BMC Flashcards
Acts
The Securities Acts of the provinces or territories.
Advertisement
A sales communication that is published or designed for mass distribution through public media.
Agency Transaction
A transaction in which a dealer member buys or sells securities from or to a third party on behalf of a client.
Arbitration
A method of dispute resolution in which an independent arbitrator is chosen to assist aggrieved parties recover damages. It is an alternative to costly and lengthy litigation.
ATON System
This system eliminates the transfer of paper documents between dealer members and puts the onus on the receiving dealer member for maintaining authorizations to transfer and indemnifying the delivering firm for any errors which are the result of errors made by the receiving dealer member.
Autorite des marches financiers (AMF)
The body that administers the regulatory framework surrounding Quebec?s fi nancial sector: securities sector, the distribution of financial products and services sector, the financial institutions sector and the compensation sector.
Beneficial Owner
The real (underlying) owner of an account, securities or other assets. For example, an investor may own securities which are registered in the name of an investment dealer, trustee or bank to facilitate transfer or to preserve anonymity, but the investor would be the actual owner of the securities.
Blue Sky Laws
State laws that govern the sale of securities and mutual funds in order to safeguard investors from fraudulent or unscrupulous transactions. The term originated from a U.S. Supreme Court Justice in his ruling to protect investors from speculative ventures that had ?as much value as a patch of blue sky?.
Broker
Another term for a duly registered individual or a dealer member that is registered to trade in securities in the capacity of an agent or principal and is a member of IIROC.
Bucketing
Confirming a transaction when no trade has actually been executed.
Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA)
The federal Act that governs all aspects of business corporations, including incorporation and takeover bids.
Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC)
A federal Crown Corporation that insures eligible deposits at member institutions and reimburses each depositor for the amount of their insured deposits, up to $100,000, when a member institution fails.
Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF)
A fund that protects investors against the insolvency of any dealer member and is funded by IIROC members.
Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA)
The CSA is a forum for the 13 securities regulators of Canada?s provinces and territories to co-ordinate and harmonize regulation of the Canadian capital markets.
Carrying Broker
Dealer members that offer back office services and facilities to other dealer members, who are known as introducing brokers.
Cash Account
An account where an investor is required to pay for purchases or deliver securities sold by the settlement date of the transaction.
Cash Account Rule
Rule governing settlement of securities transactions in cash accounts. It prescribes settlement dates, payment methods and restrictions on trading if accounts are overdue.
Chinese Wall (also known as Fire Wall)
A company?s internal procedures and policies to ensure that a firm restricts access between departments to non-public, material information in order to avoid the illegal use of inside information. Another term in use is ?Information Barriers?.
Churning
Excessive trading in a client?s account solely to generate commissions and resulting in no benefit to the client.
Complaints and Settlement Database (ComSet)
A web-based system that allows dealer members to relay information to IIROC on matters such as client complaints, securities-related civil claims and arbitration notices, internal disciplinary actions and criminal offences.
Confidentiality
The ethical principle that a securities industry professional will hold secret all information relating to a client and a client?s account unless the client gives consent permitting disclosure or a formal request is made by the appropriate regulators.
Confirmation
A written statement acknowledging a securities transaction and confirming the details of the trade.
Conflict of Interest
A situation in which the personal or financial interests of a registrant confl ict with the interests of a client or the registrant?s firm. In cases of potential or actual conflict of interest, a client?s interests must be given priority and the conflict should be disclosed to both the client and the firm.
Constrained Share Companies
Companies or institutions that are either culturally important or fundamentally important to the Canadian economy (e.g., Canadian banks, trust, insurance, broadcasting and communication companies) and therefore have foreign ownership restrictions.
Continuous Disclosure
The requirement for issuers of securities to issue and file a press release when a material change occurs. A material change report must also be filed with the commission(s) within 10 days through SEDAR. There is no requirement to file a press release for non-material changes.
Control Position
Ownership of sufficient voting stock in a company to materially affect its affairs. In all provinces except Manitoba, New Brunswick and Quebec, a 20% holding is deemed to represent control.
Discretionary Account
A securities account where the client has given specific written authorization to an investment dealer to make decisions regarding the security, price, quantity or timing of orders in the account.
Due Diligence
Investigation into and verification of the details of a potential investment such as an examination of operations and management and the verification of material facts.
Duty of Care
The duty an IA has to a client to ensure that everything ?reasonably practicable? is done to protect the client?s assets. This involves devoting the necessary time and attention to be able to make informed decisions for the benefit of the client.
Effective Delivery by Electronic Means
The electronic distribution of information to the intended recipients that is equivalent to the information provided in paper form.
Fiduciary Duty
A legal term that describes a high degree of duty of care. Criteria that may be used to determine whether a fiduciary duty is present in an IA-client relationship include a high degree of reliance by the client on the IA?s advice and the vulnerability of the client.
Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF)
An inter-governmental body whose purpose is the development and promotion of policies, both at national and international levels, to combat money laundering and terrorist financing.
Financial Transactions Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC)
FINTRAC receives, analyzes, assesses and discloses financial intelligence on suspected money laundering, terrorist financing, and threats to the security of Canada.
Fire Wall
See Chinese Wall
Frontrunning
Entering an order with the prior knowledge of a pending trade that will likely affect the market price of the security.
Good Delivery by Electronic Means
Electronic delivery of information in which the recipients receive prior notice of delivery, have easy access to it, it is delivered unaltered and uncorrupted and the sender receives evidence of its successful delivery.
Grey (or Watch) List
A limited-circulation list of issuers on which a firm (including any of its staff ) has confidential information, distributed for the purpose of watching for any trading activity suggesting that the information has been leaked or has been used inappropriately.
Inside Information
Material non-public information about a company.
Insider
All directors and senior officers of a corporation and those who may also be presumed to have access to non-public or inside information concerning the company; also anyone owning more than 10% of the voting shares in a corporation.
Insider Report
Insiders are required to report their holdings upon becoming an insider and they must also report any change in those holdings within 10 days following such change. In Canada, insiders file these reports through the System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders (SEDI) in electronic format via the Internet.
Insider Trading (Illegal)
Using material non-public information about a company to effect trades in that company?s securities or trading in securities as an insider without reporting the trades to the regulators.
Integrated Market Enforcement Teams (IMETs)
An initiative of the RCMP and the federal government to detect, investigate and deter capital markets fraud. The teams are composed of police, lawyers and other investigative experts through branches in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and Calgary. They are jointly managed by the RCMP and Justice Canada and work closely with securities regulators, such as IIROC and the MFDA, as well as other federal and provincial authorities.