What to know
- The Ontario Superior Court of Justice approved an $11-million class-action settlement involving CIBC and CIBC Trust Corporation over allegations involving trailing commissions paid to discount brokers.
- Anyone who held eligible CIBC or Renaissance mutual fund units on or before Sept. 5, 2025, could qualify for compensation.
- Former CIBC mutual fund holders who no longer hold units must submit a claim form by Nov. 18 to receive compensation.
- Current CIBC mutual fund holders and current or former Renaissance mutual fund holders do not need to submit a claim form, as compensation will be deposited automatically into their funds.
- The settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing, and CIBC and its subsidiaries have denied the allegations.
Canadians have one week left to register for part of a million-dollar settlement involving CIBC mutual funds.
The Ontario Superior Court of Justice has approved an $11 million class-action settlement between the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and CIBC Trust Corporation, which is to be divided between anyone who held CIBC mutual fund or a Renaissance mutual fund before or on Sept. 5, 2025, that were not managed by a discount broker.
The lawsuit alleges CIBC used trailing commissions out of management fees to wrongfully pay discount brokers. Trailing commissions are usually paid by mutual fund companies to financial advisers or brokers who manage customer accounts.
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, CIBC Trust Corporation and CIBC Asset Management have denied the allegations, with the settlement not considered an admission of wrongdoing.
All eligible recipients must submit a claim form by Nov. 18.
Who is eligible?
As mentioned, anyone who previously held CIBC mutual fund units, but no longer does, could be eligible for compensation and need to submit the claim form by the deadline.
Those who currently hold CIBC mutual fund units don’t need to submit a claim form, as a portion of the settlement will automatically be deposited into their funds.
Similarly, those who have held or currently hold Renaissance mutual fund units don’t need to submit the form, with compensation being automatically deposited into their funds.
Those who have held or currently hold both CIBC and Renaissance mutual funds could receive compensation for both.
Finally, those who held CIBC or Renaissance mutual funds managed through a discount broker can still receive compensation over a separate settlement.
To determine whether they can receive the compensation, Canadians can visit the long-form notice of the settlement or contact its administrator via phone or email.
How to claim
To make a claim, customers or former customers must complete the claim form correctly by Nov. 18. If the form is not properly completed, the claim may be rejected and they may not receive the compensation.
Submitting the claim form also does not guarantee that compensation will be received.
