MFDA issues Notice of Settlement Hearing in respect of Peter Varteresian

TORONTO, Aug. 24, 2016 /CNW/ - The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") today announced that it has issued a Notice of Settlement Hearing regarding the presentation, review and consideration of a proposed settlement agreement by a Hearing Panel of the MFDA's Atlantic Regional Council.

The settlement agreement will be between Staff of the MFDA and Peter Anthony Varteresian (the "Respondent") and involves matters for which the Respondent may be disciplined by a Hearing Panel pursuant to MFDA By-laws. The proposed settlement agreement concerns allegations that:

a)	between January 2015 and February 2015, the Respondent, or his assistant for whom he was responsible, altered, and used to process transactions, five (5) account forms in respect of one (1) client by altering information on the account forms without having the client initial the changes, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
b)	between January 2014 and April 2015, the Respondent, or his assistant for whom he was responsible, obtained, possessed, and in 12 instances, used to process transactions, 14 pre-signed account forms in respect of four (4) clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

The settlement hearing is scheduled to take place on December 1, 2016, commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Atlantic), or as soon thereafter as the matter can be heard, in the hearing room at the Nova Scotia Securities Commission located at 5251 Duke Street, Suite 400, Duke Tower, Halifax, Nova Scotia. MFDA settlement hearings are typically held in the absence of the public pursuant to section 20.5 of MFDA By-law No. 1 and Rule 15.2(2) of the MFDA Rules of Procedure. If the Hearing Panel accepts the settlement agreement, then the proceeding will become open to the public and a copy of the decision of the Hearing Panel and the settlement agreement will be made available at www.mfda.ca.

A copy of the Notice of Settlement Hearing 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 the Halifax, Nova Scotia 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 83,000 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]