MFDA Hearing Panel approves settlement agreement with Joanne Williamson

TORONTO, Oct. 16, 2015 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Joanne Elizabeth Williamson  (the "Respondent") was held yesterday 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 approved the settlement agreement (the "Settlement Agreement") between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the Respondent: 

• has paid a fine in the amount of $11,000;
• has paid 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, between September 25, 2006 and December 23, 2013, she obtained, maintained and, in some instances, used to process transactions, 136 pre-signed blank or partially completed forms in respect of 69 client accounts, 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 Notice of Settlement Hearing, the Respondent conducted business in Cold Lake, Alberta.

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 over 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, Director, Litigation, 416-943-4619, [email protected]; Mark Stott, Vice-President, Prairie Region, 403-215-8329, [email protected]