MFDA Hearing Panel approves settlement agreement with Marc Simard

March 12, 2018 (Toronto, Ontario) – A settlement hearing in the matter of Marc Joseph Simard (“Respondent”) was held on March 9, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Prairie Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (“MFDA”).

The Hearing Panel approved the settlement agreement dated December 12, 2017 (“Settlement Agreement”) between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed:

• a fine in the amount of $11,000;
• costs in the amount of $2,500; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

1. between March 2014 and June 2016, he falsified and used to process transactions, seven account forms in respect of five clients by altering information on the account forms without having the clients initial the alterations, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
2. between March 2014 and May 2016, he obtained, possessed, and in some instances, used to process transactions, 21 pre-signed account forms in respect of 15 clients, 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 carried on business in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

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.