TORONTO, Dec. 12, 2019 /CNW/ - The Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada ("MFDA") announced that it has issued a Notice of Settlement Hearing dated November 25, 2019 regarding the presentation, review and consideration of a proposed settlement agreement by a Hearing Panel of the MFDA's Central Regional Council.

The settlement agreement will be between Staff of the MFDA and Winston Castle ("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:

a)  between October 23, 2014 and October 2, 2015, engaged in personal financial dealings with a client when he purchased foreign currency from a client in a manner that favoured his interests over those of the client, thereby giving rise to a conflict or potential conflict of interest, which the Respondent failed to disclose to the Member, or failed to address by the exercise of responsible business judgment influenced only by the best interests of the client, contrary to the Member's policies and procedures, and MFDA Rule 2.1.4 and 2.1.1;
b)  commencing June 20, 2016, failed to comply with the Member's policies and procedures pertaining to accounts where the Approved Person receives instructions from a third party appointed by a client as a Power of Attorney, contrary to MFDA Rules 2.5.1, 1.1.2, and 2.1.1; and
c)  between January 2011 and October 2017, altered and used to process transactions 95 account forms, by altering information on the account forms without having the client initial the alterations, contrary to MFDA Rule 2.1.1.

The settlement hearing will take place on January 15, 2020, commencing at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern), or as soon thereafter as the matter can be held, in the hearing room at the offices of the MFDA, 121 King Street West, Suite 1000, Toronto, Ontario.

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 carried on business in the Virgil, 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

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