MFDA announces settlement hearing to take place in the matter of Sergio Salina

TORONTO, July 13, 2022 /CNW/ - The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") commenced a disciplinary proceeding in respect of Sergio Salina (the "Respondent") by Notice of Hearing dated December 20, 2021 ("Notice of Hearing").

As the result of a settlement agreement entered into between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, a settlement hearing will take place electronically by videoconference before a Hearing Panel of the MFDA's Pacific Regional Council on July 25, 2022, commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Pacific), or as soon thereafter as the matter can be held. Members of the public who would like to obtain further particulars should contact [email protected].

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 the Respondent:

a) in July 2014, recommended for the account of a 95 year old client a switch of approximately $498,511 from a no-load mutual fund to the same mutual fund which was subject to a seven year deferred sales charge schedule, generating a commission for the Respondent to which he would not otherwise have been entitled, thereby giving rise to a conflict or potential conflict of interest that the Respondent did not address by the exercise of responsible business judgment influenced only by the best interests of the client, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures and MFDA Rules 2.1.4,  2.1.1, 1.1.2, and 2.5.1;

b) between March 2016 and November 2016, failed to disclose to the Member that he had been named a beneficiary in a deceased client's will, thereby failing to disclose a conflict or potential conflict of interest to the Member, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures and MFDA Rules 2.1.4, 2.1.1, 1.1.2, and 2.5.1; and

c) between 2010 and 2018, obtained and possessed 24 pre-signed account forms in respect of 13 clients, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures and MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

MFDA settlement hearings are typically held in the absence of the public pursuant to section 20.5 of MFDA By-law No. 1 and Rule 15.2(2) of the MFDA Rules of Procedure. If the Hearing Panel accepts the settlement agreement, then the proceeding will become open to the public and a copy of the decision of the Hearing Panel and the settlement agreement will be made available at www.mfda.ca.

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 conducted business in the Victoria, British Columbia area.

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 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, Vice-President, Enforcement, 416-943-4619, [email protected]; Jeff Mount, Vice-President, Pacific Region, 604-694-8846, [email protected]