MFDA Hearing Panel approves settlement agreement with Darragh Pender
TORONTO, Nov. 26, 2018 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Darragh John Anthony Pender ("Respondent") was held on November 23, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario before a three-person Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA").
The Hearing Panel approved the settlement agreement dated November 6, 2018 ("Settlement Agreement") between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed:
- a prohibition from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or associated with a MFDA Member for a period of three months;
- a fine in the amount of $25,000;
- costs in the amount of $5,000;
- shall write or rewrite and pass the Ethics and Professionalism Conduct Course offered by the IFSE Institute prior to being re-registered in the mutual fund industry; and
- in the future comply with MFDA Rules 1.1.1, 1.1.3(a), 2.1.1, 2.2.1(a), 2.2.1(e)(i), 2.2.2, and 2.5.1 and 1.1.2.
In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:
a) |
between August 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016, he enabled Approved Person EC to complete new account application forms ("NAAFs") and Know-Your-Client ("KYC") forms to facilitate the transfer of 344 clients to his Member when EC was not registered with the Member, thereby permitting EC to engage in registerable activity and securities related business outside the scope of his registration, contrary to MFDA Rules 1.1.1, 1.1.3(a), and 2.1.1; |
b) |
between August 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016, he executed NAAFs and KYC forms for 344 clients as the Approved Person of record for the Member without meeting any of the clients and without taking any steps to learn the essential facts relative to each clients or to ensure the suitability of the investments within each client's account, contrary to the Member's policies and procedure and MFDA Rules 2.2.1(a), 2.2.1(e)(i), 2.2.2, 2.1.1, 2.5.1, and 1.1.2; and |
c) |
between August 1, 2016 and December 31, 2016, he executed NAAFs and KYC forms for 344 clients as the Approved Person of record for the Member, in which he falsely represented that he had met with the 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 Tecumseh, Ontario.
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 82,000 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, Managing Director, Litigation, 416-943-4619, [email protected]
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