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Here are the top reads on deals and financial services over the last 24 hours,

Toronto’s Wave Financial purchased by H&R Block for $537-million: Toronto accounting software firm Wave Financial Inc. has been purchased by tax services giant H&R Block, Inc. for US$405 million ($537 million). It’s the latest in a string of “exits” – takeovers or IPOs – of venture-backed Canadian firms this year that have commanded relatively large valuations by historical standards, a sign that Canada’s surging early-stage tech sector is maturing. Story (Sean Silcoff)

Ottawa AI startup MindBridge secures $29.6-million in federal and venture capital financing: An Ottawa startup that is using artificial intelligence to transform how auditors and financial regulators unearth fraud and irregularities has secured $29.6-million in venture capital and government funding. Story (Sean Silcoff, for subscribers)

FSRA to oversee insurance, mortgage and deposit taking institutions in Ontario: A new independent financial regulator is up and running in Ontario to oversee insurance, mortgage and deposit taking institutions. The Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Ontario (FSRA) assumed regulatory duties on June 8, replacing both the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) and the Deposit Insurance Corp. of Ontario (DICO). Story (Clare O’Hara, for subscribers)

Bombardier’s sale of CRJ program would be a sad ending to a Canadian success story: If you ask the average Canadian on the street today to name the country’s best invention ever, he or she would probably say basketball. But long before the Toronto Raptors became NBA contenders, and before the BlackBerry took the title, there was the Canadair Regional Jet. Bombardier’s CRJ may not have saved millions of lives the way insulin, another Canadian invention, has. But it did thrust Canada into the major leagues of the global civil aviation industry and transformed air travel in the 1990s. Opinion (Konrad Yakabuski, for subscribers)

New market player offers zero management fee ETFs - but outperformance will come at a cost: A new ETF issuer joined the industry during May with a suite of alternative ETFs. Accelerate Financial Technologies’ mission is to “democratize alternative investments by offering institutional-caliber hedge fund and private equity strategies in low-cost, liquid and easy to use ETFs accessible by any investor.” Instead of charging a management fee, each ETF has a performance fee over their high-water mark or its respective benchmark. Story (Kimberly Yip Woon Sun)

This is what scares people when choosing a financial adviser: What people fear most when choosing an adviser is selfishness - someone who puts their own interests ahead of the client. Right on, investors. There are plenty of advisers who put clients first, but you can’t take that to the bank. Too many recommend products and actions that benefit them and their firms, primarily. Column (Rob Carrick, for subscribers)

MORE FINANCIAL SERVICES NEWS

Ontario Superior Court upholds penalties levied on Sino-Forest executives: Ontario’s Superior Court has upheld millions of dollars in fines the provincial securities regulator imposed on several former executives at Sino-Forest Corp. following a major corporate fraud case. The court dismissed the appeal on the penalties that an Ontario Securities Commission panel imposed on former chief executive Allen Chan as well as Albert Ip, Alfred Hung and George Ho, who were found to have defrauded investors by overstating the now defunct company’s timber assets and revenue. Story (Canadian Press)

MORE DEALS NEWS

Ten U.S. states sue to stop Sprint-T-Mobile deal, saying consumers will be hurt: Ten states led by New York and California filed a lawsuit on Tuesday to stop T-Mobile US Inc.’s $26-billion purchase of Sprint Corp., warning that consumer prices will jump due to reduced competition. The complaint comes as the U.S. Justice Department is close to making a final decision on the merger, which would reduce the number of nationwide wireless carriers to three from four. Story (Reuters)

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