The former president, CEO and chief compliance officer of Laurier Capital Planning Inc. has been fined $5,000 by the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada for deficiencies in the firm’s compliance program.

In a hearing in Calgary on Tuesday, an MFDA hearing panel imposed penalties against Victor Raymond Fook Seng Lee.

The former executive with Calgary-based Laurier Capital Planning had previously admitted that the firm’s compliance program fell short of the MFDA’s regulatory requirements between January and May 2008.

Specifically, the MFDA found deficiencies in the firm’s back office system and its tier-one and tier-two supervision structures. For instance, due to failings in Laurier’s back office systems, the firm was unable to review the investments in a client’s account at the time of a trade to assess the suitability of the trade against the client’s percentage risk allocations as stated on the know-your-client and/or new account application forms.

In terms of supervision, the MFDA found that the firm failed to conduct suitability reviews of trades and failed to review trade blotters and conduct trade reconciliations, among other deficiencies.

Lee “failed to ensure that the firm maintained a compliance program that identified and addressed material risks of non-compliance and that appropriate supervision and compliance procedures to manage those risks had been implemented,” the MFDA said in the settlement agreement.

Lee has been prohibited for three years from acting as a partner, director, officer, ultimate designated person, chief compliance officer, compliance officer or branch manager of an MFDA member. If he seeks to become registered as an approved person or in one of these roles at an MFDA member firm, he must first successfully complete certain courses.

Lee has paid a fine of $5,000 and costs of $2,500.

IE