MFDA announces settlement hearing to take place in respect of Equity Associates Inc.
TORONTO, April 8, 2015 /CNW/ - The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") commenced a disciplinary proceeding in respect of Equity Associates Inc. (the "Respondent") by Notice of Hearing (the "Notice of Hearing") dated December 18, 2014.
Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent have entered into a settlement agreement and a settlement hearing in this proceeding will take place on April 13, 2015, commencing at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern), or as soon thereafter as the hearing can be held, in the hearing room at the MFDA offices, located at 121 King Street West, Suite 1000, Toronto, Ontario.
The subject matter of the proposed settlement agreement concerns matters for which the Respondent may be disciplined pursuant to ss. 20 and 24.1.1 of By-law No. 1 of the MFDA. In particular, the settlement agreement concerns allegations with respect to whether the Respondent:
| 1) |
obtained new account application forms and adequate know-your-client information from two (2) clients before opening new joint accounts for them and properly supervised in accordance with MFDA Rules 2.1.1, 2.2.1, 2.2.2 and 2.2.3; |
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learned the essential facts relative to two new joint accounts for two (2) clients and took adequate steps to ensure that orders accepted in respect of those two accounts were suitable for the clients in accordance with MFDA Rules 2.2.1 and 2.1.1; and |
| 3) |
handled a complaint from two (2) clients promptly and fairly in accordance with MFDA Rules 2.1.1 and 2.11 and MFDA Policy No. 3. |
The hearing will be open to the public, unless and to the extent that the Hearing Panel determines that all or part of the hearing should proceed in the absence of the public. If the Hearing Panel accepts the settlement agreement, then a copy of the decision of the Hearing Panel and the settlement agreement will be made available to the public.
A copy of the Notice of Hearing is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Notice of Hearing, the Respondent carried on business in all Canadian provinces except for Saskatchewan.
The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its 104 Members and their approximately 80,000 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
Shaun Devlin, Senior Vice-President, Member Regulation, Enforcement, 416-943-4672, [email protected]
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