Securities industry enforcement activity was more or less flat in 2018, according to the latest data from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC).
The investment industry’s self-regulatory organization (SRO) levied $3.2 million in total monetary sanctions against advisors in 2018, down slightly from $3.4 million the previous year. Fines against advisors actually went up last year to $2.8 million from $2.3 million, but disgorgement ordered went down to just $133,711 from $778,962 in 2017.
IIROC also reports that the number of suspensions ordered rose to 21 last year from 16 in 2017, but the number of permanent bans handed out was unchanged at five.
The total, number of decisions rendered by IIROC hearing panels against both firms and advisors increased year-over-year. The SRO issued 42 disciplinary decisions against advisors in 2018, up from 37 in 2017. Furthermore, it rendered 10 rulings against firms, up from seven the previous year.
As with the sanctions imposed on advisors, the penalties faced by firms also dipped a bit last year, declining to $915,500 in 2018 from just more than $1 million in 2017.
IIROC also reports that client complaints declined a bit to 866 in 2018 from 903 in 2017 and that the number of internal disciplinary actions dipped from 36 in 2017 to 27 last year, even as the number of internal investigations reported to IIROC increased to 62from 47.
In addition, the number of enforcement cases opened last year declined a bit to 348 cases in 2018 from 410 cases in the previous year.
Cases involving unauthorized trading surged from 49 in 2017 to 83 last year whereas cases involving unsuitable investments dropped to 91 from 111.
The number of investigations completed was also more or less unchanged in 2018 at 128 and the SRO reports that it currently has 121 cases still under investigation, and 70 cases in prosecution.