MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with John Hillsdon

TORONTO, Dec. 15, 2021 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of John Paul Hillsdon (the "Respondent") was held today by electronic hearing 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 dated August 27, 2021 ("Settlement Agreement"), between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent:

• a prohibition from acting as a branch manager or in any supervisory capacity for a member of the MFDA for a period of six months, commencing on December 15, 2021;
• shall successfully complete the branch manager's course offered by either the Canadian Securities Institute or the Investment Funds Institute of Canada prior to acting as a branch manager in the future;
• a fine in the amount of $15,000;
• costs in the amount of $2,500; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

a) between June 16, 2014 and May 24, 2019, he obtained, possessed, and in some instances, used to process transactions, 14 pre-signed account forms in respect of 7 clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and

b) between September 22, 2014 and August 15, 2017, he altered, and used to process transactions, 11 account forms in respect of 9 clients by altering information on the account forms without having the client initial the alterations, 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 Markham, Ontario 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]