The financial planner Fabien Major claims damage for “abusive” driving to his former employer, who denounces these allegations “devoid of foundation”.
A known figure in Quebec finance, the one who is also a columnist pursues the firm where he worked from 2019 to 2024, Assante Capital Management, for $ 1.6 million. He would have been the victim of a “calculated attack” against his integrity to seize his customers after his dismissal.
According to the judicial request filed in June at the Superior Court of Quebec, the financial planner claims $ 1,427,807 in pecuniary damages, $ 170,000 in moral damages and $ 50,000 in punitive damage.
The allegations were not proven in court.
Millions in play
Fabien Major led the Major Management of Capital Management at Outremont, a branch managing $ 742 million in assets and generating more than $ 4M of annual income. “Thanks to decades of work, he built a solid and respected reputation,” said the judicial document.
In July 2024, two young planners from his team, Antoine Chaume and Geneviève Lavigueur, offered to acquire his customers for $ 11.28M. Major refused. The two advisers then left to join the Assante branch of Brossard.
According to Fabien Major, Assante later orchestrated a denigration campaign, contacting his customers to dissuade them from following him towards his new firm, wealth management.
The firm would have disseminated “false statements” suggesting that he was under “investigation” or “unable to manage [ses] dossiers».
Assante firm position
“This complaint deforms the facts and we can assert with certainty that it is devoid of foundation,” replied Murray Oxby, vice-president of assistant communications, in an email to The press. The firm prefers not to comment more as the case is before the courts.
Assant maintains having acted according to regulatory obligations during the transition. The financial industry imposes strict rules on the transfers of advisers and customers between firms, supervised by the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (OCRI).
Broader issues
This fight reveals the tensions that can occur when an advisor changes a firm. “As a financial professional paid exclusively by commissions, the applicant has suffered a loss of income due to a significant loss of customers,” argues Fabien Major in his request.
The outcome of the dispute could establish precedents on acceptable practices during such transitions. Current rules are trying to balance the rights of advisers to maintain their customer relations with firms obligations to protect investors.