The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has added HB Global to its list of companies not to do business with, according to a regulatory statement.
HB Global is the latest entity to be added to the OSC warning list and follows a growing number of recent complaints regarding Forex and binary options firms.
Representatives of this company contacted Ontario residents by telephone, seeking investment funds to trade precious metals, commodities, shares, indices, and forex through an online Trading Platform . However, this brand is not registered to sell securities in Ontario, or anywhere else in Canada, and have therefore failed to comply with provincial securities laws.
“HBG is phoning Ontarians and encouraging them to open online trading accounts. Neither HBG nor its representatives are registered in Ontario to solicit investments, provide brokerage services, or provide advice on investing in, or buying or selling securities or commodities,” said the OSC.
OSC sharpens its claws
A company’s registration status can be checked by using the Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Registration Search database at www.aretheyregistered.ca.
This is not the first time that HB Global has been red-flagged for soliciting traders without regulatory permissions. The watchdog says the British Columbia Securities Commission and Financial and Consumer Services Commission of New Brunswick have issued similar warnings against the same company for providing forex trading services in their respective provinces without having the required authorization.
In its capacity as one of Canada’s provincial regulators, OSC seeks to protect investors while promoting fair and efficient capital markets throughout the province. The regulator website provides information, tools, and resources for investors, including investor warnings about individuals and companies that appear to be engaging in unauthorized activities.
Earlier last month, the commission fined Toronto-based Caldwell Investment Management $1.35 million for not getting the best execution price for its customer transactions and failing to supervise the process.
The provincial regulator also ordered the asset manager to pay a further CAD 250,000 to cover the cost of the OSC’s investigation involving its equity and bond trades.
