MFDA Hearing Panel approves settlement agreement with Michael Bast

TORONTO, Sept. 30, 2019 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Michael Jonathan Bast ("Respondent") was held on September 27, 2019 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 dated September 9, 2019 ("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 three months;
• 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 $12,500, payable in installments as follows:
• $1,000 upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement
• $3,834 on or before December 31, 2019;
• $3,834 on or before March 31, 2020;
• $3,832 on or before June 30, 2020;
• costs in the amount of $2,500; and
• shall in future comply with MFDA Rules 2.1.1 and 2.5.5(f).

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

a)	between September 2014 and September 2017, he obtained, possessed and, in some instances, used to process transactions, 20 pre-signed account forms in respect of seven clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
b)	between January 2015 and July 2016, he, acting in his capacity as branch manager, reviewed and approved the use of 19 pre-signed account forms, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1 and 2.5.5(f).

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 Waterloo, 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 81,000 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]

Related Links

www.mfda.ca