Engaging in personal financial dealings with clients — even when there’s no harm to clients, and they reportedly initiated the transactions — can still land an advisor in trouble with regulators.
A hearing panel of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) approved a settlement agreement with a former advisor at RBC Dominion Securities Inc. in Toronto, Wei (Wendy) Seto, who admitted to breaching the self-regulatory organization’s rules by having personal financial dealings with several clients.
The settlement details various transactions between December 2019 and April 2021, that typically involved the advisor, or her spouse, giving clients physical cash in exchange for cheques, bank drafts, or electronic account transfers in the same amount, or exchanging Canadian cash for U.S. dollars
According to the settlement, there was no evidence that clients lost any money as a result of these dealings, and there were no complaints filed about the activity — instead, the transactions came to light when RBC DS was investigating a separate complaint about another issue, unrelated to the personal financial dealings.
In settling the case, Seto admitted to engaging in personal financial dealings with five clients when she was at RBC DS.
She was terminated by the firm in late 2023 and joined CIBC World Markets Inc. in March 2024, where she “has been under enhanced close supervision.”
Under the settlement, she agreed to a one-month suspension, a $75,000 fine and to pay $5,000 in costs.