MFDA issues Notice of Settlement Hearing in respect of Robert Loney

July 27, 2018 (Toronto, Ontario) – The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (“MFDA”) announced that it has issued a Notice of Settlement Hearing dated July 15, 2018 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 Robert Mark Loney (“Respondent”) and involves matters for which he may be disciplined by a Hearing Panel pursuant to MFDA By-laws. The proposed settlement agreement concerns allegations that the Respondent:

1. between December 2012 and February 12, 2016, failed to follow client SF’s instructions to process the transfer of an existing Registered Education Savings Plan account to the Member, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1;
2. between May 25, 2015 and January 11, 2016, made three representations to client SF which falsely indicated that the client’s Registered Education Savings Plan account had been transferred to the Member, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1;
3. between June 8, 2015 and November 16, 2015, processed five unauthorized redemptions from client SF’s non-registered account without the client’s knowledge when he knew that she intended to process the redemptions from a Registered Education Savings Plan account, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.3.1 and 2.1.1;
4. on January 11, 2016, falsely represented to client SF that the decline in value of her non-registered account was caused by market volatility when in fact the decline in value of the account was attributable at least in part due to unauthorized redemptions that the Respondent had processed in the account without the client’s knowledge, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1;
5. between July 6, 2015 and October 28, 2015, the Respondent altered the dates of client SF’s signature on two account forms and altered the date of the joint account holder’s signature on one account form, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
6. between June 12, 2013 and May 7, 2015, the Respondent:
   • failed to explain the risk of borrowing to invest to client SF prior to recommending that she borrow to invest on four occasions;
   • failed to provide a risk disclosure document to client SF prior to processing two mutual fund purchases in the client’s non-registered account that were made with borrowed money; and
   • failed to classify client SF’s non-registered account as “leveraged” on the Member’s back office system after processing two mutual fund purchases in the account that were made with borrowed money;

   contrary to MFDA Rules 2.2.1, 2.6(b), 2.1.1, 2.5.1, 1.1.2 and the Member’s policies and procedures.

The settlement hearing will take place on October 26, 2018, 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 Kitchener, 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 82,000 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.