MFDA issues Notice of Settlement Hearing in respect of Mark Cliche

TORONTO, Feb. 13, 2015 /CNW/ - The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") today announced that it has issued a Notice of Settlement Hearing (the "Notice of Settlement Hearing") regarding the presentation, review and consideration of a proposed settlement agreement by a Hearing Panel of the MFDA's Central Regional Council.

The settlement agreement will be between Staff of the MFDA and Mark Patrick Cliche (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 the Respondent, between 2001 and July 2013, obtained and maintained 72 pre-signed and/or altered photocopied account forms for 13 clients and used pre-signed and/or altered photocopied account forms to process transactions in client accounts, thereby:

a) engaging in conduct unbecoming an Approved Person, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and

b)  failing to comply with the Member's policies and procedures, contrary to MFDA Rules 1.1.2 and 2.5.1 and MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

The settlement hearing in this matter, originally scheduled to take place on February 23, 2015, will now take place March 5, 2015, commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern), or as soon thereafter as the hearing can be held, in the hearing room at the MFDA offices, located at 121 King Street West, Suite 1000, Toronto, Ontario. The hearing will be open to the public, unless and to the extent that the Hearing Panel determines that all or part of the hearing should proceed in the absence of the public. If the Hearing Panel accepts the settlement agreement, then a copy of the decision of the Hearing Panel and the settlement agreement will be made available to the public.

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 carried on business in Markham, Ontario.

The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its 107 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]