For acting as a power of attorney (POA), for accepting a monetary gift from a friend who was also her client and for working as that friend’s executor, Nancy Fairclough (Woods) is being sanctioned by the Investment Industry Organization of Canada (IIROC).
In addition to paying $20,000 to charity, as ordered by her firm, RBC Dominion Securities Inc., the firm also required her to re-write and pass the Conduct and Practices Handbook examination. IIROC then sanctioned Fairclough (Woods), fining her an additional $17,500.
Fairclough (Woods) agreed that between January 2019 and July 2020 she acted as POA for a client who was also a friend of more than 30 years. The client had no children or other immediate family. She accepted a $50,000 monetary gift from the client for agreeing to act as the client’s estate executor, and did not advise RBC about the arrangement. The firm became aware of the arrangement when beneficiaries of the client’s estate filed a complaint and IIROC launched an investigation.
The client in question had retired and moved to Italy, appointing the representative as executor and POA in 2013. In 2017 Fairclough (Woods) told her branch manager about the appointment, and was advised that she was expected to tell the client to appoint someone else, or otherwise take appropriate steps to resign. Beginning in January 2019 she acted as POA on five occasions. In July 2020 when the client passed away – Fairclough (Woods) transferred the client’s account to another representative in March 2019 – she then began acting as executor
The representative has since returned the $50,000 to the client’s estate and ceased acting as executor. In addition to the RBC fine and sanctions, and the IIROC fine, the representative was also ordered to pay IIROC’s costs in the amount of $5,000.
