The Ontario Securities Commission has denied registration to a veteran mutual fund sales rep who had been registered almost continuously since 1975, citing a “lack of integrity” among other grounds.

In its latest bulletin, the OSC director, Marianne Bridge, denied registration to long-time rep, Ernest Huckerby, who sought to join Merchant Capital Wealth Management Corp., a mutual fund dealer and limited market dealer.

“In my opinion, the applicant’s total disregard for the registration requirements of the act render him unsuitable for registration,” Bridge wrote in her decision. “In staff’s words, he ‘demonstrates a clear pattern of both a lack of integrity and an incompetent disregard for his obligations under Ontario securities laws. Furthermore, Mr. Huckerby’s personal financial circumstances demonstrate an inability to fulfil and manage financial obligations…. Staff is therefore also of the opinion that given his history, it would be objectionable to register Mr. Huckerby because to do so would undermine the confidence in the regulation of our capital markets’.”

OSC records show that he was first registered as a mutual fund salesperson with Investors Syndicate Inc., then with Real Securities of Canada Ltd. In April 1985, he became a trading officer and director of a mutual fund dealer, Tillcan Financial Corp. In December 1988 he became registered as a director and trading officer of what later became Fortune Financial Group Inc. The principal operations of Fortune were sold to Dundee Wealth Management Inc. and Fortune ceased operations. In August 1999, he was registered as a salesperson and branch manager with Dundee Private Investors Inc. He remained there until October 2001 when he transferred his salesperson and branch manager registrations to what later became Avenue Wealth Management Inc. On December 31, 2003, Avenue did not renew its registration. In February he sought to transfer his registration to Merchant.

In a letter dated Feb. 27, 2004 OSC staff advised Huckerby that it was recommending that his registration application be denied. Its position was that he lacks the competence, solvency and integrity required of a securities professional and therefore he is not suitable for registration. However, applicants have a right to be heard, and this director’s decision follows the receipt of written materials from both staff and Huckerby.

OSC staff argued that while some instances of his failure to satisfy the suitability criteria might, taken in isolation, warrant conditional registration, others in and of themselves would justify a denial of registration. And, they argue that his conduct, taken as a whole, clearly demonstrates that he is unsuitable for registration. Bridge agreed.