MFDA Hearing Panel approves settlement agreement with Winston Castle

TORONTO, Jan. 16, 2020 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Winston Castle ("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 dated November 28, 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 conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or associated with any MFDA Member for a period of one year;
• a fine in the amount of $20,000;
• costs in the amount of $2,500; and
• shall in future comply with MFDA Rules 2.1.4, 2.1.1, 1.1.2, and 2.5.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

1. between October 23, 2014 and October 2, 2015, he engaged in personal financial dealings with a client when he purchased foreign currency from a client in a manner that favoured his interests over those of the client, thereby giving rise to a conflict or potential conflict of interest, which he failed to disclose to the Member, or failed to address by the exercise of responsible business judgment influenced only by the best interests of the client, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures, and MFDA Rule 2.1.4 and 2.1.1;
2. commencing June 20, 2016, he failed to comply with the Member's policies and procedures pertaining to accounts where the Approved Person receives instructions from a third party appointed by a client as a Power of Attorney, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.5.1, 1.1.2, and 2.1.1; and
3. between January 2011 and October 2017, he altered and used to process transactions 95 account forms, by altering information on the account forms without having the client initial the alterations, 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 carried on business in the Virgil, Ontario 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 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

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