IIROC fines firm, CEO total of $190k

By Staff | July 13, 2018 | Last updated on July 13, 2018
2 min read

An IIROC hearing panel has fined a firm and its CEO for failing to supervise trading and maintain a proper audit trail.

The firm, M Partners, must pay $120,000 for not following the rules while its ultimate designated person (UDP), CEO Steven Isenberg, must pay $70,000. The firm will also pay costs of $10,000.

M Partners admitted, in an April settlement agreement, that it “failed to comply” with its trade supervision obligations and audit requirements between February 2015 and August 2016, IIROC says in a release.

In the same agreement and over the same period, Isenberg admitted “he did not take adequate steps to supervise M Partners’ compliance with its regulatory obligations regarding trading supervision and the maintenance of a proper audit trail, and failed to promote compliance at M Partners,” the SRO says.

The settlement agreement says, with respect to the firm’s misconduct, that there were “numerous instances where M Partners failed to properly complete trade tickets in accordance with regulatory requirements and its internal policies and procedures.”

Isenberg failed to properly supervise, “despite a prior disciplinary proceeding on these issues and reports from M Partners’ former CCO,” it says. There were also “multiple Audit Trail Deficiencies for trades entered by Isenberg himself which is inconsistent with the promotion of compliance by the UDP.”

In a 2015 settlement agreement, M Partners paid a $40,000 fine for audit deficiencies and improper order handling in 2012.

Both the firm and Isenberg are still registered.

IIROC says in the agreement that, among other mitigating measures, “In 2017, M Partners retained a consultant to address the issues described in this Settlement Agreement and do a comprehensive review of its compliance program.” As well, Isenberg completed the CCO examination in 2018.

Read the settlement agreement.

Advisor.ca staff

Staff

The staff of Advisor.ca have been covering news for financial advisors since 1998.