MFDA issues Notice of Settlement Hearing in respect of Luke Bedard

August 23, 2017 (Toronto, Ontario) – The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (“MFDA”) announced that it has issued a 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 Luke Victor Bedard (“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 the allegations that:

1. between January 2011 and May 2015, the Respondent falsified 65 client initials on account forms, in respect of 17 clients, and used the account forms to process transactions, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1;
2. between January 2011 and May 2015, the Respondent obtained, possessed and, in some instances, used to process transactions, 248 pre-signed account forms in respect of 47 clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
3. on September 4, 2015, the Respondent misled MFDA Staff during the course of a compliance examination by stating that he does not have clients sign account forms before the forms are fully complete when he knew or ought to have known that this was false, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

The settlement hearing is scheduled to take place on December 14, 2017, commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern), or as soon thereafter as the matter can be held, in the hearing room at the offices of the MFDA, located at 121 King Street West, Suite 1000, Toronto, Ontario.

MFDA settlement hearings are typically held in the absence of the public pursuant to section 20.5 of MFDA By-law No. 1 and Rule 15.2(2) of the MFDA Rules of Procedure. If the Hearing Panel accepts the settlement agreement, then the proceeding will become open to the public and a copy of the decision of the Hearing Panel and the settlement agreement will be made available at www.mfda.ca.

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 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 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.