After former licensee, Huy (Matt) Quang Vuong processed 100 unauthorized transfers of plan member assets from an employer’s group retirement plan to the insurer’s personal plan in an admitted effort to meet quotas, the Life Insurance Council of Manitoba is sanctioning the former agent with fines and investigation costs for just three of those cases.
During the course of the insurers’ investigation it was also determined that Vuong made false notes in the insurer’s system, did not provide advice and did not inform clients at all about product information prior to transferring their funds.
Licensed from September 2017 until March 2023 when he was terminated (there is a gap of several months in Vuong’s registration between May 2019 and February 2020), Vuong is being sanctioned for only three of those transactions – those which occurred on behalf of Manitoba residents. All told, he earned $72.63 in commissions for the three unauthorized transfers.
Wrote false notes
In an email to the insurance council’s investigators, Vuong admits to making the transfers after clients were unresponsive to his calls. “When questioned by council’s investigator to explain why he put false notes on the insurers’ system, the former licensee indicated that it was necessary to write notes on the member’s file as part of the sales process,” the regulator’s decision states.
“An agent must ensure that the client is fully informed of all relevant information before the client makes a decision and is entitled to disclosure of the risks and benefits of the financial products being considered,” the decision adds. “This disclosure must be appropriately documented. An agent must avoid situations where the underlying circumstances could prejudice or compromise the advice he provides. This includes transferring funds for the purpose of hitting sales targets and obtaining commissions.”
In addition to a $1,500 fine, Vuong must also pay investigation costs in the amount of $1,687.50.
The regulator’s decision is mute on the subject of the remaining 97 unauthorized transfers. According to the decision, at the time of his termination in March 2023 the former licensee was life licensed in Ontario, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador.