An Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) hearing panel has permanently banned a former advisor accused of violating suitability rules, IIROC announced Wednesday.
In addition to the ban, the hearing panel ordered that Rodney Joseph Nieswandt, a former rep with CIBC World Markets Inc. in Regina, pay a $140,000 fine and $10,000 in costs.
IIROC staff alleged that Nieswandt sold deferred sales charge (DSC) mutual funds and principal protected notes (PPNs) to several senior clients, generating excess fees.
When Nieswandt failed to participate in the disciplinary proceeding, the hearing panel accepted the allegations as proven.
Specifically, the hearing panel found that Nieswandt sold DSC funds, PPNs, and structured notes to clients’ accounts prior to maturity “incurring deferred sales charges and early redemption fees. He then purchased the same types of securities; thus, generating additional fees,” the hearing panel stated in its penalty decision.
The panel also found that he conducted unauthorized trades in client accounts, financially compensated one client for losses, and failed to co-operate with IIROC’s investigation, which was launched in February 2016.