Hong Kong's Securities And Futures Commission Suspends Fabiano Hugues Joseph Mascolo For Three Months

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has suspended Mr Fabiano Hugues Joseph Mascolo for three months from 21 December 2015 to 20 March 2016 (Note 1).

The disciplinary action follows a SFC investigation which found that in October 2013, Mascolo, who was an employee of BTIG Hong Kong Limited at the material time, received order instructions from a client via WhatsApp messaging on his mobile phone. In doing so, Mascolo was in breach of BTIG’s internal control policy (Note 2).

The SFC also found that between April 2010 and September 2013, Mascolo allowed a friend, who was a licensed representative of another firm, to use his personal securities account at a brokerage firm to conduct personal trades without obtaining prior written consent from his friend’s then employers.

Mascolo’s conduct, in breach of the Code of Conduct, made it difficult for his employer to properly monitor his trading activities and to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements (Note 3).

His conduct also made it impossible for his friend’s employers to identify and effectively monitor his friend’s personal trading activities to ensure there were no conflicts of interests or other malpractices arising from his personal trading (Note 4).

Notes:

1. Mascolo was licensed as a representative under the Securities and Futures Ordinance to carry on Type 1 (dealing in securities) regulated activities and was accredited to BTIG Hong Kong Limited from 7 December 2011 to 22 November 2013. Mascolo was subsequently accredited to MCM Asia Limited (trading as MCM Partners) from 18 December 2014 to 30 October 2015. Mascolo is currently not accredited to any licensed corporation. 
2. BTIG’s written electronic communications policy prohibited employees from using text-messaging on mobile phones that are not supported by its IT department and if the intended purpose is related to its Hong Kong business activities.
3. General Principle 2 of the Code of Conduct for Persons Licensed by or Registered with the Securities and Futures Commission provides that in conducting its business activities, a licensed or registered person should act with due skill, care and diligence, in the best interests of its clients and the integrity of the market.
4. Paragraph 12.2(c) of the Code of Conduct for Persons Licensed by or Registered with the Securities and Futures Commission requires that a licensed or registered person should not knowingly deal in securities or futures contracts for another licensed or registered person’s employee unless it has received written consent from that licensed or registered person.