A Trusted Contact Person is a person Cumberland can contact if we become concerned about your well-being. It’s another way that you can enhance your relationship with us.

The Trusted Contact Person concept is a new security measure implemented by the Canadian Security Administrators and our firm’s Regulator, to help us serve you and your family better in certain situations where we may have concerns about your well-being or may have difficulty reaching you through our traditional communication channels for example.

With your written permission, we will be able to reach out to your Trusted Contact Person in given situations, such as:

Contact information. There may be a time when we simply have difficulty getting in touch with you or the person to whom you have given a Power of Attorney. This may be because you are travelling, or because we are not aware of your latest contact information. If this occurs, we may reach out to your Trusted Contact Person to see if he or she has your current contact information.

Mental or physical health. Age-related cognitive decline is natural and almost inevitable if you live long enough. Cognitive impairment can also strike those at younger ages as a result of a serious injury, illness, stressful life events among other factors. If we see signs that you are having difficulty understanding your financial information or making sound financial decisions, we may check in with your Trusted Contact Person to see if they are aware of any changes in your mental or physical health and situation.

Abuse or exploitation. In very rare situations, if we suspect that somebody may be pressuring you into making potentially harmful financial decisions, we might ask your Trusted Contact Person if they are aware of anybody who might be financially abusing or trying to exploit you. Cases like these typically involve elderly clients who are being manipulated by either a service provider, a friend, a family member or a caregiver. It can also involve clients of any age being targeted by cybercriminals or fraudsters.

Your Trusted Contact Person’s role is limited to providing information about you as it relates to your well-being. Your Trusted Contact Person cannot access or have any authority over your detailed account information. Unlike a Power of Attorney, the Trusted Contact Person does not have the authority to make decisions on your behalf. We will only contact your Trusted Contact Person if we become genuinely concerned about your well-being.

Who Should You Appoint as Your Trusted Contact Person?

You can appoint anyone you wish as your Trusted Contact Person. We recommend choosing someone who is not already designated as your Power of Attorney and does not have trading authority over your account. You can think of your Trusted Contact Person as someone impartial, who would not have any conflicts of interest and could objectively clarify or validate your specific situation and well-being from time to time.

The ideal person should be mature, trustworthy, familiar with your personal situation, and someone with whom you are comfortable discussing potentially sensitive topics, such as your mental and physical health status, your whereabouts and who has a perspective on your personal and business life.

You can add or remove or change your Trusted Contact Person at any time. If you don’t feel that naming a Trusted Contact Person is right for you, there is no obligation to do so.

Contact Us

If you have questions about what a Trusted Contact Person is, who to select, more specifically why we might need to contact them, or how to update your records, please speak with your Portfolio Manager.

In addition, we have attached a link to a background document that explains the Trusted Contact Person at our regulator’s website here.