MFDA Hearing Panel approves Settlement Agreement with Felizaida Colinares

TORONTO, March 7, 2014 /CNW/ - A Settlement Hearing in the matter of Felizaida Yancha Colinares (the "Respondent") was held yesterday 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 approved the Settlement Agreement between MFDA Staff and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the Respondent shall, from the date of the final Order, be prohibited for one (1) year from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or associated with any MFDA Member, pursuant to s. 24.1.1(e) of By-law No. 1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

i)	in or about September 2012, she engaged in personal financial dealings with client MD by borrowing $3,000 from client MD, thereby placing her own interests ahead of the client's interests and creating a conflict or potential conflict of interest which the Respondent failed to address by the exercise of responsible business judgment influenced only by the best interests of the client, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.1.4 and Rule 2.1.1; and
ii)	in or about 2011 and November 2012, she engaged in personal financial dealings with client LM and client JZ by using the clients' credit cards (with their knowledge and consent) to pay personal expenses, thereby placing her own interests ahead of the clients' interests and creating a conflict or potential conflict of interest which the Respondent failed to address by the exercise of responsible business judgment influenced only by the best interests of the clients, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.1.4 and Rule 2.1.1.

The Hearing Panel advised that it will issue written reasons for its decision to accept the Settlement Agreement in due course.

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 carried on business in Toronto, Ontario.

The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its 111 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

Hugh Corbett, Managing Director, Enforcement, 416-943-4685, [email protected]