MFDA issues Notice of Settlement Hearing in respect of Walter Montina

TORONTO, Sept. 16, 2019 /CNW/ - The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") announced that it has issued a Notice of Settlement Hearing dated September 3, 2019 ("Notice of Settlement Hearing") regarding the presentation, review and consideration of a proposed settlement agreement by a Hearing Panel of the MFDA's Prairie Regional Council.

The settlement agreement will be between Staff of the MFDA and Walter Guiseppe Montina ("Respondent") and involves matters for which the Respondent may be disciplined by a Hearing Panel pursuant to MFDA By-laws.

The proposed settlement agreement concerns allegations that the Respondent:

1. in or around January 2013, he, or his assistant for whom he was responsible, altered information on an account form that had been previously signed by a client and used in a previous transaction in order to process a new transaction in the client's account, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1;
2. between March 2010 and January 2018, he, or his assistants for whom he was responsible, altered and used to process transactions, 14 account forms in respect of nine clients by altering information on the account forms without having the clients initial the alterations, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1; and
3. between March 2010 and January 2018, he, or his assistants for whom he was responsible, obtained, possessed, and used to process transactions, 29 pre-signed account forms in respect of 19 clients, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

The settlement hearing is to take place on November 26, 2019, commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Mountain), or as soon thereafter as the matter can be held, in the hearing room at the offices of the MFDA, 800 - 6th Avenue S.W., Suite 850, Calgary, Alberta.

MFDA settlement hearings are typically held in the absence of the public pursuant to section 20.5 of MFDA By-law No. 1 and Rule 15.2(2) of the MFDA Rules of Procedure. If the Hearing Panel accepts the settlement agreement, then the proceeding will become open to the public and a copy of the decision of the Hearing Panel and the settlement agreement will be made available at www.mfda.ca.

A copy of the Notice of Settlement Hearing is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Notice of Settlement Hearing, the Respondent conducted business in the Lethbridge, Alberta area.

The MFDA is the self-regulatory organization for Canadian mutual fund dealers, regulating the operations, standards of practice and business conduct of its Members and their approximately 81,000 Approved Persons with a mandate to protect investors and the public interest. For more information about the MFDA's complaint and enforcement processes, as well as links to 'Check an Advisor' and other Investor Tools, visit the For Investors page on the MFDA website.

SOURCE Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada