The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA) has, in a series of decisions and settlement agreements, fined at least five different representatives for obtaining, possessing and using pre-signed account forms and for making alterations to client files without having the clients initial those alterations. Four of the respondents being disciplined come from the same firm.
In the first four cases, Bryan Brooks Church, Teagan Laine Kliever and William James Treble and Steven Sopel, all of Investia Financial Services Inc., were issued monetary penalties. In Sopel’s case, he must also successfully complete the branch manager’s course offered by the Canadian Securities Institute or the Investment Funds Institute of Canada prior to acting as branch manager in the future.
In the first settlement agreement, Church was fined $17,500 and assessed costs totalling $2,500 after 25 pre-signed client account forms for 17 different clients were discovered in his client files during the course of a branch review. It was also discovered that he altered and used to process transactions, 60 different account forms for 48 different clients without getting clients to initial the alterations. Registered since January 2010 and working with Investia since September 2014, Church was actually placed on strict supervision twice, in both 2019 and again in 2021 – nearly two years after signing a letter of undertaking, agreeing to abide by Investia’s policies and procedures going forward.
Kleiver, meanwhile, was issued a fine of $14,500 and assessed costs in the amount of $2,500 for having seven pre-signed forms for five different clients in her files. She also altered and used 26 account forms for 22 clients without getting clients to initial the alterations. Kleiver has been registered in the securities industry since April 2015, working with Investia since June 2017.
Treble was similarly fined $14,000 and costs of $2,500 for possessing and using 11 pre-signed account forms for eight clients. During the same review of his files, 15 altered account forms were also discovered for 13 clients. Registered since March 2003, Treble was registered as a dealing representative with Investia since December 2014.
Finally, Sopel was also fined $16,000, assessed costs of $2,500 and has been barred from acting as a branch manager or in any supervisory capacity for three months. He is being sanctioned for possessing and in some instances using 10 pre-signed account forms for seven different clients and for altering and using 30 account forms for 26 clients without having clients initial the alterations.
In all four cases the firm sent letters to all affected clients which included a three-year transaction history and know your client information. No clients raised any concerns in response to Investia’s letters. Similarly, all four were placed under strict supervision, issued warning letters and charged administration fees associated with the client mailings and strict supervision.
In a separate and unrelated case, the MFDA also fined Adrian Craig Kotze, a dealing representative with Quadrus Investment Services Ltd., $13,000 plus $2,500 in costs and has ordered Kotze to successfully complete the Ethics and Professional Conduct Course offered by the IFSE Institute for obtaining and possessing five pre-signed account forms for three different clients. During the course of its investigation, Quadrus also placed Kotze under close supervision and have required him to complete training and a review of the firm’s policies and procedures.
