A director of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has ruled that a mutual fund rep should be suspended for three months, rather than the six months recommended by OSC staff, after he failed to disclose a criminal charge both to his firm and the regulator.
According to the director’s decision, OSC staff had recommended that Milligan, a mutal fund rep with London, Ont.-based Quadrus Investment Services Inc., be suspended for six months amid allegations that he failed to disclose a criminal charge, failed to comply with his firm’s policies, and made untrue statements to OSC staff.
Milligan had previously received a conditional discharge for disobeying a court order by emailing his ex-wife.
Marrianne Bridge, deputy director, compliance and registrant regulation branch, ruled that Milligan didn’t disclose the charge on a timely basis, as required, nor did he properly report it to his firm, as required by its policies. However, Bridge found that Milligan was not guilty of making untrue statements to the regulator; nor did his conduct in the matter impugn his integrity.
Stated Brdige in the decision dated May 30: “Milligan clearly failed to meet his ongoing registration obligations by failing to disclose a criminal charge, and later on, the conditional discharge. However, Milligan was forthright in the [hearing] regarding his failure to disclose the criminal charge (and the conditional discharge), took responsibility for his failure to comply with Ontario securities law, accepted that he should be reprimanded for his conduct, and appeared genuinely remorseful.”
Bridge noted that Milligan’s regulatory record is otherwise clean, and that he is unlikely to repeat this misconduct in the future.
“Accordingly, I do not find Milligan’s ongoing registration to be objectionable and believe that a three month suspension is appropriate in dealing with his past conduct both from a specific deterrence and general deterrence perspective,” Bridge stated.