TD to repay $13.5 million to clients it overcharged

According to the settlement, TD will pay at least $13.5 million in compensation to clients that were affected by the overcharging. Most of this, more than $11 million worth, involves clients who were not advised that they met the minimum asset thresholds to qualify for a lower MER version of certain funds within the TD’s Managed Assets Program (MAP).

The $13.5 million in planned compensation covers three of the four different forms of overcharging that the firms uncovered. The settlement does not include an estimate for the amount of client compensation that will be paid in connection with the fourth type of overcharging it found.

The payouts are subject to a $25 minimum. The settlement indicates that the total of payments worth less than $25 is approximately $17,400; and, that rather than making numerous small payments to clients, this amount will be donated to the Prosper Canada Centre for Financial Literacy. Any undistributed amounts, whether because clients can’t be found or have died, as of Dec. 31, 2016, will also be donated to the Prosper Canada Centre for Financial Literacy.

In addition to the monetary costs, the settlement indicates that the bank has reviewed its other business lines and did not uncover any other overcharging. The firms have also agreed to implement enhanced controls and supervisory procedures to prevent similar episodes in the future.

The settlement resolves allegations from the OSC that there were inadequacies in the TD firms’ systems of controls and supervision that resulted in clients paying excess fees, and that this overcharging was not detected or corrected in a timely manner. Under the new no-contest settlement approach that was recently adopted by the OSC, the firms agreed to settle the OSC’s allegations without admitting or denying the accuracy of the facts and conclusions of OSC Staff.

The OSC also notes that TD self-reported the issues, and that it cooperated with both its staff, and the staff of the self-regulatory organizations, the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC) and the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (MFDA).

“Registrants are required to have robust and effective compliance systems in place and to deal fairly with clients with regard to fees,” said Tom Atkinson, director of enforcement at the OSC. “A clear message from today’s settlement is that we expect registrants to establish and maintain robust and effective systems to ensure compliance with securities law, including the requirement to deal fairly with clients with regard to fees.”

Following approval of the settlement, TD issued a statement indicating that it “has begun compensating clients and has implemented additional controls and supervision to prevent the re-occurrence of these matters in the future.”

“TD has been extremely cooperative with the OSC as we’ve worked on correcting these matters and compensating our clients. The steps we’ve taken to prevent this type of error include updated procedures and training, closer oversight of processes, and added measures to identify when these funds are used. This ensures our advisors are providing their clients with the right advice and support they require,” it says.