CIRO Sanctions Fortrade Canada Limited

Toronto (Ontario), March 11, 2024 – On February 21, 2024, a hearing panel of the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) held a hearing under the Investment Dealer and Partially Consolidated Rules and accepted a settlement agreement, with sanctions, between CIRO Enforcement Staff and Fortrade Canada Limited (Fortrade).

Fortrade is a CIRO-regulated order execution only (OEO) firm. CIRO rules prohibit firms from providing recommendations to clients holding OEO accounts. In the settlement agreement, Fortrade admitted to making recommendations to clients, failing to establish and maintain a supervisory system that was reasonably designed to achieve compliance with CIRO requirements and failing to retain adequate records to demonstrate compliance with CIRO requirements.

Pursuant to the settlement agreement, Fortrade agreed to the following sanctions:

1. a fine of $2,000,000,
2. a payment of US$703,478.91 to clients with unresolved recommendation-related complaints received as of July 7, 2023, and representing net losses incurred by the clients up to the date of the Temporary Order,
3. creation of a fund of US$6,000,000 (Fund) to be used to make payments to eligible clients who make a claim to the Fund,
4. retention, in a location in Ontario, Canada, of telephone call recordings of calls with Fortrade clients for seven years from the date of each call, and
5. the Temporary Order will remain in effect until Fortrade has satisfied the terms and notice has been provided to eligible clients in respect of their ability to make a claim to the Fund.

Fortrade also agreed to pay costs in the amount of $100,000.

Further details are available in the Settlement Agreement at:

Fortrade Canada Limited – Settlement Agreement

The hearing panel’s decision will be made available at www.ciro.ca.