MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Benjamin Stewart

TORONTO, March 11, 2021 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Benjamin Stewart ("Respondent") was held by electronic hearing on March 10, 2021, before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA").

The Hearing Panel accepted the settlement agreement dated March 3, 2021 ("Settlement Agreement"), between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent:

• a fine in the amount of $6,000;
• costs in the amount of $2,500;
• a suspension from acting as a branch manager or in any other supervisory capacity for a period of 2 months;
• successful completion of the branch manager's course offered by either the Canadian Securities Institute or the Investment Funds Institute of Canada prior to acting as a branch manager in the future; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1, 1.1.2, and 2.5.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that on January 22, 2019, he completed two account forms without communicating with the client about the forms, signed the client's signature on the account forms, and submitted the forms to the Member for processing, 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 conducted business out of the Cornwall, 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