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by Mike Caswell

The Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (formerly IIROC) has imposed sanctions totalling $75,000 on former Scotia Capital Inc. employee Bart Hunter over his use of thousands of presigned client forms. CIRO claimed that Mr. Hunter led a group that stored boxes of blank forms for future use. The forms were missing details that clients would ordinarily have to approve, such as their level of risk tolerance.

The sanctions for Mr. Hunter are contained in a settlement agreement that CIRO released on Wednesday, July 26. The $75,000 includes a $70,000 fine plus payment of $5,000 in CIRO's costs. Mr. Hunter must also serve a three-month suspension and, should he return to the industry, must be under close supervision for 10 months.

The case stems from the standard forms that brokerage clients fill out when they open an account or when there are updates to that account. Ordinarily, clients must review the forms and sign them, indicating that they agree to the information on the form. The documents typically indicate things such as investment objectives, risk tolerances and accredited investor qualifications.

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