Cluster Asset Management, which is registered to sell securities in Ontario, and its president, Peter Michael de Auer, admitted in a settlement agreement with the BCSC that the firm provided investment advice to two B.C.-based clients without registration under the Securities Act from Jul. 2003 to Apr. 2008.
Cluster and Michael de Auer agreed to pay a $10,000 fine. This is in addition to paying $8,750 for registration fees that would have been payable to the BCSC if the firm had been registered in the first place.