MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with HollisWealth Advisory Services Inc.

TORONTO, Nov. 24, 2015 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of HollisWealth Advisory Services Inc. (the "Respondent") was held today in Toronto, Ontario before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Central 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:

• will pay a fine in the amount of $200,000;
• will report to MFDA Staff on the execution of the Remediation Plan (as described in the Settlement Agreement) by no later than January 30, 2016, and thereafter to ensure the Remediation Plan is completed satisfactorily;
• will report to MFDA Staff on the status of internal discipline imposed on its Approved Persons (as described in the Settlement Agreement) to ensure the requirements are completed satisfactorily; and
• will donate the internal fines imposed on its Approved Persons (as described in the Settlement Agreement) to charity.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that between September 14, 2005 and June 2013, it failed to establish and maintain a system of controls and supervision that was adequate to ensure that certain clients were qualified to purchase investment funds offered pursuant to prospectus exemptions, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.2.1 and MFDA Policy No. 2.

A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca.

The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its 102 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]