Marie-Claude Berger Paquin is a lawyer in Fasken’s Investment products and asset management group. She has in-depth knowledge of the laws and regulations in the Canadian asset management industry that are overseen by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) and Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO).
Her practice focuses on the regulatory environment governing the day-to-day activities of dealers, portfolio managers and investment fund managers. Marie-Claude has significant experience in compliance and assists investment professionals with any compliance issues they may have in Canada. She has acted as a compliance consultant for compliance officers in various registered firms, sometimes through secondments, and has even temporarily held the position of chief compliance officer (CCO). Marie-Claude is often called on to interpret the rules and guidelines of the CSA, CIRO and Chambre de la sécurité financière (CSF), particularly with respect to conflicts of interest.
In addition to providing registration, governance and compliance advice to registrants under Canadian securities laws, Marie-Claude advises investment fund managers on fund creation, administration and management, as well as on the distribution of fund securities. With over five years’ experience as an investment fund analyst with the office of the Superintendent of Securities Markets of the Autorité des marchés financiers, she advises and assists clients in the preparation of prospectuses for mutual funds and various offering documents for investment funds distributed under a prospectus exemption.
Marie-Claude is also a member of the Compliance Committee of the Conseil des fonds d’investissement du Québec and actively supports the activities of the Emerging Managers Board and Portfolio Management Association of Canada.
She holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in law from the Université de Sherbrooke, as well as a Master’s degree (Master Professionnel) in international trade law from the Université de Montpellier in France. Marie-Claude is also a graduate of McGill University where she obtained a Bachelor in Commerce (BComm) with a major in finance.
Prior to joining Fasken, Marie-Claude was the Chief Compliance Officer at a subsidiary dedicated to managing the international pension portfolio (Canada, U.S. and U.K.) of a Canadian multinational aviation company, where she also served as Compliance Counsel for more than five years. This experience allowed her to acquire an extensive knowledge of pension fund laws and regulations.
