Latest News

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Investment adviser suspended, hit with fine

By: Aldo Santin

Posted: 07/24/2012 1:00 AM

Doug Warkentin is on the hook for $30,000.

THE troubles continue to pile up for one-time successful investment adviser Doug Warkentin.

Already being sued by two investment firms seeking to recover $1 million, Warkentin was disciplined by the industry regulator -- which hit him with a $30,000 fine with costs and a six-month suspension.

The Investment Industry Regulator Organization of Canada (IIROC) imposed a $25,000 fine on Warkentin and ordered him to pay costs of $5,000 associated with a late-May hearing.

IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers and trading activity in Canada.

Warkentin admitted at the hearing to falsifying personal financial documents while employed at Wellington West Capital.

In addition to the financial penalties, Warkentin was suspended from the industry for six months, effective Feb. 1. He will also be required to retake a conduct and practices examination after he re-registers with IIROC.

The suspension is largely irrelevant -- Warkentin has been out of work since January when he was fired from the local office of BMO Nesbitt Burns.

Before that, Warkentin worked at Wellington West Capital. However, he was let go in July 2011 before National Bank purchased Wellington West.

Warkentin sued both National Bank and Nesbitt Burns this spring, alleging they acted improperly. The investment firms denied the allegations and counter-sued Warkentin, alleging he owes both firms about $1 million in loans and bonuses that must be repaid.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

The Manitoba Securities Commission said earlier this year Warkentin's registration to trade securities in Manitoba was suspended following his termination by BMO Nesbitt Burns. Before that, however, the securities commission had imposed conditions on his registration in December 2009, which required Wellington West to strictly supervise his activity.

Warkentin sued Wellington West and National Bank, alleging Wellington West officials forced him to quit before National Bank's takeover.

He also sued BMO Nesbitt Burns, alleging it hired him after he left Wellington West just so it could get his lucrative $70-million client portfolio before firing him in January.

Getting fired by BMO Nesbitt Burns so soon after leaving Wellington West would make it difficult, if not impossible, for him to find work again in the investment field, Warkentin stated in court documents.

Warkentin could not be reached for comment but his lawyer, Robert Tapper, said Warkentin expects to return to work as an investment adviser when the IIROC suspension ends on Aug. 1.

aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 24, 2012 B1