MFDA Hearing Panel makes findings and imposes a sanction against Chun-Yi Tay

January 26, 2018 (Toronto, Ontario) – The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (“MFDA”) commenced a disciplinary proceeding in respect of Chun-Yi Tay ( “Respondent”) by Notice of Hearing dated February 8, 2017 (“Notice of Hearing”).

The hearing of this matter on its merits was held yesterday in Vancouver, British Columbia before a Hearing Panel of the MFDA’s Pacific Regional Council. Prior to the hearing, the parties filed an Agreed Statement of Facts dated January 14, 2018, in which the Respondent admitted to facts constituting contraventions of MFDA By-laws, Rules or Policies, for which she could be penalized by a Hearing Panel pursuant to section 24.1 of MFDA By-law No. 1. In particular, the Respondent admitted that:

1. between May 26, 2015 and June 3, 2015, she processed two redemptions in the total amount of $51,200 USD, based upon email instructions received from a third party individual, who gained unlawful access to a client’s email account and subsequently misappropriated the proceeds of the redemptions, thereby failing to comply with the Member’s policies and procedures that prohibited its Approved Persons from accepting instructions from clients by email, contrary to MFDA Rules 1.1.2, 2.5.1, and 2.1.1; and
2. on or about June 3, 2015, she misrepresented to the Member that she had spoken with a client to confirm the client’s instructions to process a transaction, thereby failing to observe high standards of ethics and conduct in the transaction of business, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

Following submissions from the parties, the Hearing Panel imposed the following sanction on the Respondent and advised that it will issue written reasons in due course:

1. a fine in the amount of $5,000, payable to the MFDA in twelve monthly installments commencing February 1, 2018. If any installment payment is missed, the full remaining balance of the fine is due and payable immediately.

Copies of the Notice of Hearing and the Agreed Statement of Facts are available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Agreed Statement of Facts, the Respondent carried on business in the Richmond, British Columbia 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.