Accountant breached rules by advising clients on trades without a licence
A provincial commission has found that Manitoba accountant illegally acted as an investment advisor for more than a decade while not registered as one.
Arthur Schellenberg, a chartered accountant, gave clients advice on securities and investments without registering under the Manitoba Securities Act, according to a decision earlier this week by the Manitoba Securities Commission.
The 60-page decision published on Feb. 13 details the allegations against Schellenberg involving eight clients and violations from 2001 to 2013.
In one case, a client who invested $100,000 was left with less than $200 less than three years later.
Schellenberg argued that he mentored clients rather than advised them and denied he was motivated by financial gain.
"We do recognize that, by 'mentoring' his clients in the matter of investment strategies and methods of making savings grow he did not do so primarily for financial gain," the decision reads.
"The facts are that he did charge some of his clients fees and that, while he apparently did not set out to create a side business in investment counseling, he did promote himself, or his skills, to some of his clients."
Schellenberg will learn the penalty for his actions at a later date.
