MFDA announces settlement hearing to take place in respect of Joseph Laurie
TORONTO, Aug. 11, 2015 /CNW/ - The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") commenced a disciplinary proceeding in respect of Joseph Daniel Laurie (the "Respondent") by Notice of Hearing (the "Notice of Hearing") dated March 10, 2014.
As the result of a settlement agreement entered into between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, the settlement hearing in this proceeding will take place on August 18, 2015, commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Atlantic), in the hearing room at the Nova Scotia Securities Commission, located at 5251 Duke Street, Suite 400, Duke Tower, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
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 that:
i) |
between 2005 and 2011, he misrepresented the know-your-client information on the account opening and loan application documents of 25 clients, thereby engaging in conduct unbecoming an Approved Person and failing to observe high standards of ethics and practice in the conduct of business, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.2.1 and 2.1.1; |
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ii) |
between 2005 and 2011, he misrepresented, failed to fully and adequately explain, or omitted to explain, the risks, benefits, material assumptions, costs and features of a leveraged investment strategy that he recommended and implemented in the accounts of 25 clients, including the risks that: |
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a) |
the underlying investments might decline in value such that the clients might incur investment losses and would be unable to rely on the sale proceeds of the investments to pay back their investment loans; and |
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b) |
the underlying investments might reduce, suspend or cancel altogether the distributions paid to investors upon which the clients were relying to make the payments on their investment loans, thereby failing to ensure that the leveraged investment strategy was suitable and appropriate for the clients and in keeping with their investment objectives, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.2.1 and 2.1.1; and |
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iii) |
between 2005 and 2011, he recommended and facilitated the implementation of a leveraged investment strategy in the accounts of 25 clients without performing the necessary due diligence to learn the essential facts relative to the clients and without ensuring that the leveraged investment strategy was suitable for the clients and in keeping with their investment objectives, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.2.1 and 2.1.1. |
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 Springhill, Nova Scotia.
The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its 103 Members and their over 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
Charles Toth, Director, Litigation, 416-943-4619, [email protected]
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