The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) announced that it has accepted a settlement agreement, with sanctions, between IIROC staff and Canaccord Genuity Corp. representative, Clinton James Orr.
In the settlement agreement, the Winnipeg rep, formerly of National Bank Financial Inc. admitted that he changed client contact information prior to leaving National Bank in an effort to mislead the firm and impede its ability to contact clients following his departure for Canaccord Genuity.
In the six months prior to his departure, in anticipation of his departure from National Bank, Orr regularly logged into an internal National Bank database containing client information and regularly made a change to one or two digits of each client’s phone number. He ultimately made changes to 455 telephone numbers for 394 or 72 per cent of his clients. Orr later denied that the majority of the inaccurate information in the database was a result of his changes, claiming that an estimated 15 to 20 per cent of the telephone number inaccuracies were deliberate changes made by him to gain a competitive advantage over the bank, as it would slow their ability to contact his clients upon his resignation. IIROC says Orr’s explanations concerning the nature and extent of his changes to the database of telephone number were false, misleading and not credible.
IIROC fined the registered representative and portfolio manager $22,500, suspended his registration for 30 days and assessed costs of $2,500. Orr must also successfully rewrite the Conduct and Practices Handbook examination within six months of his re-registration.
