MFDA and BCSC enter into Settlement Agreements with Credential Asset Management Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 10, 2021 /CNW/ - The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") and the British Columbia Securities Commission (the "BCSC") have entered into settlement agreements with Credential Asset Management Inc. (the "Respondent") to address the Respondent's failure to establish adequate policies and procedures, controls and supervision to ensure that it complied with applicable securities legislation relating to internal dealer incentive and sales practices, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.5.1, 2.1.4 and requirements set out in National Instrument 81-105.
Pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreements with the MFDA and the BCSC, the Respondent has agreed to pay fines and costs totaling $600,000 as particularized in further detail below.
The settlement of this matter was a joint effort of the MFDA and the BCSC. The MFDA would like to thank the BCSC for its assistance in this matter.
MFDA Settlement
A settlement hearing in the matter of the Respondent was held by electronic hearing in Vancouver, British Columbia before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Pacific Regional Council of the MFDA.
The Hearing Panel approved the settlement agreement (the "MFDA Settlement Agreement") between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent requiring the Respondent to pay:
- a fine in the amount of 280,000; and
- costs in the amount of $20,000.
In the MFDA Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that it failed to establish and maintain adequate policies and procedures, controls and supervision to ensure that it complied with securities legislation relating to internal dealer incentive and sales practices, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.5.1 and 2.1.4.
BCSC Settlement
In a separate but related proceeding, the BCSC has also entered into a settlement agreement with the Respondent (the "BCSC Settlement Agreement") addressing the same conduct that has been addressed in the MFDA Settlement Agreement. Pursuant to the BCSC Settlement Agreement, the Respondent has agreed to pay $300,000 to the BCSC. Further details of the BCSC Settlement Agreement including the admissions of misconduct that the Respondent made in that proceeding can be found on the BCSC website https://www.bcsc.bc.ca/.
The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its Members and their approximately 82,000 Approved Persons with a mandate to protect investors and the public interest. For more information about the MFDA's complaint and enforcement processes, as well as links to 'Check an Advisor' and other Investor Tools, visit the For Investors page on the MFDA website.
SOURCE Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada
Charles Toth, Vice-President, Enforcement, 416-943-4619, [email protected]; Jeff Mount, Vice-President, Pacific Region, 604-694-8846, [email protected]
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