Safety and security

Macquarie Private Wealth’s commitment to clients
 

We hold our clients’ trust as our single most important asset. As one of our valued clients you will find comfort in Macquarie’s experienced leadership and commitment to meeting and surpassing the industry’s standard investment protection measures.

There are five key reasons why our clients trust Macquarie with their investments:

1. Strong corporate backing

The Macquarie Group is a well governed organization with substantial resources. Macquarie is an independent, diversified financial services firm with a history of profitability and success that dates back to 1969. The Macquarie Group takes corporate governance seriously: this focus on monetary and audit controls is common throughout the organization. Macquarie ensures that the entire firm follows transparent accounting policies and procedures that are assessed by an independent, external auditor on a regular basis.

2. Safekeeping of security certificates

Macquarie offers all of our clients the added protection of modern security holding practices. Nearly all of the securities we hold on behalf of our clients in North America are held at the same regulated depositories used by Canada’s major banks and investment dealers: the Canadian Depository for Securities (CDS) and the Depository Trust Company (DTC) in the U.S. When physical certificates are deposited with us for safekeeping, we use the vault of a chartered bank to hold them in safe custody for you. This is standard practice for investment firms. As this system minimizes the exposure of certificates to being destroyed, lost or stolen, it has proven to be the safest way for your securities to be held.

3. Implementation of investment safeguard measures

We safeguard our clients’ fully paid and excess margin securities by segregating them from securities related to our corporate investing activities. This is standard practice for investment firms and a regulatory requirement set out by the stock exchanges as well as the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). This safeguard measure helps to ensure clients’ investments are not subject to any risks related to an investment dealer’s business activities.

4. Industry-wide insurance protection

At Macquarie, you receive insurance protection provided by our firm’s membership in the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF). CIPF provides coverage of the cash and securities we hold on your behalf, for a maximum loss of $1 million. This level of protection is standard within the industry. For coverage calculation purposes under this plan, certain types of accounts are treated separately. For example, taxable investment accounts would be covered by the CIPF to a maximum of $1 million: a Registered Retirement Savings Plan held by the same individual would be covered as a separate account to a maximum of $1 million. It is important to note that this insurance plan provides coverage against losses arising only for insolvency issues: the insurance protection does not cover market-driven investment losses. For further details on CIPF coverage, ask your Investment Advisor for a copy of the CIPF brochure or visit their website at www.cipf.ca.

5. Strict adherence to industry standards

Macquarie operates within the strictly regulated Canadian securities industry. Standards set by the Canadian Securities Administrators and Canadian Investor Protection Fund are monitored and enforced by IIROC. In addition to the requirement to segregate client securities, IIROC requires us to maintain adequate risk-adjusted capital to cover our business-specific risks, keep comprehensive and accurate records, employ appropriate procedures for handling securities, and carry sufficient fidelity bond insurance. IIROC monitors our compliance with these requirements through independent audits conducted regularly by external auditors and by IIROC examiners.

  
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