On July 19, 2019, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC)
approved a settlement with Caldwell Investment Management
Ltd. (CIM) over failures to comply with the best execution
obligation applicable to investment advisers. The best execution
obligation requires advisers to ensure that they execute trades for
their clients on terms that are as advantageous to the client as
reasonably available. The OSC's settlement with CIM marks the
first ever enforcement proceeding brought before the OSC based on
the best execution obligation and so provides insight into the
standard that the OSC staff will apply to advisers going
forward.
Background
CIM is a registered adviser in Ontario that serves as a
portfolio manager and investment fund manager. Between January 2013
and November 2016, CIM directed most of its clients' equity and
bond trades to a related investment dealer named Caldwell
Securities Ltd. ("CSL"). The client trades that CIM
directed to CSL often resulted in