The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) announced that has approved a no-contest settlement agreement with RBC Dominion Securities Inc., Royal Mutual Funds Inc., and RBC Philips, Hager & North Investment Counsel Inc. (the RBC Registrants) in relation to a matter that the RBC Registrants discovered and self-reported to the OSC.
This settlement follows allegations by OSC Staff that there were inadequacies in the RBC Registrants’ systems of controls and supervision, which resulted in certain clients paying, directly or indirectly, excess fees that were not detected or corrected in a timely manner. OSC Staff do not allege, and have found no evidence of dishonest conduct by the RBC Registrants.
While having neither admitted nor denied the accuracy of the facts and conclusions of OSC Staff, the RBC Registrants have agreed to the settlement, and intend to compensate clients a total of $21,802,231 including opportunity costs on fees.
Our no-contest settlement program continues to deliver results,” said Jeff Kehoe, Director of Enforcement at the OSC. “More than $340 million has been returned to investors since the inception of the no-contest settlement program, and we will continue to use this strong enforcement tool in appropriate cases that meet our strict criteria.
In addition to the compensation to investors, the RBC Registrants have made a payment of $925,000 to advance the OSC’s mandate of protecting investors, plus a further payment of $50,000 to be allocated toward the costs of OSC Staff’s investigation.
After reporting this matter, the RBC Registrants provided prompt, detailed and candid co-operation to OSC Staff. The RBC Registrants have also implemented additional controls and supervision to prevent a re-occurrence of this matter.
To date, the OSC has approved eight no-contest settlements, resulting in approximately $342 million in compensation to investors.