March 23, 2010 Organization

Montreal – The fraud prevention program launched in November 2009 by the Autorité des marchés financiers (the “AMF”) has had a significant impact on the behaviour of Quebeckers. More than one third of Quebeckers (36%) who are familiar with the AMF and the advertising campaign featuring TV personality Guy Mongrain confirm they have changed their investing practices.

The findings are from an omnibus survey conducted on-line by Léger Marketing between March 8 and 11 with 1,000 respondents. The survey also shows that 20% of respondents in the same group were prompted to contact the AMF about investment issues.

As well, Quebeckers now have a much better knowledge of the services provided by the AMF. Its investor education services, which deliver information and prevention programs, are now familiar to 52% of respondents, an increase of 23% over the data gathered in the fall of 2009. In addition, 43% of respondents are aware of AMF consumer assistance services, for an increase of 8%.

Higher volume of calls to Information Centre

The larger volume of calls to the Information Centre clearly shows that consumers are more aware of the importance of investigating before they invest. On average, since the start of the “Before investing, investigate” campaign, calls to the AMF Information Centre were up by over 70% compared with the same period last year. Approximately one quarter of these calls pertain to questions about the right to practice of persons offering financial products or services. This is a basic step in preventing fraud.

“The results of this survey and the larger volume of calls to the Information Centre are very encouraging. They seem to indicate that an increasing number of Quebeckers are adopting practices that make them less vulnerable to fraud,” said Jean St-Gelais, AMF President and Chief Executive Officer.

Popular Tools

From the start of the “Before investing, investigate” campaign, the AMF has distributed over 45,000 copies of its information brochures. The AMF website has also become a reference that is being consulted more regularly by Quebeckers. Since November, the Register of Firms and Individuals Authorized to Practice has been consulted over 110,000 times, representing an increase of over 50,000 consultations over the same period last year.

Public Conferences by Guy Mongrain

The AMF recently launched a series of public conferences on fraud prevention with Guy Mongrain in attendance. He is featured in the “Before investing, investigate” campaign. The first two conferences were held in Québec City and Laval in recent weeks and were a tremendous success. Over 450 participants learned about the consequences of financial fraud and how they can better protect themselves. The next conference will be held at the Sandman Hotel in Longueuil on April 29, 2010 at 7:30 p.m.

The Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) is the regulatory and oversight body for Québec's financial sector.

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Information:

Media only:
Sylvain Théberge: (514) 940-2176

Information Centre:
Québec City: 418-525-0337
Montréal: 514-395-0337
Toll-free: 1-877-525-0337