IIROC announces disciplinary hearing for Jean-Guy Ducharme

MONTRÉAL, Oct. 6 /CNW/ - A hearing has been scheduled before a Hearing Panel of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) to consider whether the panel should accept a settlement agreement between IIROC staff and Jean-Guy Ducharme.

The agreement concerns allegations that Mr. Ducharme made over-the-counter transactions for his personal account without informing his firm. The agreement also concerns allegations that Mr. Ducharme failed to ensure that certain investment recommendations were suitable to the clients' investment objectives and risk tolerance.

    
    Date:        October 20, 2010, 1 p.m.

    Location:    IIROC Montréal Office
                 5 Place Ville Marie, Suite 1550, Montréal, QC
    

The hearing is not open to the public, but will become open if the panel accepts the agreement. If the agreement is accepted, the panel's decisions and reasons will be made available at www.iiroc.ca.

Specifically, the agreement alleges Mr. Ducharme violated IDA By-law 29.1 (now IIROC Rule 29.1) and Standard C of the Conduct and Practices Handbook on two counts by purchasing shares in two different public companies for his own personal account without disclosing the proposed trades to his firm.

A third count in the agreement alleges that Mr. Ducharme violated IIROC Rule 29.1, IDA Regulations 1300.1(a) and 1300.1(p) (now IIROC Rules 1300.1(a) and 1300.1(p)), and Standard A of the Conduct and Practices Handbook when he failed to ensure that investment recommendations made to two clients were consistent with their investment objectives and risk tolerance.

The fourth and final count in the agreement alleges that Mr. Ducharme violated IIROC Rule 29.1 when he failed to ensure that investment recommendations regarding the shares of two companies were suitable. Mr. Ducharme and other representatives at his branch held shares from those companies in their personal accounts and Mr. Ducharme was or should have been aware that one of those representatives had a privileged connection with insiders of those companies, who were also clients of his firm.

The alleged violations occurred between 2004 and 2006. IIROC began the investigation into Mr. Ducharme's conduct on March 25, 2008. The violations are alleged to have occurred while the respondent was a Registered Representative at the Brossard Branch of Desjardins Securities Inc., an IIROC-regulated firm. Mr. Ducharme is no longer registered with an IIROC-regulated firm.

IIROC investigates possible misconduct by its member firms and/or individual registrants. It can bring disciplinary proceedings which may result in penalties including fines, suspensions and permanent bans or terminations for individuals and firms.

All information about disciplinary proceedings relating to current and former member firms is available in the Enforcement section of the IIROC website. Background information regarding the qualifications and disciplinary history, if any, of advisors currently employed by IIROC-regulated firms is available free of charge through the IIROC AdvisorReport service. Information on how to make investment dealer, advisor or marketplace-related complaints is available by calling 1.877.442.4322.

IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada. Created in 2008 through the consolidation of the Investment Dealers Association of Canada and Market Regulation Services Inc., IIROC sets high quality regulatory and investment industry standards, protects investors and strengthens market integrity while maintaining efficient and competitive capital markets.

IIROC carries out its regulatory responsibilities through setting and enforcing rules regarding the proficiency, business and financial conduct of dealer firms and their registered employees and through setting and enforcing market integrity rules regarding trading activity on Canadian equity marketplaces.

For further information: Carmen Crépin, Vice President, Québec, 514.878.2854, [email protected]; Elsa Renzella, Director, Enforcement Litigation, 416.943.5877, [email protected]