MFDA Hearing Panel approves Settlement Agreement with William Clarke

TORONTO, Feb. 12, 2014 /CNW/ - A Settlement Hearing in the matter of William James Clarke (the "Respondent") was held yesterday in Edmonton, Alberta before a three-person Hearing Panel of the Prairie Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA").  

The Hearing Panel accepted the Settlement Agreement between MFDA Staff and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the Respondent:

• is prohibited from acting in a supervisory capacity with a Member of the MFDA for a period of six (6) months;
• has paid a fine of $7,500;
• has paid $2,500 in costs; and
• shall in the future comply with all MFDA By-laws, Rules and Policies, and all applicable securities legislation and regulations made thereunder, including MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that between 2008 and 2012, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1., he:

a)	used 115 blank or partially completed pre-signed forms to process transactions in relation to 54 client accounts;
b)	obtained and maintained 6 blank or partially completed pre-signed account forms in relation to 6 client accounts; and
c)	altered 4 account forms after the clients had signed them.

The Hearing Panel advised that it will issue written reasons for its decision to accept the Settlement Agreement in due course.

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 Edmonton, Alberta.

The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its 111 Members and their approximately 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

Hugh Corbett, Managing Director, Enforcement, 416-943-4685, [email protected]; Mark Stott, Vice-President, Prairie Region, 403-215-8329, [email protected]