MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Charles Symes

TORONTO, July 19, 2016 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Charles Edward Symes (the "Respondent") was held on July 15, 2016 in Moncton, New Brunswick before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Atlantic Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA"). 

The Hearing Panel accepted the settlement agreement (the "Settlement Agreement") between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the Respondent:

• has paid a fine in the amount of $10,000;
• has paid costs in the amount of $2,500;
• should the Respondent, at any time in the future, seek to hold the position of Branch Manager, before doing so he will be required to successfully complete the Branch Manager's course offered by the Canadian Securities Institute in relation to the mutual fund industry; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement the Respondent admitted that:

(i)     between January 2006 and July 2014, he altered and, in some instances, used to process transactions, 18 account forms in respect of 13 clients, and

(ii)   between 2004 and January 2015, he obtained and possessed three (3) pre-signed account forms in respect of three (3) clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent conducted business in the Moncton, New Brunswick 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 83,000 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]