The Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) announced June 5 that it has permanently banned Kenneth Edward Smith, a former Nanaimo, B.C.-based investment advisor. The regulator has also fined Smith $125,000 plus costs of $20,000.

In an earlier decision on liability dated April 6, 2018, an IIROC Hearing Panel found that Smith “engaged in an outside business activity without obtaining the approval of his employer; placed off-book investments for his client, without the knowledge or consent of employer; and took $10,000 from a former client in order to invest the funds on her behalf, without the knowledge or consent of his employer; and failed to cooperate with IIROC staff during their investigation.”

IIROC initiated the investigation into Smith's conduct in January 2017. The violations occurred while he was a Registered Representative with Queensbury Securities Inc., an IIROC-regulated firm, in Nanaimo, BC. Smith is no longer a registrant with an IIROC-regulated firm.