Enforcement Notice Decision - IN THE MATTER OF Assante Capital Management Ltd. -Settlement Accepted

TORONTO, Oct. 27, 2015 /CNW/ - On October 13, 2015, a Hearing Panel of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) accepted a Settlement Agreement, with sanctions, between IIROC staff and Assante Capital Management Ltd ("Assante").

Assante admitted that it failed to adequately fulfill its obligations to conduct Tier 2 supervision of its branch located in Red Deer, Alberta; and to supervise the branch to mitigate for potential conflicts of interest on the part of the Branch Manager.

Specifically, Assante admitted to the following violation:

Between January 2007 and May 2012, Assante failed to adequately fulfill its obligations to conduct Tier 2 supervision of a sub-branch, contrary to IIROC Dealer Member Rule 2500.

Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, Assante agreed to the following penalty:

(a)  A global fine of $400,000.

Assante also agreed to pay costs to IIROC in the amount of $30,000.

The Settlement Agreement is available at:
http://docs.iiroc.ca/DisplayDocument.aspx?DocumentID=1FCDA29E252F499B8775D531D7258004&Language=en.

The Hearing Panel's decision will be made available at www.iiroc.ca.

Documents related to ongoing IIROC enforcement proceedings – including Reasons and Decisions of Hearing Panels – are posted on the IIROC website as they become available. Click here to search and access all IIROC enforcement documents.

IIROC formally initiated the investigation into Assante's conduct in May 2012.  The conduct occurred while it was an IIROC-regulated firm and involved its Red Deer, Alberta branch. Assante is still an IIROC-regulated firm.

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IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada. Created in 2008 through the consolidation of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada and Market Regulation Services Inc., IIROC sets high quality regulatory and investment industry standards, protects investors and strengthens market integrity while maintaining efficient and competitive capital markets.

IIROC carries out its regulatory responsibilities through setting and enforcing rules regarding the proficiency, business and financial conduct of dealer firms and their registered employees and through setting and enforcing market integrity rules regarding trading activity on Canadian equity marketplaces.

IIROC investigates possible misconduct by its member firms and/or individual registrants. It can bring disciplinary proceedings which may result in penalties including fines, suspensions, permanent bars, expulsion from membership, or termination of rights and privileges for individuals and firms.

All information about disciplinary proceedings relating to current and former member firms is available in the Enforcement section of the IIROC website. Background information regarding the qualifications and disciplinary history, if any, of advisors currently employed by IIROC-regulated firms is available free of charge through the IIROC AdvisorReport service. Information on how to make investment dealer, advisor or marketplace-related complaints is available by calling 1 877 442-4322.

SOURCE Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) - General News

Enforcement Contact: Elsa Renzella, Vice President, Enforcement, 416 943-5877, [email protected]; Media Contact: Karen Archer, Manager, Media Relations, 416 865-3046, [email protected]