MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Robert Watts

TORONTO, Dec. 19, 2022 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Robert George Watts (the "Respondent") was held electronically by videoconference on December 6, 2022 in Winnipeg, Manitoba before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Prairie Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA").

The Hearing Panel accepted the settlement agreement dated December 5, 2022 (the "Settlement Agreement"), between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent:

• a fine in the amount of $20,000;
• 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 2016 and August 2018, he altered and used to process transactions, 10 account forms in respect of 9 clients by altering information on the account forms without having the clients initial the alterations, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and

b)  between March 2016 and June 2018, he obtained, possessed, and in some cases, used to process transactions, 47 pre-signed account forms in respect of 24 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 Winnipeg, Manitoba 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 76,695 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]; Mark Stott, Vice-President, Prairie Region, 403-215-8329, [email protected]