Darren McKall

The applicant, BMO Investments Inc., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its investment funds to permit them to invest in securities of certain exchange-traded funds listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.

The relief was sought from paragraphs 2.5(2)(a), (a.1), (c), (c.1) and (e) of National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the Hong Kong ETFs are not synthetic ETFs and that the funds will not invest more than 10% of their net asset value in any single Hong Kong ETF or more than 20% in aggregate.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from paragraphs 15.3(4)(c) and 15.3(4)(f) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to permit the Filer to reference FundGrade A+ Awards and FundGrade Ratings in sales communications for its mutual funds.

The Commission granted the exemption, finding that the ratings provide an objective, transparent, and quantitative measure of performance, subject to specific disclosure conditions being met in the sales communications.

The applicants sought an exemption from the requirement to deliver Fund Facts documents when switching investors from Retail Series to High Net Worth Series mutual funds (Lower Fee Switches).

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including notification plans, prospectus disclosure, and annual reminder notices, noting that investors would not pay higher fees and would derive little benefit from receiving further Fund Facts upon each switch.

Arrow Capital Management Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its mutual funds from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102.

The requested relief would permit the funds to enter into cleared swaps and use put options or short future positions to cover long future, forward, or swap positions.

The principal regulator granted the relief, subject to conditions regarding margin deposits, cash cover, and limits on option components, finding that the relief would allow the funds to benefit from reduced trading costs and more cost-efficient use of portfolio assets.

Sprott Asset Management LP, on behalf of Sprott Gold Bullion Class and Sprott Silver Bullion Class, applied for exemptive relief under Part 6 of National Instrument 81-101.

The applicant sought relief from Item 4 of Form 81-101F3 to vary the prescribed disclosure under the heading 'How risky is it?' and the sub-heading 'Risk rating' in the fund facts document.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, to be evidenced by the issuance of a receipt for the funds' prospectus.

The Filer applied on behalf of the Fund for exemptive relief from several provisions of National Instrument 81-102.

The requested relief included exemptions from the underlying funds requirements, the counterparty designated rating requirement, the custodian requirement for cleared swaps, and the dealer audited financial statements requirement.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to specific conditions designed to mitigate risk and ensure compliance with equivalent regulatory standards.

AGF Investments Inc. applied for exemptive relief under s. 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit the merger of certain mutual funds.

The approval was required because the proposed mergers would not be implemented on a tax-deferred basis, thus failing to satisfy all criteria for pre-approved reorganizations under s. 5.6.

The principal regulator granted the merger approval, noting that the mergers had been approved by unitholders and the independent review committees, and that effecting the mergers on a taxable basis would preserve net losses and loss carry-forwards in the continuing funds.

The filer applied for exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102 to permit its investment funds to invest in securities of specific exchange-traded funds listed in Ireland and the UK.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the investments align with the funds' fundamental objectives and that the ETFs are not synthetic.

The filer applied for exemptive relief under National Instrument 81-102 to permit its mutual funds to invest in silver, silver derivatives, and commodity exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that such investments are permitted by the funds' fundamental investment objectives, the funds do not short sell commodity ETFs, and the funds' aggregate exposure to gold and silver products does not exceed 10% of their net asset value.

The applicant applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several proposed exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The requested relief included exemptions from the requirement to include an underwriter's certificate in the prospectus, the requirement to include a prescribed statement respecting purchasers' statutory rights, and the take-over bid requirements for purchasers of ETF securities.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptions, subject to conditions including the filing and delivery of a Summary Document (or ETF Facts document) and specific disclosure in the prospectus.

Vanguard Investments Canada Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain top funds to permit them to invest in underlying funds managed by Vanguard or its affiliates.

The relief sought exemptions from the substantial securityholder and related issuer restrictions in the Securities Act, as well as the consent requirements in NI 31-103.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including compliance with Part 2 of NI 81-102 and specific disclosure requirements in the offering memoranda.

Mackenzie Financial Corporation applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several proposed exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The requested relief included exemptions from the borrowing requirement to fund distributions, the underwriter's certificate requirement, the prospectus form requirement, and the take-over bid requirements.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptions, subject to various conditions including the filing and delivery of a Summary Document or ETF Facts, and limitations on borrowing.

Mackenzie Financial Corporation applied on behalf of the Mackenzie Core Plus Global Fixed Income ETF for exemptive relief from the concentration restriction in section 2.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The requested relief would permit the ETF to invest up to 20% or 35% of its net asset value in certain highly-rated foreign government securities.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the securities are traded on a mature and liquid market and that the ETF's prospectus discloses the additional risks associated with concentration.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain mutual funds from the investment restrictions in paragraphs 2.5(2)(a), (b) and (c) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the funds to purchase and hold securities of underlying closed-end funds, and to permit a specific fund to invest in a top fund that holds more than 10% of its net asset value in underlying closed-end funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including limits on the percentage of net asset value invested in closed-end funds and leverage exposure.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief under National Instrument 81-102 to approve the restructuring of two investment funds.

The restructuring involved the pre-settlement of a forward agreement, the conversion of the reference fund to an open-end mutual fund, and the termination of the fund with an in specie distribution to unitholders.

The principal regulator granted the requested approval, finding that the restructuring met the test set out in the legislation.

The applicant applied on behalf of the First Trust Senior Loan ETF for exemptive relief from the borrowing restriction in Section 2.6(a)(i) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to allow the ETF to borrow cash on a temporary basis to accommodate redemption requests while settling portfolio transactions, up to 10% of its net asset value.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including disclosure requirements and limitations on borrowing when trading is suspended.

The applicant, an investment fund manager, applied for exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102 to permit its mutual funds to invest in exchange-traded funds managed by the applicant.

The requested exemptions related to concentration restrictions, control restrictions, fund of fund restrictions, and the payment of brokerage commissions.

The principal regulator granted the requested exemptions, subject to conditions ensuring the investments align with the funds' objectives and comply with other regulatory requirements.

The applicant, First Asset CanBanc Split Corp., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission and other jurisdictions for a decision that it is no longer a reporting issuer.

The applicant represented that its outstanding securities are beneficially owned by fewer than 15 security holders in each Canadian jurisdiction and fewer than 51 worldwide, and that its securities are not traded on any marketplace.

The Commission was satisfied that the statutory test was met and ordered that the applicant is not a reporting issuer.

The applicants, Redwood Asset Management Inc. and AIP Asset Management Inc., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval of the proposed merger of the Redwood Global Macro Class into the AIP Global Macro Class under subsection 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102.

The merger did not meet all criteria for pre-approved reorganizations under section 5.6 because the funds have different managers, the merger cannot be implemented on a tax-deferred basis, and the continuing fund does not yet have a current prospectus.

The Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, allowing the merger to proceed.

The applicant applied for an exemption from the requirement to prepare and file a management report of fund performance for its newly established portfolios for the annual period ended December 31, 2015.

The portfolios had not yet issued securities to the public and had minimal operations.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, finding that the cost of preparing the report would outweigh any benefit given the lack of significant information to disclose.