Settlement Agreement

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Staff of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (“Staff”) and the Respondent, James Stoddard (the “Respondent”), consent and agree to settlement of this matter by way of this agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”).

2. Staff conducted an investigation of the Respondent’s activities which disclosed activity for which the Respondent could be penalized on the exercise of the discretion of the Hearing Panel pursuant to s. 24.1 of By-law No.1.

II. JOINT SETTLEMENT RECOMMENDATION

3. Staff and the Respondent jointly recommend that the Hearing Panel accept the Settlement Agreement.

4. The Respondent admits that:
   1. between July 28, 2011 and August 5, 2016, he obtained, possessed, and in some instances used to process transactions, 80 pre-signed account forms in relation to 25 clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

5. Staff and the Respondent agree and consent to the following terms of settlement:
   1. the Respondent shall pay a fine in the amount of $10,000 pursuant to section 24.1.1(b) of By-law No. 1;
   2. the Respondent shall pay costs in the amount of $2,500 pursuant to section 24.2 of By-law No. 1 upon acceptance of this Settlement Agreement;
   3. the payment by the Respondent of the fine and costs described above in subparagraphs 5(i) and (ii) shall be made to and received by MFDA Staff in certified funds as follows:
      1. $2,500 (costs) shall be paid upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel;
      2. $1,666.67 (fine) shall be paid on or before the last business day of the first month following the acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel;
      3. $1,666.67 (fine) shall be paid on or before the last business day of the second month following the acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel;
      4. $1,666.67 (fine) shall be paid on or before the last business day of the third month following the acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel;
      5. $1,666.67 (fine) shall be paid on or before the last business day of the fourth month following the acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel;
      6. $1,666.67 (fine) shall be paid on or before the last business day of the fifth month following the acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel;
      7. $1,666.67 (fine) shall be paid on or before the last business day of the sixth month following the acceptance of the Settlement Agreement by the Hearing Panel;
   4. if the Respondent fails to make any of the payments described above in subparagraph 5(iii) then:
      1. any outstanding balance of the fine and costs owed by the Respondent shall immediately become due and payable to the MFDA; and
      2. the Respondent shall continue to be prohibited from conducting securities related business while in the employ of or associated with a Member of the MFDA until such time as the total amount outstanding of the fine and costs owed by the Respondent is paid to the MFDA, pursuant to section 24.3.13(c) of MFDA By-law No. 1;
   5. the Respondent shall in the future comply with MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
   6. the Respondent will attend in person at the Settlement Hearing.

6. Staff and the Respondent agree to the settlement on the basis of the facts set out in Part III herein and consent to the making of an Order in the form attached as Schedule “A”.

III. AGREED FACTS

Registration History

7. The Respondent was registered in the mutual fund industry commencing in or about 1998.

8. From October 1, 2007 to February 24, 2017, the Respondent was registered in Ontario as a mutual fund salesperson (now known as a dealing representative) with Peak Investment Services Inc. (“Peak”), a Member of the MFDA.

9. At all material times, the Respondent conducted business in the Markham, Ontario area.

10. Peak terminated the Respondent’s registration on February 24, 2017 as a result of the misconduct set out in this Settlement Agreement. The Respondent is not currently registered in the securities industry in any capacity.

Pre-Signed Account Forms

11. At all material times, Peak’s policies and procedures prohibited its Approved Persons from using pre-signed account forms.

12. MFDA Compliance Staff detected the pre-signed forms that are the subject of this Settlement Agreement during a compliance review of the Respondent’s branch location conducted in 2016.

13. Between July 28, 2011 and August 5, 2016, the Respondent obtained, possessed and in some instances used to process transactions, 80 pre-signed account forms in relation to 25 clients.

14. The pre-signed account forms included order forms, Registered Education Savings Plan withdrawal forms and deregistration forms.

Additional Factors

15. The Respondent states that he engaged in the conduct described in this Settlement Agreement for the purposes of client convenience.

16. The Respondent has not been the subject of previous MFDA disciplinary proceedings.

17. There is no evidence of client loss in this matter or that the Respondent received any financial benefit from engaging in the misconduct beyond the commissions or fees to which he would have been ordinarily entitled had the transactions in the clients’ accounts been carried out in the proper manner.

18. There have been no client complaints in relation to the conduct described in this Settlement Agreement, and no evidence of unauthorized trading undertaken by the Respondent.

19. The Respondent has cooperated fully with Staff during the course of the investigation, and by agreeing to this settlement, has avoided the necessity of a full hearing on the merits.

IV. ADDITIONAL TERMS OF SETTLEMENT

20. This settlement is agreed upon in accordance with section 24.4 of MFDA By-law No. 1 and Rules 14 and 15 of the MFDA Rules of Procedure.

21. The Settlement Agreement is subject to acceptance by the Hearing Panel which shall be sought at a hearing (the “Settlement Hearing”). At, or following the conclusion of, the Settlement Hearing, the Hearing Panel may either accept or reject the Settlement Agreement.

22. The Settlement Agreement shall become effective and binding upon the Respondent and Staff as of the date of its acceptance by the Hearing Panel. Unless otherwise stated, any monetary penalties and costs imposed upon the Respondent are payable immediately, and any suspensions, revocations, prohibitions, conditions or other terms of the Settlement Agreement shall commence, upon the effective date of the Settlement Agreement.

23. Staff and the Respondent agree that if this Settlement Agreement is accepted by the Hearing Panel:
    1. the Settlement Agreement will constitute the entirety of the evidence to be submitted respecting the Respondent in this matter;
    2. the Respondent waives any rights to a full hearing, a review hearing before the Board of Directors of the MFDA or any securities commission with jurisdiction in the matter under its enabling legislation, or a judicial review or appeal of the matter before any court of competent jurisdiction;
    3. Staff will not initiate any proceeding under the By-laws of the MFDA against the Respondent in respect of the facts and contraventions described in this Settlement Agreement. Nothing in this Settlement Agreement precludes Staff from investigating or initiating proceedings in respect of any facts and contraventions that are not set out in this Settlement Agreement.  Furthermore, nothing in this Settlement Agreement shall relieve the Respondent from fulfilling any continuing regulatory obligations;
    4. the Respondent shall be deemed to have been penalized by the Hearing Panel pursuant to s. 24.1.2 of By-law No. 1 for the purpose of giving notice to the public thereof in accordance with s. 24.5 of By-law No. 1; and
    5. neither Staff nor the Respondent will make any public statement inconsistent with this Settlement Agreement. Nothing in this section is intended to restrict the Respondent from making full answer and defence to any civil or other proceedings against the Respondent.

24. If, for any reason, this Settlement Agreement is not accepted by the Hearing Panel, each of Staff and the Respondent will be entitled to any available proceedings, remedies and challenges, including proceeding to a disciplinary hearing pursuant to sections 20 and 24 of By-law No. 1, unaffected by the Settlement Agreement or the settlement negotiations.

25. Staff and the Respondent agree that the terms of the Settlement Agreement, including the attached Schedule “A”, will be released to the public only if and when the Settlement Agreement is accepted by the Hearing Panel.

26. The Settlement Agreement may be signed in one or more counterparts which together shall constitute a binding agreement. A facsimile copy of any signature shall be effective as an original signature.