The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has banned Mr Steven John Barrett from re-entering the industry for 10 months from 13 January 2016 to 12 October 2016 (Note 1).
The disciplinary action follows a SFC investigation which found that, from April 2010 to September 2013, Barrett concealed from his two former employers – Black’s Link Capital Limited and Myriad Asset Management Limited – his personal securities transactions by conducting them through the personal securities account of his friend, Fabiano Hugues Joseph Mascolo, a licensed representative of another firm at the material time (Note 2).
Barrett’s conduct circumvented the employee dealing policies of his employers and made it difficult for them to identify and monitor his personal trading activities to ensure there were no conflicts of interests or other malpractices arising from his personal trading activities (Note 3).
The SFC considers Barrett’s conduct, which fell short of the standards required of him, calls into question his fitness and properness to be a licensed person.
In deciding the penalty, the SFC has taken into account that Barrett’s concealment of his personal trading activities from his employers was deliberate and dishonest.
Notes:
- Barrett was licensed as a representative under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (SFO) to carry on Type 9 (asset management) regulated activity. Barrett was accredited to Black’s Link Capital Limited from 29 January 2010 to 27 May 2011 and Myriad Asset Management Limited from 25 November 2011 to 28 April 2014. Barrett is currently not a licensed representative or relevant individual under the SFO.
- Please see SFC’s press release dated 23 December 2015 regarding disciplinary action against Fabiano Hugues Joseph Mascolo.
- Paragraph 12.2 of the Code of Conduct for Persons Licensed by or Registered with the SFC requires licensed corporations to implement procedures and policies on employee trading and to actively monitor the trading activities in their employees’ accounts and their related accounts.
A copy of the Statement of Disciplinary Action is available on the SFC website.
