Darren McKall

RBC Global Asset Management Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain investment funds to permit them to invest in affiliated RBC Private Market Funds.

The relief sought exemptions from conflict of interest investment restrictions, control restrictions, and reporting requirements under National Instrument 81-102 and National Instrument 31-103.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions ensuring the investments are treated at arm's length, are subject to independent review committee approval, and comply with liquidity and valuation requirements.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief to permit Goodwood Capital Fund to maintain the suspension of redemptions, suspend weekly net asset value calculations, and hold illiquid assets exceeding 15% of its net asset value.

The relief was sought to facilitate a cash subscription by a new investor, which would allow existing unitholders to redeem their units and prevent the forced liquidation of the Fund's illiquid assets at a discount.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including the resumption of redemptions and NAV calculations upon completion of the subscription.

The applicant, C.S.T. Savings Inc., applied on behalf of the Canadian Scholarship Trust Founders' Plan for an order that the Plan has ceased to be a reporting issuer in all applicable Canadian jurisdictions.

The principal regulator found that the Plan met the requirements, including having fewer than 15 securityholders in each jurisdiction and no securities traded on a marketplace.

The order was granted.

The applicants, acting as investment fund managers, applied for exemptive relief from the related issuer investment restriction and the management company reporting requirement under the Securities Act.

The relief was sought to permit certain investment funds to invest in related private market funds managed by an affiliate of the applicants' substantial security holder.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including independent review committee approval and investment limits, finding that the investments would provide unique diversification opportunities and be in the best interests of the funds.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the simplified prospectus for the Wavefront All-Weather Alternative Fund.

The extension was sought to align the Fund's prospectus renewal timeline with that of other mutual funds managed by the Filer, following recent amendments to prospectus renewal rules.

The Commission granted the relief, permitting the lapse date to be extended to June 16, 2027, provided the Fund complies with the updated prospectus renewal requirements.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from subsection 5.1(a) of National Instrument 81-105 to permit it to pay participating dealers for direct costs related to cooperative marketing initiatives whose primary purpose is to provide educational information concerning financial planning matters.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, subject to several conditions including that the Filer does not require dealers to sell its funds and that the materials contain only general educational information.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from paragraphs 15.3(4)(c) and 15.3(4)(f) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit the reference of LSEG Lipper Awards and LSEG Lipper Leader Ratings in sales communications for its mutual funds.

The principal regulator granted the relief, subject to conditions including specific disclosure requirements and time limits on the use of the awards.

The Filer, CIBC Asset Management Inc., applied for exemptive relief from the multi-tier fund-of-fund restriction in paragraph 2.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit a three-tier structure where a fund purchases securities of a reference fund, which in turn holds more than 10% of its net asset value in securities of a third-tier fund.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including no duplication of management fees and compliance with continuous disclosure requirements.

The applicant investment fund manager sought exemptive relief from the sub-custodian requirements of National Instrument 81-102 to appoint Anchorage Digital Bank (ADB) as a sub-custodian for its funds' crypto assets outside of Canada.

ADB did not meet the $100 million equity requirement under s. 6.3(2).

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions including that ADB's parent company maintain a $100 million guarantee and sufficient cash equivalents to satisfy it until ADB meets the equity requirement.

The filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its investment funds from the concentration restrictions in subsections 2.1(1) and 2.1(1.1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the funds to invest more than 10% (or 20% for alternative mutual funds) of their net asset value in debt obligations issued or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions requiring the securities to maintain a U.S. Government Equivalent Rating and a minimum credit rating, as well as specific prospectus disclosure and risk factors.

The applicant, True Exposure Investments, Inc., applied for exemptive relief on behalf of an existing fund and future funds offering ETF securities.

The requested relief sought exemptions from the requirement to include an underwriter's certificate in the prospectus and from the take-over bid requirements for purchasers of ETF securities in the normal course on a marketplace.

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

The applicant applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its mutual funds offering both ETF and mutual fund securities.

The requested relief sought an exemption from filing a long form prospectus for ETF securities, provided a simplified prospectus and ETF facts document are filed, and permission to treat ETF and mutual fund securities as separate funds for compliance with Parts 9, 10, and 14 of NI 81-102.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptive relief subject to specified conditions.

The applicant, Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., applied on behalf of the Franklin BSP Real Estate Debt Fund for exemptive relief from the annual and interim financial statement filing and delivery deadlines under National Instrument 81-106.

The fund invests substantially all its assets in a Luxembourg-based underlying fund, which has longer financial reporting deadlines under local laws.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, extending the annual deadline to 182 days and the interim deadline to 92 days, subject to conditions including disclosure to investors.

RBC Global Asset Management Inc. applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its mutual funds (the Top Funds) to permit them to invest in Phillips, Hager & North Private Placement Corporate Debt Fund and future similar funds (the Underlying Funds).

The Underlying Funds are not reporting issuers and are not subject to National Instrument 81-102.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption from the fund-of-fund investment restrictions in subsections 2.5(2)(a) and 2.5(2)(c) of NI 81-102, subject to several conditions including independent review committee approval, valuation requirements, and prohibitions on fee duplication.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its investment funds to allow them to purchase certain privately issued fixed income securities (144A Securities and Regulation S Securities) without those securities being considered 'illiquid assets' under National Instrument 81-102.

The principal regulator granted the relief, finding that the securities trade in an active institutional market and can be liquid relative to a fund's need to satisfy redemptions, provided certain conditions regarding resale and market quotations are met.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of an inactive investment fund from the requirements to file and deliver annual and interim financial statements under National Instrument 81-106.

The fund's sole unitholder redeemed its units, but the fund was kept legally constituted solely to hold two Russian securities that became subject to global sanctions and could not be disposed of.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, provided the Filer remains the sole unitholder, the fund remains a non-reporting issuer, holds no other investments, and continues to be inactive.

The Filer, on behalf of various exchange-traded funds (ETFs), applied for exemptive relief from the fund of funds restrictions in paragraphs 2.5(2)(a), 2.5(2)(a.1), and 2.5(2)(c) of National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds.

The relief was sought to permit the ETFs to purchase and hold securities of certain private trusts managed by the Filer, which are not reporting issuers and are not subject to NI 81-102.

The private trusts hold only cash and cash equivalents and are used to secure the ETFs' obligations under derivatives transactions while utilizing preserved tax loss carryforwards.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the private trusts remain in compliance with NI 81-102 (except Part 12) and are redeemable daily at net asset value.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several proposed leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from the concentration restriction in subsection 2.1(1.1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit each ETF to invest more than 20% of its net asset value in securities of a single Specified Canadian Public Issuer to achieve its fundamental investment objective of providing daily investment results corresponding to a multiple of the daily return of that issuer.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the ETFs otherwise meet the definition of a fixed portfolio investment fund and that the underlying issuers meet specific market capitalization and liquidity requirements.

The applicant, RP Investment Advisors LP, applied on behalf of existing and future alternative mutual funds for exemptive relief from the short selling restrictions in National Instrument 81-102.

The requested relief would permit the funds to short sell index participation units up to 100% of their net asset value, rather than being limited to 10%.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions including compliance with aggregate exposure limits and concentration restrictions on a look-through basis.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its mutual funds to permit them to invest in certain US exchange-traded products, including cryptocurrency and commodity ETFs, that are not subject to NI 81-102 and are not reporting issuers in Canada.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions including that the investments align with the funds' objectives, aggregate exposure does not exceed 10% of net asset value, and the underlying ETPs are listed on a recognized US exchange and regulated by the SEC.