log.
Should your complaint be service related, your representative will attempt to contact you to resolve the issue and they are obliged to advise the CCO of the complaint.
When we receive your complaint, we will open a complaints file, where all activity will be initiated and monitored by our CCO.
The CCO will execute the following:
Settlements
If we offer a financial settlement, we may ask you to sign a release and waiver for legal purposes.
For more information regarding the complaint handling process please contact our Chief Compliance Officer, Som Houmphanh at shoumphanh@sentinelgroup.ca or by phone at (306) 652-7225 or (800) 667-3929 or by post to:
Mr. Som Houmphanh, Chief Compliance Officer
Sentinel Financial Management Corp.
200 – 446 2nd Avenue North
Saskatoon, SK, S7K 2C3
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. MFDA Member dealers have a responsibility to their 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:
Compensation:
The MFDA does not order compensation or restitution to clients of Members. 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:
1 you may wish to consider issues of internet security when sending sensitive information by standard e-mail.
1. Introduction
This Policy establishes minimum requirements for disclosure of MFDA Membership pursuant to MFDA Rule 2.13 (Disclosure of MFDA Membership). The Rule requires Members to include the MFDA Logo on account statements and on the Member’s website. MFDA Members must use the MFDA Logo prescribed in this Policy to satisfy the MFDA membership disclosure requirements set out in Rule 2.13.
The purpose of Rule 2.13 and this Policy is to promote client awareness of the regulatory oversight exercised by the MFDA in respect of MFDA Members and their Approved Persons.
2. Definition of the MFDA Logo
Pursuant to MFDA Rule 2.13, the MFDA Logo means the logo prescribed by the Corporation, from time to time, for use by Members. For the purpose of the disclosure requirements prescribed in Rule 2.13, the MFDA Logo includes the image of the MFDA’s trademark design and the English words “Regulated by Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada” or the French words “Réglementée par Association canadienne des courtiers de fonds mutuels”.
3. MFDA Logo on Account Statements and on the Member’s Website
Members must include the MFDA Logo on the front of each account statement that is sent to clients. Members must also include the MFDA Logo on the Member’s website homepage. Where the Member’s site or internet presence is part of a combined financial institution group website, the MFDA Logo must be included on the Member’s main page.
In addition, the MFDA Logo must be followed by the web address of the official website of the MFDA, which is www.mfda.ca, on both the account statement and on the Member’s website.
For the purposes of complying with Rule 2.13 and this Policy, Members may determine the size of the MFDA Logo depending on what would reasonably be considered to be an appropriate size for the individual layout of the account statement or website. However, Members must ensure that the MFDA Logo is clearly visible and prominently included on the front of the account statement and on the Member’s website.
4. Prohibitions on Use of the MFDA Logo
In accordance with MFDA By-Law No. 1, a MFDA Member will be prohibited from including the MFDA Logo on account statements and on its website upon suspension of the Member’s membership in the MFDA or upon the termination of the Member’s membership in the MFDA.