Three Lower Mainland men connected to firm must pay a six-figure fine under agreement with BCSC
The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) has prohibited three Lower Mainland men connected to a defunct Surrey investment firm that it said fell short of the standard of care required of an investment manager.
In a statement, the BCSC said Chartwell Asset Management, which was also registered as a portfolio manager and an exempt market dealer, managed several funds. That included the Magna High Income Fund, which by 2011 had loaned US$5 million – a large share of its assets – to the Health Capital Receivables Funding Special Purpose Corporation I.
“Health Capital stopped making timely interest payments and stopped providing reporting documents,” the BCSC said. “Chartwell suspended client redemptions of the income fund in 2017 after Health Capital defaulted on the loan agreement.”
In the settlement agreement with the provincial regulator, Chartwell admitted the information it had about Health Capital was not sufficient to support its calculation of the fund’s value. Chartwell also admitted that it did not re-evaluate the fund’s valuation, despite multiple indicators of risk.
Also party to the settlement agreement were Gregory Paul James Cameron, the former company’s president, CEO, and one of its directors; Wah Bo Chew, a former director and advising representative at the company; and Matthew Cameron, its vice president and chief compliance officer, who was also an advising representative at the firm.
The three admitted that they authorized, permitted, or acquiesced in Chartwell’s contraventions, therefore violating the same provisions the former firm did.
Because of the misconduct, the BCSC said Gregory Cameron is required to pay $100,000, and is prohibited from being a director or officer of any reporting issuer or registrant for 15 years.
Chew must pay $70,000, and is banned from being a director or officer of any reporting issuer or registrant for 10 years. Matthew Cameron must pay $40,000, and faces a four-year prohibition from becoming or acting as a chief compliance officer.
“Chartwell is also permanently prohibited from purchasing any securities, becoming or acting as a registrant or promoter and engaging in promotional activities,” the regulator said.
