About Us
The only dedicated voice of Canadian Mutual Fund dealers
The Federation of Mutual Fund Dealers (the “Federation”) is an association of Canadian mutual fund dealers and industry participants. Since 1996, the Federation has been working to strengthen the mutual fund industry in Canada.
Currently the Federation represents dealer firms with over $150 billion of assets under administration and more than 28 thousand licensed advisors that provide financial services to over 3.8 million Canadians and their families; plus Affiliate Members who have a keen interest in our industry’s activities and bring valuable perspective.
Our mandate is to ensure that your concerns, interests and views are clearly represented to regulators, with a sharper focus on viability/sustainability issues. Mutual fund dealers must maintain a strong and united voice as we move forward in this changing business environment. Our official website www.fmfd.ca continues to develop as a tool for communication as well as an invaluable source of information including a members-only access area.
How does the Federation operate? The Federation’s Board is a “Working Board”, Members participate on industry task forces; discuss and craft comment letters, meet with other trade associations and meet with the MFDA. Information is provided to Members in the form of a ‘Monday Musings’ and via ad hoc general membership meetings. Our education events are free to Members, our day-long dealer conference at a prestigious downtown Toronto venue is discounted to Members and our annual membership dinner preceding our AGM is also free to Members.
Our Vision
Our VISION is to be the representative voice of mutual fund distribution in Canada.
Our Mission
Our MISSION is to ensure the viability and prosperity of this channel of distribution.
Our Purpose
- Provide the forum for all stakeholders
- Be the advocate for our members, and
- Work with members to provide support through education, awareness and best practices.
What do we do?
Meet with the CSA and the MFDA to discuss your issues and concerns
Meet with staff at Ontario’s Ministry of Finance, the Ontario Securities Commission, the CSTO the BCSC, CSA and other regulatory bodies to discuss the sweeping changes regulatory reform is bringing
Meet with trade associations, lobby groups, regulators and individuals in order to further our mandate and protect this channel of distribution no matter who is charged with oversight
What can the Federation do for you?
Provide one-on-one regulatory information
Represent your collective interests with the regulators
Provide you with access to a strategic network of your peers
Provide you with opportunities to learn from the best and most experienced in the business
Bring new ideas, products and offerings to its members; and
Provide preferred pricing on dealer events, education etc.
Meet the Federation Board
John Adams
John Adams, CEO, Primerica Financial Services (Canada) Ltd. group of companies
From 1992 until 1996 John was Director, Financial Services of McMaster University, and from 1996 until 2000 was Treasurer of The Old Republic Insurance (Canada) group of companies. He joined Primerica in 2000, was appointed CEO Primerica Life Canada in 2002 and CEO of PFSL Investments in 2006.
John is a Board member of the Federation of Mutual Fund Dealers and the Investment Funds Institute of Canada and is a past Chairman. John has served on the boards of several not for profit organizations, often in a financial advisory capacity. He lives in Port Credit with his wife and two children.
Bill Charles
Bill Charles, CEO, Global Maxfin
Bill Charles is the Chief Executive Officer of Global Maxfin Investments Inc. and Global Insurance Solutions Inc. In this role, he is responsible for the overall leadership, direction, growth and profitability of the MFDA Dealership and MGA Business.
Bill served on the Board of Directors of the MFDA from 2011 to 2013. He is currently on the Board of Directors of IFIC and a Member of the IFIC Dealer Committee.
Maria Jose Flores
Maria Jose Flores, CCO, Carte Wealth
Ms. Flores holds the title of Chief Compliance Officer at Carte Wealth Management Inc. This role includes supervising, recruiting, training, motivating and dealing with any challenges that our advisors encounter from day to day. Ms. Flores ensures that everyone in the organization is in compliance with CRM’s rules and regulations, reinforces the firm’s policies and procedures, and promotes the company’s Code of Ethics.
Marie-Josée Audet
Marie-Josée Audet, VP, Operational Excellence and Administration, Desjardins
She is mandated to oversee all operations activities for the mutual funds dealer and the MGA.
She is an actuary by training and has an MBA, along with nearly 20 years of experience in investments and insurance. Over the years, she has held a number of management positions in operations and customer service, in addition to participating in a number of IT upgrade projects.
Nelson Cheng
Nelson Cheng, CEO, Sterling Mutuals
Nelson first entered the mutual fund industry in 1987. He founded Sterling Mutuals in 1996 in order to offer the industry an alternative to the traditional mutual fund dealer. He has been a supporter of health care organizations in the Windsor Essex County area for the past 25 years. His company, Sterling Mutuals Inc. is the lead sponsor for the Tee Off For Teens Charity Golf Tournament, which raises funds for youth programs and services provided by the Teen Health Centre/Windsor Essex Community Health Centre. The tournament is now in its 20th year.
Robert Smuk
Robert Smuk, President, Agora Dealer Services
Robert has been a board member, strategist and leader across numerous organizations ranging from global corporations to start ups. As president and CEO across three technology and services companies in the financial services industry, Robert has been able to marry strong leadership, deep financial services knowledge and a love for technology to build, transform and enable diverse global teams. Robert now spends the majority of his time bringing that experience to early stage Canadian companies.
Elisabeth Chamberland
Élisabeth Chamberland, CCO, PEAK Investment Services
Aly Damji
Aly Damji, VP Wealth Management, HUB Capital
Aly Damji is the of HUB Capital. He has been with HUB for the last 12 years and been in the financial services industry since 2000.
He is often a guest speaker at industry events and uses his past experiences in the field to better relate to HUB’s brokers and provide them the resources and tools they need to succeed.
John Webster
John Webster, President, Queensbury Securities Inc.
Joined Queensbury Securities in 1992. Assisted in creating Queensbury’s mutual fund dealer, Queensbury Strategies in 1993 and obtaining Queensbury Securities’ IIROC membership in 2002. Member of the IIAC Small Dealers Committee, and a volunteer Director and past-Chairman of the S.H.A.R.E. Agriculture Foundation.
What Our Members Say
Our reps and our staff see that the management of our dealer is actively involved and they see this as a positive thing for them and the dealer…people want to be associated with the ‘doers’ not the ones that complain and never get involved to make things better
Allows me to network with other senior executives who face similar challenges
Membership provides an avenue for sourcing answers to tough industry questions both from a regulatory and a business perspective
The Federation is on the ground level to influence change in the industry; therefore helping members thrive in their respective practices
Ready to Join the Discussion?
The Federation of Mutual Fund Dealers welcomes your membership and support. Together can we will continue to make a positive difference in our industry!