Advisor fined $70K for thousands of pre-signed forms

The leader of an advisor team at Scotia Capital Inc. that amassed around 3,000 pre-signed client forms has been sanctioned in a settlement with regulators.

A hearing panel of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) approved a settlement with Bart William Hunter, a former rep at Scotia Capital in Saskatoon, after he admitted to violating the self-regulatory organization’s rules by using pre-signed forms.

Under the settlement, Hunter agreed to a $70,000 fine, a three-month suspension and to pay $5,000 in costs. He also agreed to rewrite the Conduct and Practices Handbook exam and to 10 months of close supervision.

According to the settlement, the firm discovered in 2021 that Hunter’s advisor group — which included three advisors and four associates serving 869 clients — was using pre-signed forms, ultimately discovering approximately 3,000 pre-signed forms at the branch.

“The forms in question were signed by clients but were either blank or missing key information,” it said, noting that Hunter himself had signed 682 of the forms, which were stored in banker boxes and kept in an empty cubicle.

The SRO noted that Hunter cooperated with its investigation and agreed to a settlement, which saved the cost of a contested hearing.

James Langton

James is a senior reporter for Advisor.ca and its sister publication, Investment Executive. He has been reporting on regulation, securities law, industry news and more since 1994.