A Hearing Panel in Vancouver approved a settlement on Tuesday, April 25 between Research Capital Corp. and Market Regulation Services Inc. (RS), the independent regulator of trading on Canada’s equity markets.

Research was sanctioned for failing to meet its supervisory obligations in connection with manipulative trading by one of its investment advisors. The investment advisor, Alfred Simon Gregorian, was previously sanctioned by RS for participating in his clients’ use of manipulative or deceptive methods of trading.

Research agreed to have its board of directors certify to its implementation of effective supervision and compliance procedures to identify and address manipulative and deceptive trading on Canadian equity markets, to pay disgorgement of $16,260 and costs of the investigation in the amount of $135,000.

The settlement was structured to co-ordinate with, and not unnecessarily duplicate, a recent settlement agreement by Research with the Investment Dealers Association of Canada, in which Research paid a significant fine for similar deficient supervisory and compliance procedures during the same period.