A former Royal Mutual Funds Inc. fund sales person has been fined just $15,000 plus costs of $2,500 after it was discovered that he signed the signatures of two clients on ten account forms and submitted the forms to Royal Mutual Funds for processing.
The Vancouver-based advisor, Norman Haines, was first investigated by his firm in March and April 2018 after it identified redemption forms for one client with signature irregularities. The firm then reviewed 25 per cent of the trade forms processed by Haines between January 2017 and February 2018 which revealed the remaining redemption forms where Haines had signed the client’s signatures.
Haines resigned from Royal Mutual Funds in April 2018 and is not currently registered in the securities industry in any capacity. According to the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) settlement agreement, there is no evidence that Haines received any financial benefit from engaging in the misconduct described, beyond the commissions and fees that he would ordinarily be entitled to receive had the transactions been carried out in the proper manner. The MFDA also says there is no evidence of any client loss or that the transactions were unauthorized.
