Settlement Agreement

I. INTRODUCTION

1. Staff of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (“Staff”) and the Respondent, Shauna Marie Kotschorek (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 to the following violations of the By-laws, Rules or Policies of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (“MFDA”):
   1. Between January 2017 and August 2017, the Respondent signed a client’s signature and initials on 10 trade forms and submitted the forms to the Member for processing, 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 $13,500 in certified funds upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement, pursuant to section 24.1.1(b) of By-law No. 1;
   2. the Respondent shall pay costs in the amount of $2,500 in certified funds upon acceptance of the Settlement Agreement, pursuant to section 24.2 of By-law No. 1;
   3. the Respondent shall in the future comply with MFDA Rules 2.1.1; and
   4. the Respondent will attend the Settlement Hearing in person.
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. Since August 2008, the Respondent has been registered in Alberta as a mutual fund salesperson (now known as a dealing representative) with WFG Securities Inc. (the “Member”), a Member of the MFDA.
8. Since September 2012, the Respondent has also been registered as a dealing representative with the Member in Manitoba.
9. At all material times, the Respondent carried on business in the Edmonton, Alberta area.

Signing a client’s signature and initials

10. At all material times, the policies and procedures of the Member prohibited Approved Persons from signing a client’s name on account forms regardless of the circumstances.
11. At all material times, the Respondent and her spouse, client SK, maintained a joint Registered Education Savings Plan account with the Member (the “Joint RESP account”). Client SK also maintained a Tax Free Savings Account with the Member (the “TFSA account”).
12. Between January 2017 and August 2017, the Respondent signed client SK’s signature and initials on ten trade forms and submitted them for processing to redeem and withdraw monies from the Joint RESP account and the TFSA account.
13. The Respondent signed client SK’s signature and initials on the trade forms with client SK’s knowledge and authorization.
14. The Respondent and client SK used the monies from the redemptions to pay for family expenses.

Member’s Response

15. On October 12, 2018, the Member issued a warning letter to the Respondent and imposed a 12 month period of increased supervision on the Respondent for the misconduct described above. The Respondent was also required to complete an industry course within 3 months, which she did.
16. On January 10, 2019, the Member conducted a review of all of the client files serviced by the Respondent but did not identify any additional concerns.

Additional Factors

17. The Respondent has not previously been the subject of an MFDA disciplinary proceeding.
18. There is no evidence of any client loss or that the transactions were unauthorized.
19. By entering into this Settlement Agreement, the Respondent has saved the MFDA the time, resources, and expenses associated with conducting a full hearing on the allegations.

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. 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.
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 contraventions described in this Settlement Agreement. Nothing in this Settlement Agreement precludes Staff from investigating or initiating proceedings in respect of any 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.