An Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) hearing panel has approved a proposed settlement with former registered representative Mark Steven Rotstein and his firm, Equlibrium Partners Inc. (EQ), that will see them pay $275,000 in penalties and costs along with a 10-year trading ban and a 15-year registration ban, among other conditions.
The settlement resolves allegations that Rotstein and EQ violated securities rules by trading without registration on behalf of clients, including posing as the clients in order to transact with online brokers to carry out trades on their behalf.
The settlement notes that the breaches didn’t result in any investor losses and that clients didn’t complain about Rotstein or the firm. It also points out that Rotstein and EQ co-operated with the OSC, acknowledged the misconduct and expressed remorse.
The violations came after Rotstein set up his own firm to provide financial planning, estate planning and other services to clients in October 2012. Prior to that, he worked for RBC Dominion Securities Inc. from 1997 to 2011, and with Scotia Capital Inc. fr2om 2011 to 2012.
According to the OSC settlement, Rotstein left Scotia Capital in July 2012 after settling enforcement proceedings brought by the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
Specifically, he admitted to violating IIROC rules by signing client names on account and investment documents “in dozens and potentially hundreds of instances”; he also settled in a second IIROC proceeding, admitting to entering a trade for a client without the client’s knowledge or authorization. Those settlements resulted in an 18-month registration ban.