买RESP的小心了,传承教育基金被BC证监会罚款

A B.C. educational scholarship plan dealer has paid $50,000 to settle charges that it failed to maintain adequate compliance practices or correct deficiencies from past compliance examinations. In a settlement agreement with the B.C. Securities Commission, Heritage Education Funds Inc. acknowledged that BCSC staff conducted compliance examinations in 2000, 2003, and 2008. The 2008 examination found "numerous repeat deficiencies" that had not been corrected from previous examinations. [color=#ff0000]Among other deficiencies, Heritage's actual business procedures were not consistent with its written business procedures; the firm failed to provide certain records to staff which prevented them from examining those records or determining their adequacy; and the firm failed to ensure that its branches were subjected to regular on-site examinations and its employees were following rules and regulations. [/color] As aggravating factors, the settlement agreement noted that BCSC staff "required significant resources to conduct their compliance examination of Heritage," and there were two instances during the 2008 examination where Heritage representatives were "uncooperative with commission staff." It also noted that Heritage has had previous client complaints. As well as paying a $25,000 penalty and $25,000 in costs, Heritage has agreed to engage an independent compliance monitor to provide annual reviews of the firm's compliance and supervision systems and practices for two years, starting in 2010. Heritage is a Toronto-based company with offices coast to coast. In B.C., the firm's managing agency director is Tesh Chhachhi of Vancouver. [url]http://www.bcsc.bc.ca/comdoc.nsf/allbyunid/70c6d9d9d2c7b61f8825772700566ba2?opendocument[/url] [backcolor=#ffff00]Misconduct 4.    Staff of the Commission conducted compliance examinations of Heritage in March 2000, June 2003 and 2008. In 2008, staff found numerous repeat deficiencies which were not corrected from previous examinations. The deficiencies found included: Written Prudent Business Practices (a)    Heritage’s actual business procedures were not consistent with its written business procedures for dealing with clients, contrary to section 44 of the Securities Rules, BC Reg. 194/97. [/backcolor] Registration of Branches (b)    Heritage failed to properly maintain registration details of branches, sub-branches and sales representatives in the National Registration Database as required by section 3.2 of National Instrument 33-109. Records (c)    Heritage failed to provide certain records to staff, preventing staff from examining them or to determine their adequacy under section 142.2(2)(2) of the Act. Compliance system (d)    Heritage designated a compliance officer and branch managers as required under sections 65 and 66 of the Rules. Heritage however failed to ensure that its branches and sub-branches were subjected to regular periodic on-site examinations by its compliance staff and failed to adequately supervise: (i)    its compliance officer to ensure that Heritage and its employees were in compliance with Heritage’s policies and procedures manual and regulations under the Act; and (ii)    its branch managers to ensure that its branches were in compliance with Heritage’s policies and procedures manual and regulations under the Act; contrary to sections 65 and 66 of the Rules. Public Interest 5.    Heritage acted contrary to the public interest by engaging in the conduct set out above.