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An Armstrong man has been sanctioned by the British Columbia Securities Commission for failing to properly assess if investments were suitable for his clients.

Former portfolio manager Albert Alan Housego was registered as an advising representative from 2014 to 2017, managing four investment funds operated by Ontario-based Crystal Wealth Management System Ltd.

Housego managed accounts, on a discretionary basis, for at least 487 clients.

According to a release by the BCSC, after a high-risk investment by one of the funds defaulted, Housego placed at least 260 of the clients in that fund, for investments totalling $985,000.

Housego admitted he did not maintain sufficient information about some of the clients to assess whether the investments were suitable for them.

Housego also admitted he breached his obligations when he placed at least 323 clients into two funds, for investments totalling some $6.7 million, without having sufficient understanding of the structure, features and risks of the fund’s underlying investments.

As part of the settlement, Housego has agreed to pay $150,000 to the BCSC, and is prohibited for 15 years from:

• trading or purchasing any securities or exchange contracts, except in one account in his own name
• becoming or acting as a registrant or promoter
• acting in a management or consultative capacity in connection with activities in the securities market
• engaging in promotional activities

If Housego has not paid the sanction in full within 15 years, the prohibitions will remain in place until he does.

The BCSC is the independent provincial government agency responsible for regulating capital markets in British Columbia through the administration of the Securities Act.