Two advisors face fines and suspensions over unauthorized transactions and unsuitable investments
The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) issued penalties in two separate cases following hearings on regulatory violations by Jacqueline Lynn Hodge and Michael Patrick White.
A CIRO hearing panel accepted a settlement agreement on January 22, involving Jacqueline Lynn Hodge, who admitted to regulatory breaches under the Mutual Fund Dealer Rules.
She acknowledged opening three client accounts, processing transactions, and recording Know Your Client (KYC) information without proper client authorization.
Additionally, she admitted to signing a client’s signature on two documents and allowing another individual to sign a client’s name on a document.
As per the panel’s decision on January 24, Hodge must pay a $15,000 fine and $5,000 in costs.
She is prohibited from acting as a branch manager or holding any supervisory role with a CIRO-regulated Dealer Member for six months. At the time of the violations, Hodge was operating in Slave Lake, Alberta, with PFSL Investments Canada Ltd., where she remains registered.
CIRO imposed penalties on Michael Patrick White after finding that he failed to exercise due diligence in ensuring the suitability of investment recommendations for two clients.
The hearing panel issued its decision on August 12, 2024, concluding that White breached Rule 1300.1(q) of the Investment Dealer and Partially Consolidated Rules regarding the investment recommendations for two clients, identified as the Js.
White admitted that some of his recommendations were unsuitable for the Js.
However, the panel found that CIRO Enforcement did not establish that White breached the rule in his recommendations to another client, MS.
The panel determined that White had conducted due diligence on investment products and exercised sound judgment when advising MS, ultimately ruling in his favour on that matter.
In the penalty hearing on October 28, 2024, CIRO ordered White to pay a $5,000 fine and disgorge $3,000.
White, who previously worked as a Registered Representative at the Ottawa branch of Echelon Wealth Partners Inc., is no longer registered with a CIRO-regulated firm.
