CIRO Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Samantha Cauvier

TORONTO, Jan. 2, 2024 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Samantha Cauvier (the "Respondent") was held electronically by videoconference on December 12, 2023, in Toronto, Ontario before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Ontario District Hearing Committee of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization ("CIRO").

The Hearing Panel accepted the settlement agreement dated December 5, 2023 (the "Settlement Agreement"), between Staff of CIRO and Samantha Cauvier as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent:

• a fine in the amount of $2,500; and
• costs in the amount of $5,000.

In the Settlement Agreement, Samantha Cauvier admits to the following violations of the Mutual Fund Dealer Rules:^[1]

(a)     Between February 2021 and June 2021, the Respondent:

i.     instructed a client to falsely inform the Dealer Member that the client was a resident of Ontario; and

ii.    in respect of a second client, falsely recorded on account opening documentation that the client was a resident of Ontario,

thereby enabling the Respondent to circumvent the Dealer Member's prohibition against transacting business in provinces where the Respondent was not registered, contrary to the Dealer Member's policies and procedures and Mutual Fund Dealer Rules 2.1.1, 2.2.1 and 1.1.2 (as it relates to Rule 2.5.1) (formerly MFDA Rules 2.1.1, 2.2.1, 1.1.2, and 2.5.1).

(b)     Between February 2021 and June 2021, the Respondent opened a new account and processed the purchase of mutual funds in respect of a client who resided in a province in which the Respondent was not registered, contrary to the Dealer Member's policies and procedures and Mutual Fund Dealer Rules 1.1.5, 2.1.1 and 1.1.2 (as it relates to Rule 2.5.1) (formerly MFDA Rules 1.1.5, 2.1.1, 1.1.2, and 2.5.1).

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¹At the time of the conduct addressed in this proceeding, MFDA Rules 1.1.5, 2.1.1, 2.2.1, 1.1.2 and 2.5.1 were in effect and are now incorporated into Mutual Fund Dealer Rules 1.1.5, 2.1.1, 2.2.1, 1.1.2, and 2.5.1 referred to in this proceeding. On July 7, 2022, amendments to MFDA Rule 1.1.2 came into effect. As the conduct addressed in this proceeding pre-dated the amendment to that Rule, the version of MFDA Rule 1.1.2 that was in effect prior to July 7, 2022 is applicable to this proceeding.

A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca.

During the period described in the Settlement Agreement, Samantha Cauvier carried on business in the Carleton Place, Ontario area.

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All information about disciplinary proceedings relating to current and former member firms and individual registrants under the Investment Dealer and Partially Consolidated Rules (for investment dealers), the Mutual Fund Dealer Rules (for mutual fund dealers) and the Universal Market Integrity Rules (UMIR) is available on CIRO's website.

Background information regarding the qualifications and disciplinary history, if any, of advisors currently employed by CIRO-regulated investment firms is available free of charge through the AdvisorReport service. Information on how to make dealer, advisor or marketplace-related complaints is available by calling 1 877 442-4322.

CIRO investigates possible misconduct by its member firms and individual registrants. It can bring disciplinary proceedings which may result in sanctions including fines, suspensions, permanent bars, expulsion from membership, or termination of rights and privileges for individuals and firms.

CIRO is the national self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers, mutual fund dealers and trading activity on Canada's debt and equity marketplaces. CIRO is carrying on the regulatory functions of the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada, and is committed to the protection of investors, providing efficient and consistent regulation, and building Canadians' trust in financial regulation and the people managing their investments. For more information, visit www.ciro.ca.

SOURCE Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO)