OUTSIDE ACTIVITIES OF, AND PERSONAL FINANCIAL DEALINGS WITH, YOUR PINNACLE REPRESENTATIVE

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Your Pinnacle Representative may have other gainful occupations or outside activities that may be permitted by Pinnacle and applicable securities law. Your Pinnacle Representative must receive prior approval from us to engage in other gainful or outside activities. If we determine that this occupation or activity may present a conflict of interest that can be resolved through proper disclosure, your Pinnacle Representative will provide you with that disclosure in accordance with applicable securities law. You should be aware that your Pinnacle Representative may provide other products or services that are outside of his or her securities related business activities that are not part of Pinnacle’s business activities. Such examples might include the sales of insurance products including segregated funds, accounting, bookkeeping or tax preparation services. These products and services are not considered securities related and are the responsibility of that individual alone and not Pinnacle. In the case of insurance products, including life products or segregated funds, they may be sold by your Pinnacle Representative in his or her capacity as a licensed insurance agent and processed through an agency related and/or unrelated to Pinnacle.

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Pinnacle has established Pinnacle Wealth Planning Inc. (“Pinnacle Wealth Planning”) that is an associate general agency, which has a relationship with a managing general agency that is involved in the distribution and sale of life insurance. Pinnacle Wealth Planning and Pinnacle are separate legal entities and involved in separate and different businesses and the business of Pinnacle Wealth Planning shall not be construed as the business of Pinnacle where an individual is a Pinnacle Representative and a licensed life insurance agent working with Pinnacle Wealth Planning.

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Pinnacle does not make any representations or warranties and assumes no liability in connection with any other gainful occupations or outside business activities engaged in by your Pinnacle Representative. In connection with the provision of these additional services, your Pinnacle Representative may be required to provide you with certain disclosures or the name of the company or organization providing the products or services and your Pinnacle Representative’s relationship to them.

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Pinnacle addresses potential material conflicts involving your Representative’s outside activities through applicable securities law and our policies and procedures, including disclosure to you in a document you sign.

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Representatives should not have any personal financial dealings with investors (including borrowing or lending to clients) except in very limited circumstances. We have policies and procedures to address such matters.

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FAIR ALLOCATION OF INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IF OVERSUBSCRIBED RELATIVE TO PINNACLE PRO GROUP & PINNACLE REPRESENTATIVES SERVING ON BOARDS AND ACCESS TO MATERIAL NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION

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Pinnacle’s employees, directors, officers, and Representatives (the “Pinnacle Pro Group”) may be purchasers of the securities that are promoted and sold by us to potential investors. Investments are sold by Pinnacle on a first-come-first-served basis. If an offering of third-party investment products or those created and promoted by Pinnacle [a proprietary product] are over-subscribed, Pinnacle clients will have an opportunity equal to other clients and be sold on a pro-rata basis, and in priority to any member of the Pinnacle Pro Group.

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We may receive limited allocations of securities we sell from certain issuers and may not be able to generally offer them to all investors. We may prefer allocating such limited offerings for sale by certain Representatives to certain investors. Accordingly, you may not be aware or receive an allocation and are treated differently than other investors in connection with limited offerings. We address such potential conflicts as follows: (a) Representatives make the determination based on individual client eligibility to purchase limited offerings; and (b) suitability of the investment to any particular client, as well as client priority are both fundamental considerations. Payments are made in accordance with Pinnacle’s policies and procedures where, among other things, allocations may not be influenced by guarantees of future business.

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Client priority is determined by the sequence in which Pinnacle receives fully completed and signed documents, confirms the availability of funds and completes a positive suitability review for a trade involving a limited offering. For example, a trade submitted first would not be in priority if deficient documents were submitted or unsigned until amended and resubmitted accordingly to Pinnacle Compliance.

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Members of the Pinnacle Pro Group may have access to confidential and/or non-public information about an issuer that you may not have which information advantage over existing and new investors may be a potential conflict of interest. In circumstances where a Representative has invested in securities of an issuer, along with other Pinnacle investors, they may potentially seek to redeem their investment ahead of Pinnacle clients if they have access to confidential and/or non-public information. 

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Pinnacle Pro Group members may also act as board members of private or public companies. This may pose a conflict of interest in circumstances where Pinnacle distributes securities of such companies where a Pinnacle Pro Group member is an officer and/or director, including proprietary products.

We address such potential material conflicts as follows: (a)  we have policies and procedures that address such matters; (b) we comply with securities legislation that prohibits an individual from serving as a director of another registered firm that is not an affiliate of our firm; (c) we maintain the confidentiality of any confidential and/or non-public information in accordance with applicable laws and any agreements we have entered into; and (d) Pinnacle does not control redemptions paid by an issuer or the redemption process. An investor must redeem directly with an issuer, subject to any redemption notice period, redemption fees, cash limits or otherwise, as disclosed in an issuer’s offering documents. However, Pinnacle Corporate Finance generally provides periodic updates to our Representative and investors at the same time so all material information is publicly available.

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REFERRAL & INTRODUCTION ARRANGEMENTS

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We may enter into referral or introduction arrangements from time to time with third parties or related parties pursuant to which we refer clients to another entity and receive a fee or another entity refers clients to us for which we pay referral fees. There is a potential conflict that we may refer you to referral parties since we receive a referral fee or to referral parties that pay us a higher referral fee. applicable securities law regulates our referral arrangements which are also set out in our policies and procedures.

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The details of these referral arrangements, including the parties to the referral arrangement, the manner in which the referral fee for services is calculated, and the party to whom it is paid will be provided to you in a separate document.

Note that within the province of Quebec, a share of commission including from a referral arrangement is only allowed where the referral partners are both registrants. However, a one time introduction fee of a flat amount is permitted.

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ACCESSING YOUR DOCUMENTS ON OUR CLIENT PORTAL& HOW WE REPORT TO YOU

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Accessing Your Documents Through our Client Portal(s):

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1. Exempt Edge, for Exempt Market Dealers only;

2. VieFund (for Mutual Fund Dealers only; or any other system that we may choose to use in the future).

3. Ndex (for PAM clients only; or any other system that we may choose to use in the future).

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Client reporting is done through a client portal provided through third-party vendors. They are called Exempt Edge for Exempt Market Clients,  Viefund/My Portfolio for Quebec Mutual Fund Clients, and Ndex for PAM clients, that you can access at:

 

Exempt Edge https://pwb.exemptedge.com/login

or

VieFund  https://www.pwb-viefund.ca/myportfolio/

or

Ndex https://f-engine.ndexsystems.com/fengine/fullservice/en/pinnaclewealthlogin.go

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In addition, nominee client accounts may access their documents through the Agora client platform or any other third-party vendor system that we may choose to use in the future.

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A unique e-mail address and password is required to access the portal(s) where certain documents, including Subscription Documents, KYC Documents, Order Forms, trade confirmations and Account Statements will be reasonably made available to you. When such documents are uploaded for your viewing and printing, an email will be sent to you providing you notice that a new document has been put into your portal. Please be sure this email is not blocked by your spam filter. 

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Where you do not have e-mail or do not want to view documents electronically, Pinnacle still offers you the option to receive your reports by mail. Please ensure your Know-Your-Client form correctly reports your full residential address and e-mail address that allow Pinnacle and your Representative, to communicate through. You are required to notify Pinnacle of any change in your e-mail address or postal address by notifying your Pinnacle Representative in writing.

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For purposes of this Section ”Accessing Your Documents on our Client Portal and How We Report to You”, the following capitalized terms have the meaning as set out below:

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“KYC Documents” means your Know-Your-Client Form, this Relationship Disclosure Information Form, your Account Trade and Order Form(s) and the Seniors Enhanced Suitability and Leverage Acknowledgement, as applicable;

“Reasonably made available” means a password protected website accessible by all clients (i.e., Exempt Edge) that allows you, our client, to receive or access documents, including your Subscription Documents, KYC Documents and Account Statements; and

Subscription Documents” for exempt market clients-means your subscription agreement and all attached schedules, the issuer’s offering document which includes, but is not limited to, the, Risk Acknowledgement, OM Acknowledgment and Related and Connected Issuer where applicable.

“Order Forms” for mutual fund clients- means your order form whereby you agree and authorize a mutual fund transaction.

 

How We Report to You

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We report to you through trade confirmations and account statements that are discussed below.

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Trade confirmations

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Upon completing your investment, a trade confirmation will be reasonably made available to you confirming certain information through the client portal unless otherwise specified by you the client.

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Pinnacle is not required to deliver a trade confirmation where the following apply:

a) you have given prior written notice that the transaction is made pursuant to the client’s participation in an automatic payment plan, including a dividend reinvestment plan, or automatic withdrawal plan in which the transaction is made at least monthly;

b a trade confirmation was delivered to you for the first transaction made under the plan;

c) the transaction is in a security of a mutual fund

 

Account statements

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• Account Statement – At least once every three months unless you advise us in writing that you want to receive it monthly, an account statement will be reasonably made available to you that reflects your transaction history with Pinnacle so long as you have an on-going relationship with Pinnacle. Your quarterly account statement will include information about each transaction during the reporting period including: (a) the date of the transaction, where possible; (b) whether the transaction was a purchase or redemption; (c) the name of each security; (d) the price per security; (e) securities purchased; (f) currency of the transaction; (g) the total cost value of the transaction; and (h) the name and quantity of each security in the account

• Annual Account Statement – Your annual account statement will also be reasonably made available to you in conjunction with your end of year quarterly statement. Pinnacle as a dealer is required to provide you with a report on charges and other compensation containing certain information, such as commissions and trailer fees received from  the issuer to Pinnacle during the applicable period, except that the first report delivered after a client has opened an account, which may cover a period of less than 12 months.

• Investment Performance Report – Pinnacle is required to deliver an investment performance report to a client every 12 months, except that the first report delivered after a client’s initial trade may be sent within 24 months.

• The requirement for an Investment Performance Report is not applicable to those accounts that have existed less than 12 months.

• The requirement for an investment performance report is not applicable to those accounts in which Pinnacle executes trades only as directed by a registered adviser acting on behalf of you, the client.

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Where an investment is illiquid and does not trade on a public market the current market value (CMV) for Investment Performance Report(s) is replaced by Net Asset Value (NAV). NAV is determined by the Issuer based on calculation methods declared in the offer documents. Where Pinnacle does not accept the NAV pursuant to regulations, Pinnacle reserves the right to determine a value to report in place or state as non-determinable (ND).

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Account Statements and Annual Reports will be provided through the client portal unless otherwise specified by you the client.

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PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKS AND HOW TO USE THEM

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You may assess the performance of your investments by comparing them to an investment performance benchmark. Benchmarks show the performance over time of a select group of securities. There are many different benchmarks. When choosing a benchmark, pick one that reflects your investments. For example, the S&P/TSX Composite Index follows the share prices of the largest companies listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. This index would be a good benchmark for assessing performance of a Canadian equity fund that invests only in large Canadian companies. It would be a poor benchmark if your investments are diversified in other products, sectors or geographic areas.

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Please speak to your Representative if you have questions about the performance of your portfolio or what benchmark(s) might be appropriate for you.

 

We do not use benchmarks - We note that Pinnacle does not use benchmarks to track your exempt market investment performance. A benchmark is a standard against which the performance of your securities may be measured such as a stock index. Exempt market securities are generally illiquid securities that are not actively traded in any marketplace that would allow you to determine the current market price or last bid and ask on a regular and reliable basis. Accordingly, measuring against such public market benchmarks could be misleading.

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You are responsible for advising Pinnacle of any redemptions or changes in your holdings with an issuer whose securities were sold to you by Pinnacle - We note that Pinnacle may not be aware of any change in your securities holdings through any redemptions you make with an issuer and/or additional securities you acquire from an issuer under a distribution reinvestment plan or similar type of plan. Our administration systems may not be real-time linked with all of our issuers or every trust company, but our systems are evolving. Accordingly, this information may not be reflected in your Pinnacle Account Statement unless you advise us of any change in your holdings with any issuer whose securities were sold by Pinnacle to you. If you buy or redeem/sell your securities, please advise your Pinnacle Representative in writing or contact us at: admin@pinnaclewealthbrokers.ca ,  so we may update your Account Statement accordingly. Furthermore, if the information on any trade confirmation or Account Statement you receive from us is inaccurate for any other reason, please contact Pinnacle’s Compliance department immediately at: admin@pinnaclewealthbrokers.ca. Pinnacle relies on the information provided to us  since issuers do not regularly update us, if at all, in connection with any securities that were originally sold to you by Pinnacle.

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COMPENSATION PAID TO PINNACLE AND PINNACLE REPRESENTATIVES

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Pinnacle, as an EMD, earns revenue from the sale and distribution of exempt market securities that are generally paid to us by the issuer of the securities you purchased.

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The commissions and fees that Pinnacle charges are disclosed in an issuer’s offering document, such as its offering memorandum, and Form 45-106F4 – Risk Acknowledgement Form when securities are sold to you pursuant to the offering memorandum prospectus exemption, [which documents are provided to investors] and include the following:

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Admin Fee: the portion of the commission paid, as stated below that is retained by Pinnacle and not paid out to the Representative.

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Commissions paid on or about the closing date: on or about the closing date of each transaction, Pinnacle, as an EMD, is paid commissions ranging between 0% and 14.2% of the aggregate purchase price of an investment, that is shared between our Representatives and us. The amount of commissions paid varies by issuer depending on a number of factors, including the type of security sold, the type of business, the amount raised, other fees paid by the issuer and other factors.

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Trailing commissions paid monthly, quarterly or annually post -closing: Pinnacle may also be paid a deferred or trailing commission of up to 2.0% of capital raised or net asset value per annum by certain issuers which is a monthly, quarterly or an annual fee, which varies per issuer, and paid for as long as you continue to hold the investment. Pinnacle, as an EMD, may receive a trailer fee based on a certain percentage of your investment held by an issuer. The amount and the calculation of these deferred or trailing commissions will be set out in the offering document of the issuer providing such compensation.

 

Performance fee/carried interest  – Pinnacle may also earn or receive as part of its compensation an equity, participation or carried interest in certain offerings that it shares, in part, with Pinnacle Representatives. Such fee or interest may be in the form of broker warrants, profit participation or a carried interest in connection with the investment.

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Negotiated fee – Pinnacle and/or Pinnacle Representative may also charge a negotiated fee for selling F-class or similar types of securities that are payable directly by a client.

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Pinnacle, in its capacity as a PM, may also receive a management fee and a performance fee, if earned, as PM and manager of any proprietary products sold by Pinnacle. Such fees may be up to 2.0% of assets under management of a particular fund.

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The fees that Pinnacle, as an EMD, charges, or may charge, that may not be reflected in any offering document, but are set out in an agreement with an issuer, are as follows:

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Corporate finance due diligence fee: Pinnacle is generally paid an initial corporate finance due diligence fee from each issuer whose securities may or may not be sold by Pinnacle. Such amounts may be paid up-front, or upon achieving certain milestones such as the completion of reviews, initial closings etc. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Pinnacle may also charge an issuer a fee a due diligence and Representative services provided to the issuer during the capital raising process, which may be in in lieu of or addition to a portion of the -up-front due diligence fees Pinnacle charges an issuer.

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In connection with any ongoing due diligence of an issuer, Pinnacle may also be paid an additional corporate finance fee.

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Lead Dealer fee – In certain circumstances, Pinnacle may be also paid an advisory services fee in an amount to be negotiated between the parties for services offered outside the scope of its corporate finance fee. Such fees may be for assisting in the structuring and development of a potential investment prior to, or as part of, engaging Pinnacle to undertake its due diligence review or in connection with other non-due diligence services. Such a fee may be in addition to, or in lieu of, Pinnacle’s corporate finance fee. The advisory fee would generally represent less than 1.0% of the total capital raised.

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Mergers & acquisition fees – Pinnacle may also charge certain issuers fees which are not related to due diligence or advisory services. Such fees may be in connection with merger and acquisition transactions, institutional debt placement or equity placements.

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Marketing fees – Pinnacle may also receive a marketing fee from certain issuers, in lieu of its annual update fees and conference fees of up to 0.5% of gross capital raised.

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Wholesaling fees – Pinnacle may also receive a wholesaling fee for providing wholesaling services to certain Related and Connected Issuers. See above “Section  Conflict of Interest – Related and Connected Issuers”.

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Referral fee: Pinnacle has various referral agreements in place with investment fund managers and portfolio managers registered under applicable securities law in Canada.  See also Section “Referral Arrangements”.

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Issuer paid reimbursement, benefits or Sales Incentives: Pinnacle and certain Pinnacle Representatives may also receive reimbursement payments  from issuers for certain marketing and/or product training and education activities , including but not limited to, paying for: (a) investor seminars, dinner meetings or similar event where one or more issuers provide a presentation to investors and/or product training and education to Pinnacle Representatives including at Pinnacle’s annual conference and/or other conference, meeting or event; (b) an association sponsored event (that may be sponsored by one or more issuers on Pinnacle’s product shelf and who may pay the costs of admission of a Pinnacle Representatives to attend such event); (c) domestic or foreign trips, food, beverages and accommodation in connection with due diligence trips where a Pinnacle Representative may accompany a potential investor; and/or,(d)  entertainment, including the provision of tickets to concerts, theatre or sporting events, or the ability to participate in events such as golf tournaments subject to Pinnacle’s gifting policy. These payments are meant to cover the cost of the activity and/or event.  These payments may be viewed as potential conflicts of interest and are subject to Pinnacle’s Conflict of Interest Policy.

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Compensation related conflicts and how they may impact you include the following:

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1. there is no common commission grid that issuers are required to pay us and our Representatives, and the types and amount of compensation vary by issuer and, among the securities offered by an issuer. This may impact our investment recommendations;

2. we or your Representative may have motivations to recommend a product where we are paid greater compensation or favour those issuers who may also pay us contingent or other compensation, if earned; and

3. as we receive different types of compensation, it also impacts the net amount received and invested by the issuer, and/or the valuation of your investment. 

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Pinnacle addresses compensation conflicts as follows:

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1. we have policies and procedures that address such matters, that include the giving or receiving of gifts from issuers;

2. will inform you of the fees, commissions, and other compensation in advance so that you know what you will be paying. This is disclosed to you in various ways, including in an issuer’s offering documents and, for greater transparency, in Pinnacle’s Offering Memorandum Acknowledgement Form;

3. we are required by industry regulations and firm policy only to make “suitable” investment recommendations, in line with your investment objectives, investment knowledge, time-horizon and risk profile, as well as the information available to us and your Representative, as set-out in, among other documents, your ‘Know-Your-Client Form’ that you complete with your Representative and sign;

4. although compensation offered by issuers varies, we have a:

   1. duty to act fairly, honestly and in good faith in all dealings with you, including, putting your interests first, when determining whether an investment is suitable for you, and acting in your best interest in connection with any material conflicts; and

   2. fixed commission grid with each of our Representatives that does not vary per issuer even though certain issuers pay a higher commission or have different compensation arrangements than others;

5. our compensation must consider current market conditions, market value and the specific securities being offered which impact the commission paid, which varies per issuer. We monitor the investment products we sell as part of our product due diligence and consider the compensation structures and fees of those products as a way to reduce any material conflicts and ensure each commission option has a situation where it would be most appropriate based on your personal situation; and

6. we seek to structure issuer sponsored events and/or training so they do not influence our recommendations. Pinnacle requires all issuers whose securities it sells to sponsor its events so one issuer is not preferred over another as a way to offset our costs as well as provide the same opportunity for all issuers to present and hold client calls throughout each year. Payments are based on a flat amount per Representatives registered with us and paid by all issuers whose securities are in distribution with Pinnacle.

 

Pinnacle, as a Mutual Fund Dealer, is compensated through the Fees and Charges as disclosed in - See “Pre-Trade Disclosure of Investor Charges- Mutual Fund Clients”.

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Clients Pay a fee directly to Pinnacle Asset Management from their account(s). The fee compensates: PAM and the PM for the portfolio management services, the custodian for holding and administering the securities in your portfolio, as well as any fees that need to be collected and remitted directly by PAM to a third party for portfolio management activities. Additional fees maybe embedded within certain investments chosen by your PM, however neither PAM nor your PM receives any form of additional renumeration or other advantages as a result.  

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If you have any questions on how Pinnacle or your Pinnacle Representative is paid, please ask us. We encourage you to read the fees and expenses in connection with any securities you purchase that are set out in the offering document of the issuer that you are provided with before you purchase their securities.

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PINNACLE ASSET MANAGEMENT REPORTING

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PAM will provide you with a statement of account(s) holdings and activity on a quarterly basis. The statement will show both the market and book value of securities held in your managed account and provide other mandated disclosures. 

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You will also receive, on an annual basis, a performance report that details the change in the value of your account (or family of accounts) during the year and since inception of the account. That report will also show the percentage return earned on the account (or family of accounts) for the year and other specified periods.

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Finally, you will receive, on an annual basis, a summary of all the management fees charged to you by PAM with respect to your managed account(s). As well as a summary of any management fees or charges withdrawn directly from any investment fund. 

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You have consented to receive electronic delivery of the above notices and any other notice that PAM is obligated to send.  Such electronic delivery will be made to the contact e-mail provided in the CIS.   

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You may also request at no cost, a paper copy of any documents that have been delivered electronically by contacting the CCO. Your consent to receive such materials through e-mail may also be revoked or changed at any time by notifying the CCO. Contact details are set out under part VII below. 

In addition to this reporting, the custodian, CQSI will provide you with a separate reporting on your managed account(s) holdings, pursuant to their regulatory obligations.  You will receive statements for your account:

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• On a quarterly basis or you have requested to receive monthly statements;

 

Tax Slips

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Any tax slips related to your accounts will be sent to you via CQSI to the address on file for your account(s).  These include but are not limited to; T3s T5s, RRSP contributions, RRIF withdrawals, etc.  

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ELECTRONIC E-MAIL COMMUNICATION

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Pinnacle or your Pinnacle Representative request that communications with us be conducted by e-mail. The transmission of account information and instructions via electronic mail presents unique risks to both parties. The following is a sample (non- exhaustive) list of these risks:

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Failure to receive account information. Information may be delivered and not received by the intended recipient. This may be due to technical issues in transmission, misdirection or failure to properly identify the information received.

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Inability to clarify information on a timely basis. Where information is received and reviewed by the intended recipient, it may not be possible to contact you on a timely basis to clarify vague or incomplete information.

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Lack of client confidentiality. Transmission of client information via electronic mail is not necessarily secure or encrypted. No guarantee can be made as to privacy of client information transmitted via e-mail.

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Inability to confirm the message was sent by you. Receipt of communications via electronic mail does not permit the intended recipient to confirm with certainty that the instructions are provided by the authorized person.

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By providing your e-mail address to Pinnacle or your Pinnacle Representative, you confirm you understand and appreciate the risks in communicating via electronic mail. Notwithstanding these risks, you have elected to send or receive information via electronic means and accept all risks associated with this means of communication, including the risk that such direction may not be received by the intended recipient. You understand that if you do not receive prompt confirmation from Pinnacle or your Pinnacle Representative regarding the receipt of an e- mail message, it is your responsibility to follow-up with Pinnacle and/or your Pinnacle Representative to ensure that such information was received as intended.

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Communications over the Internet, including instant messages, cannot be guaranteed to be secure or error-free. Instant messages and their attachments are subject to being intercepted, becoming corrupted, getting lost or delayed, or to containing viruses. Therefore, neither the sender nor Pinnacle accepts any liability for any errors or omissions in the content of this message or problems in its transmission arising as a result of its transmission over the Internet.

You may elect to opt out of receiving any electronic communication from Pinnacle or its Representatives by contacting Pinnacle  in writing at:  admin@pinnaclewealth.ca

 

ELECTRONIC SIGNATURES AND E-COMMERCE

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What is Electronic Signature?

Pinnacle is committed to carrying on business in the most efficient and effective way possible and has adopted an E-Signature Policy to allow for the use, and acceptance of, electronic signatures in lieu of manual signatures, to the extent permitted by law and the applicable securities law.

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Under the PIPEDA, an electronic signature or “E- Signature” means “a signature that consists of one or more letters, characters, numbers or other symbols in digital form incorporated in, attached to or associated with an electronic document/electronic information that a person creates or adopts in order to sign a document and that is in, attached to or associated with the with the document.”

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Use of Our Electronic Signature Platform

For the protection of our clients, Pinnacle is only able to accept E-Signatures executed through its E-Signature platform within the applicable third-party vendor, whereby an audit log is available showing when the client viewed and signed the document, and with which e-mail address. Therefore, use of the E-Signature platform requires you to provide a unique e-mail address and provide meaningful consent for Pinnacle and its affiliates to communicate through the e-mail you provided to us. Additionally, upon signing in to Pinnacle’s E-Signature platform, you are required to complete an acknowledgement whereby you consent to transact business using electronic communications, to receive notices and disclosures electronically, and to utilize E-Signatures in lieu of using paper documents. E-Signatures do, however, present the risk of misuse and loss of control if not administered properly. This can occur if E-Signatures are applied by an individual not authorized to access your email or the sharing of emails and passwords

 

Your Responsibility

It is your responsibility, as the client, to immediately notify Pinnacle and or your Representative, in writing, should you become aware that your email and/or password has been compromised or you are unable to access the information in Pinnacle’s client portal as executed by yourself. Additionally, you, the client, are responsible for maintaining a unique e-mail address in order to access Pinnacles client portal to electronic sign documents and to ultimately review signed documents for their accuracy.  See above “Section - Accessing Your Documents on our client Portal and How We Report to You.”

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PIPEDA AND CASL - Pinnacles use of E-Signatures is in compliance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada) (“PIPEDA”) and Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (“CASL”), that requires firms, in certain instances, to obtain a client’s express written consent  to receive commercially electronic messages (“CEMs”). At any time, you, the client, can request that Pinnacle stop sending you CEMs. However, in doing so you, will no longer be able to use Pinnacle’s client portal or E-Signature Platform and all information will be provided to you by mail via Canada Post.

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PINNACLE’S COMPLAINT POLICY

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What is a complaint?

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A “complaint” is a complaint that relates to a trading or advising activity of Pinnacle or a Pinnacle Representative. Pinnacle takes all complaints seriously and encourages clients to file any complaint as soon as possible to avoid clients filing claims outside the 6-year time limit for the availability of having a complaint reviewed by the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments and/or within any applicable statutory limitation period(s).

A complaint involves one of the following:

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• a trading or advising activity;

• a breach of client confidentiality;

• theft, fraud, misappropriation or forgery;

• misrepresentation;

• an undisclosed or prohibited conflict of interest; or

• personal financial dealings with a client.

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Pinnacle may request that a complainant put any complaint in writing.

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What to do if you have a complaint:

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Pinnacle has procedures in place to handle any written or verbal complaints received from clients in a fair and prompt manner, which is set out below.

 

Filing a complaint with us  

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If you have a complaint about a product we sell or our services, please contact Pinnacle’s Chief Compliance Officer:

• by telephone: 1-855-628-4286

• by email: admin@pinnaclewealth.ca

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You may want to consider using a method other than email for sensitive information.

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• Tell us - Tell us what went wrong, when it happened and what we can do to remedy the situation.

• We will acknowledge your complaint - Pinnacle will acknowledge your complaint within five (5) business days of receipt, excluding office closures due to statutory holidays and one office closure during the December Holiday Season (approximately two weeks), and provide you an update in writing advising how the complaint is being dealt with, who to contact if you require further information, and when you can expect a response. We may ask you to provide clarification or more information to help us resolve your complaint.

• We will provide our decision - We normally provide our decision in writing, within 90 days of receiving a formal complaint. It will include a summary of the complaint, the result of our investigation and our decision to make an offer to resolve the complaint or deny it, and the explanation of our decision.

• If our decision is delayed - If for any reason we cannot provide you with our decision within 90 days, we will inform you of the delay, explain why our decision is delayed and give you a new date for our decision. You may be eligible for the independent dispute resolution service offered by the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (“OBSI”).

• If you are not satisfied with our decision - You may be eligible for OBSI’s dispute resolution service.

• Taking your complaint to OBSI - You may be eligible for OBSI’s free and independent dispute resolution service if we do not provide our decision within 90 days after you made your complaint or you are not satisfied with our decision.

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OBSI can recommend compensation of up to $350,000. OBSI’s service is available to Pinnacle clients. This does not restrict your ability to take a complaint to a dispute resolution service of your choosing at your own expense, or to bring an action in court. Keep in mind there are time limits for taking legal action.

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Who can use OBSI? 

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You have the right to use OBSI’s service if:

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• your complaint relates to a trading or advising activity of Pinnacle or by one of our Representatives;

• you brought your complaint to us within 6 years from the time that you first knew, or ought to have known, about the event that caused the complaint; and

• you file your complaint with OBSI according to its time limits below.

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Time limits apply: If we do not provide you with our decision within 90 days, you can take your complaint to OBSI any time after the 90-day period has ended. If you are not satisfied with our decision, you have up to 180 days after we provide you with our decision to take your complaint to OBSI.

 

How you can file a complaint with OBSI:

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The process for filing a complaint with OBSI is discussed below.

1. Contacting OBSI – You can contact OBSI:

   • by email: ombudsman@obsi.ca

   • by telephone: 1-888-451-4519 or 416-287-2877 in Toronto

2. OBSI will investigate - OBSI works confidentially and in an informal manner. It is not like going to court, and you do not need a lawyer. During its investigation, OBSI may interview you and representatives of Pinnacle. We are required to cooperate in OBSI’s investigations.

3. Information OBSI needs to help you - OBSI can help you best if you promptly provide all relevant information, including:

   • your name and contact information

   • Pinnacle’s name and contact information

   • the names and contact information of any of our Representatives who have been involved in your complaint

   • details of your complaint

   • all relevant documents, including any correspondence and notes of discussions with us

4. OBSI will provide its recommendations - Once OBSI has completed its investigation, it will provide its recommendations to you and us. OBSI’s recommendations are not binding on you or us. OBSI can recommend compensation of up to $350,000. If your claim is higher, you will have to agree to that limit on any compensation you seek through OBSI. If you want to recover more than $350,000, you may want to consider another option, such as legal action, to resolve your complaint.

5. Information about OBSI - For more information about OBSI visit www.obsi.ca

6. If you are a Quebec resident - If you are not satisfied with the outcome or with the examination of your complaint, you may ask us, at any time, to transfer the file to The Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”). Filing of a complaint with the AMF does not interrupt the prescriptive period for civil remedies. For questions concerning their examination process of complaints, please contact the AMF information centre at 1-877-525-0337 or information@lautorite.qc.ca.

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Pinnacle complies with the rules governing the protection of personal information when transferring files to the AMF. A complaint file must be comprised of the written complaint (including the reproach made to the registrant, the actual or potential and the corrective action requested), the result of the complaint process (analysis and supporting documents) and our final written response to the complainant.

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Twice a year, Pinnacle has the obligation to transmit a report stating the number and nature of the complaints received to the AMF, whether or not it has received complaints (by July 30, for data collected between January 1 and June 30; by January 30, for data collected between July 1 and December 31).

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PINNACLE’S PRIVACY POLICY - Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (Canada) (“PIPEDA”)

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What is our Privacy Policy?

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Pinnacle’s Privacy Policy describes how we collect, hold, use and disclose your personal information when we do business with you. Pinnacle’s Privacy Policy is provided in compliance with PIPEDA and, where applicable, similar provincial privacy legislation. Please contact us through one of the means listed at the end of this Privacy Policy if you have any questions.

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What is "personal information"?

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The personal information collected about you for the purposes identified in our Privacy Policy is held in our records. Your “personal information” may include your name, address and telephone number, social insurance number, birth date, account holdings, and the name, address and social insurance number of your spouse and any beneficiaries. Depending on the investment products or services you request, additional personal information may be held in our records. Personal Information does not include the name, title or business address or telephone number of an employee of an organization.

 

Who is our Chief Privacy Officer?

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Pinnacle’s Chief Compliance Officer is also our Chief Privacy Officer who is responsible for overall privacy governance. All of our employees and Representatives are responsible to maintain your privacy and are available to address any questions or concerns you may have.

 

How are we accountable?

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Pinnacle is responsible for your personal information in its possession or custody, including personal information that has been transferred to, or received from, a third-party in the course of commercial activities for processing or other purposes for which you have consented.

 

What information do we collect?

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Most of the information we collect is directly from you. We obtain your personal information from the “Know-Your-Client” Form and related schedules you complete with your Pinnacle Representative when you open an account with us, subscription agreements and related schedules you complete, and the books and records maintained by Pinnacle and your Pinnacle Representative based on our discussions with you. We may also collect financial and other information about you from a variety of sources including from: transactions you have made with or through us, credit reporting agencies and other financial institutions.

 

When you purchase a security, we will ask you to provide only the information that enables us to complete the purchase or sale of a security, to provide better service or to offer you products and services we believe you might be interested in.

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Information about you

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Information essential for fulfilling most financial requests and applications includes:

• information establishing your identity, such as your name, address, phone number, title, business phone number, email address, date of birth, social insurance number or social security number (for tax purposes), and account numbers;

• information related to transactions arising from your relationship with and through us, and from other financial institutions;

• information you provide in a “Know-Your-Client” Form and related schedules for the provision of our products and services, such as your annual income, place of employment, investments, account balance, financial liabilities, transaction history;

• information about financial behavior such as your payment history and credit worthiness;

• information pertaining to business clients will include your business name, address, phone number, email address, industry type, financial status and detail(s) on the owner(s), operator(s) and director(s); and

• additional information may be requested to help us determine your eligibility for products and services that we offer.

 

Why did we do that?

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We collect, use and disclose personal information in order to provide you with the products and services that will help you to   meet all of your financial goals. Knowing you helps us to understand your wealth management needs, communicate effectively with you, and provide you with suitable services and products. Specifically, we collect, use and disclose your personal information to:

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• verify your identity;

• determine your eligibility for investment products and services sold by Pinnacle, and for products that may be of interest to you from affiliates of Pinnacle and/or business partners with whom we have formed an association, and offering to you these products and services;

• manage our risks and operations;

• analyze the suitability of our products or services for you;

• provide you with ongoing services, establish and maintain communications, and to respond to your inquiries;

• communicate with you and send you information in connection with ongoing investment opportunities;

• determine fees and expenses;

• investigate and settle complaints;

• detect and prevent fraud;

• compile statistics, conduct market research and report to regulatory and industry agencies;

• investigate specific transactions or patterns of transactions to detect unauthorized or illegal activities; and

• comply with our legal and regulatory requirements. If we have your social insurance number, social security number we may use it for tax related purposes if you hold a product generating income and share it with the appropriate government agencies or issuers with whom you have purchased securities. We may also share it with credit reporting agencies as an aid to identify you, collectively, the “Identified Purposes”.  

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Personal information may be collected, used or disclosed for any of these Identified Purposes. If your personal information is not needed for one of the Identified Purposes, we will not use or disclose it without obtaining additional consent from you. For further information about what information we collect about you and why, we refer you to Section  above- “Pinnacles’ “Know-Your Product”, “Know -Your Client” and Suitability Obligations””.

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Additional uses

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• We may communicate with you through various channels including telephone, electronically, such as through e-mail or mail using the contact information you have provided.

• With your consent, we may use your information to promote our products and services and that of third parties we select, which we believe you will be interested in.

• In the event that your Pinnacle Representative is no longer with the firm, you consent to the disclosure of your personal information by Pinnacle to another Pinnacle Representative.

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How do we collect your personal information generally?

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The collection, use and disclosure of your personal information depends on how you do business with us. We may gather information from the following sources:

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• from you, your “Know-Your Client” Form and related schedules , or on other forms filled out through telephone, email or face-to-face interviews, such as your name, address, telephone number, email address, occupation and financial and banking; and

• from your interactions with us, such as your transaction history and correspondence.

 

How do we collect your personal information from our website?

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(a) Cookies

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• Pinnacle collects information through our website, which you provide to us of your own accord when you submit forms or send us an email message using the links found on our website. We also collect personal information when you subscribe to our newsletter by using the newsletter subscription link on our website.  This information includes, but may not be limited to, your full name and email address. 

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• Pinnacle’s web server uses cookies to track visitors to our website. A “cookie” is a text record of your visit sent to your browser and placed on your hard drive that identifies some technical characteristics of your browser so that our web server can remember information about you for future visits to our website. 

 

When you log onto Pinnacle’s website, it installs temporary cookies on your computer while you are logged onto the website. By registering to use Pinnacle, and/or by making any use of Pinnacle and/or any of the pages or information made available on Pinnacle you expressly acknowledge and agree that we use cookies, including for purposes such as:

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• collecting and compiling information like the number of visitors to our websites, where the visitors to our websites came from and the pages they visit on our websites;

• delivering advertisements that are relevant to you and your interests and measuring the effectiveness of our advertising campaigns in order to provide you with personalized service; and

• collecting your internet protocol address or other similar device identifier on the date you visit our websites (without collecting your name or other similar identifying information) so as to allow the website to recognize your computer or other similar device.

 

Pinnacle is not aware of, nor responsible for, the cookie practices of any third-party websites.

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You can limit the collection of your information by disabling cookies on your browser. You may also be able to modify your browser settings to require your permission each time a website attempts to set a cookie. However, our websites (and many other websites) rely on cookies to enable certain functionality. If you choose to disable cookies, some of the services available on our websites may not work properly.

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(b) Use of Third Parties

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We may use third-party providers to help collect and compile information like the number of visitors to our websites, where visitors have come to our websites from and the pages they visit. Our third-party providers may also use cookies to deliver advertisements that are more relevant to you and your interests and to help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. Third-party providers will not have access to your name or other identifying information.

 

Internet-Based Advertising

Interest-based advertising allows us to deliver advertisements that are more relevant to you and your interests. It works by showing you advertisements that are based on your browsing patterns and the way you have interacted with this and other websites.

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As you browse our website, some of the cookies placed on your computer may be advertising cookies, so we can understand what sort of pages you are interested in. We can then display advertising on your browser that is based on these perceived interests. These cookies do not contain personal or financial information about you but may contain a unique identifier required by the retargeting process. If you access one of these ads, we may also track the response rate and the website activity associated with it.

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We also work with third-party advertising providers who collect and use information about your visits to this and other websites (but not your name, email address, postal address or phone number) to show you advertising that may be of interest to you. This includes the advertising displayed on our websites and the Pinnacle advertising you may be shown when you are on other third-party websites.

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Third-party Websites and Links

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. We are not responsible for the practices of those third-party websites. Where you access other websites from our website using the links provided, the operators of these websites may use cookies in accordance with their own policies, which may differ from ours. You should read their privacy and cookie policies carefully before you provide any personal information to them.

 

With which parties your personal information is shared:

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If you provide personal information to us or through any of the above sources, you do so with the understanding that your personal  information may be disclosed for the Identified Purposes amongst us, the above sources, or third parties and that Pinnacle may verify such information, or obtain additional personal information about you by checking with government agencies, credit bureaus, and other fact collecting and verifying entities to assist us for the Identified Purposes. For example, we may share your personal information with

1. the issuer with whom you have purchased securities,

2. with a third-party administration system where your personal information is electronically stored;

3. a trust company, such as Olympia Trust Company or Computershare Limited, where you may have a registered account and where you used funds to purchase securities,

4. one or more Canadian securities regulatory authorities upon request, in response to their compliance oversight of Pinnacle and our Representatives,

5. a court order;

6. to OBSI if you make a complaint;

7. to affiliated entities of Pinnacle in connection with products or services information they may send to you;

8. registrar and transfer agents, portfolio managers, dealers and other service providers with whom we have a relationship;

9. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) that allows this government agency to facilitate the detection, prevention and deterrence of money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities; and

10.  other services providers, such our accountants or lawyers, if required in the operation of our business or otherwise.

 

Your knowledge and consent are required before we may collect, use or disclose your personal information, except in special circumstances, such as during a fraud investigation, an investigation by the police, in situations otherwise permitted by the law or as previously stated in this document.

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