Meet with PWL Capital — https://pwlcapital.com/ PWL Team — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/ Avoid Online Scams https://pwlcapital.com/stay-safe-online/ Ben Felix or any PWL employee will never reach out to you on social media platforms or WhatsApp to give financial advice. These are scammers trying to commit fraud. In this episode, we’re joined by Matthew Taylor, a litigation lawyer with Sotos Class Actions in Toronto who represents retail investors and pension funds in securities class actions. We take a deep dive into what makes a successful negligence claim against a financial advisor, how courts assess fiduciary relationships in Canada, and what investors should look for when evaluating the people managing their money. We explore the evidence that can strengthen or weaken a negligence claim, from one-size-fits-all portfolios and unexplained trades to poor communication and failures to account for changing life circumstances. Matthew also explains the distinction between suitability and fiduciary standards, the factors courts consider when determining whether a fiduciary relationship exists, and why professional affiliations and explicit fiduciary commitments can matter. The conversation then turns to class actions, including how securities claims differ from individual negligence lawsuits, what makes a claim suitable for class proceedings, and why regulatory investigations, specialist law firms, litigation funding, and parallel U.S. proceedings can provide important signals. We also discuss pension funds, their role as plaintiffs, and why monitoring potential claims and settlements can be part of managing beneficiaries’ assets. Finally, we examine the growing retailization of private assets and the risks created by limited information, complex structures, opaque fees, illiquidity, and manager-determined valuations. Matthew explains what advisors and clients should consider before investing in private funds—and why he expects more litigation in this area. We close with the legal and regulatory challenges created by financial influencers, and how investors and advisors can build greater resilience against misleading financial content. Sources From Today’s Episode — https://zbib.org/71e494008bb74d18a17de20419ca0647 Timestamps: 0:00:00 Intro 0:01:01 The most common financial advisor errors that result in successful negligence claims 0:04:13 How an investor can evaluate whether they have been wronged by a financial professional 0:06:56 The warning signs clients should be on the look out for to avoid negligent advisors 0:08:08 Common traits of investors who find themselves on the wrong end of negligent advice 0:10:47 The signs that a negligence claim will not be successful 0:11:58 The steps an investor should take if they find themselves in that position 0:14:05 What financial advisors should be doing to assess the risk tolerance of their clients 0:16:21 How well retail investors understand “risk” when it comes to investing 0:17:28 How well financial advisors understand risk 0:21:01 The conditions that imply a fiduciary duty for a financial advisor in Canada 0:27:07 How important obtaining a fiduciary relationship should be 0:28:47 What an investor should look for when identifying a fiduciary 0:30:17 The types of issues in financial markets that typically result in class action lawsuits 0:34:59 The signs that a class action is likely to be successful 0:38:36 How to determine that an asset manager has been a poor steward of their beneficiaries’ funds 0:45:49 Matthew tells his favourite investing-related class action story 0:47:16 What makes private assets problematic for retail investors 0:55:51 The additional steps should advisors recommending private assets should be taking 1:01:38 How the push into private assets for retail investors will affect future litigation 1:05:37 The legal and regulatory challenges finfluencers pose 1:09:08 How investors should assess the credibility of a finfluencer 1:10:42 How financial advisors should educate their clients on the things finfluencers may be saying 1:12:24 The recourse investors have if they have acted on the (bad) advice from a finfluencer 1:13:56 What licensed financial advisors need to keep in mind while making online content 1:16:09 Matthew defines success in his life 1:16:50 Debrief Links From Today’s Episode: Rational Reminder on Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/6RHWTH9iW7hdnA7eAg7ukO?si=fe7f60349b584026 Rational Reminder on iTunes — https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/the-rational-reminder-podcast/id1426530582. Rational Reminder on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/rationalreminder/ Rational Reminder on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/channel/ Benjamin Felix — https://pwlcapital.com/our-team/ Benjamin on X — https://x.com/benjaminfelix Benjamin on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminwfelix/ Matthew on LinkedIn — https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-w-taylor/ Geller Law — https://www.gellerlaw.ca/lawyers/matthew-w-taylor