MFDA Hearing Panel accepts settlement agreement with Jamie Leonard

TORONTO, June 24, 2020 /CNW/ - A settlement hearing in the matter of Jamie Lee Leonard ("Respondent") was held today in Toronto, Ontario by electronic hearing before a three-member Hearing Panel of the Central Regional Council of the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA").

The Hearing Panel accepted the settlement agreement dated March 31, 2020 ("Settlement Agreement") between Staff of the MFDA and the Respondent, as a consequence of which the following sanctions were imposed on the Respondent:

• a prohibition from conducting securities related business in any capacity while in the employ of or associated with any MFDA Member for a period of two years;
• a fine in the amount of $2,500;
• costs in the amount of $2,500; and
• shall in the future comply with MFDA Rules 2.1.4, 2.5.1 and 1.1.2, and Rule 2.1.1.

In the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent admitted that:

1. from December 2015 to February 2017, he processed 43 transactions in respect of 38 clients as redemptions and purchases, rather than as switches, which exposed the clients to risk of market loss and which he knew would result in the transactions counting towards the Member's sales targets for the Respondent, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures, and MFDA Rules 2.1.4, 2.1.1, 1.1.2 and 2.5.1; and
2. from December 2015 to February 2017, he failed to execute 18 mutual fund purchases on a timely basis as required by the Member's policies and procedures, which resulted in 21 clients incurring losses in their accounts, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures, and MFDA Rules 2.1.1, 1.1.2 and 2.5.1.

A copy of the Settlement Agreement is available on the MFDA website at www.mfda.ca. During the period described in the Settlement Agreement, the Respondent carried on business in the Ottawa, Ontario 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