Darren McKall

Mackenzie Financial Corporation applied for exemptive relief on behalf of certain mutual funds to permit them to continue investing in underlying funds after the underlying funds' prospectuses lapse.

The underlying funds are only available to accredited investors and will remain reporting issuers subject to mutual fund instruments.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, provided the underlying funds remain reporting issuers in all jurisdictions where the top funds are reporting issuers.

The applicant, a mutual fund manager, sought approval for an indirect change of control resulting from a management buy-out, and an abridgement of the 60-day securityholder notice requirement to 7 days.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, noting that the change of control would have minimal impact on the funds and that the applicant received late notice of the transaction from its ultimate parent.

The approval was conditional on the applicant providing at least 7 days' notice to securityholders and not initiating any changes to the management and administration of the funds for at least 60 days following the notice.

The applicant applied for exemptive relief from the mutual fund conflict of interest investment restrictions in the Securities Act (Ontario) and the self-dealing prohibition in National Instrument 31-103.

The relief was sought to allow certain pooled funds to invest in underlying pooled funds under common management.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the securities are distributed on a private placement basis and that no duplicative management or incentive fees are payable.

The Filer, Sprott Asset Management L.P., applied for exemptive relief from the prohibitions in section 13.5(2)(a) and (b) of National Instrument 31-103.

The relief sought to permit pooled funds to purchase exchange-traded securities of related issuers in the secondary market, to invest in related pooled funds or mutual funds, and to permit inter-fund trades between various funds and managed accounts.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including independent review committee approval, client consent, and compliance with pricing and transparency requirements.

The Filer applied for approval to merge several terminating mutual funds into continuing funds under National Instrument 81-102.

The mergers did not meet all pre-approval criteria because some involved different investment objectives, different fee structures, or were not tax-deferred transactions under the Income Tax Act.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemptive relief, noting that securityholders would receive timely and adequate disclosure and that the independent review committee had approved the mergers as being in the best interests of the funds.

The Manager applied for exemptive relief from sections 2.5(2)(a) and (c) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit its mutual funds to invest up to 10% of their net assets in leveraged ETFs, inverse ETFs, gold ETFs, and leveraged gold ETFs traded on Canadian or US stock exchanges.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the investments align with the funds' fundamental investment objectives, the funds do not short sell the ETFs, and the prospectuses disclose the relief and associated risks.

The Manager applied on behalf of the ETF for exemptive relief from subsection 2.3(1) of National Instrument 41-101, which prohibits filing a final prospectus more than 90 days after the receipt of a preliminary prospectus.

The Director of the Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, permitting the final prospectus to be filed no later than November 6, 2010.

The applicant, NexGen Financial Limited Partnership, applied for exemptive relief from sections 2.5(2)(a) and (c) of National Instrument 81-102 Mutual Funds.

The relief sought was to permit its mutual funds to invest up to 10% of their net assets in leveraged ETFs, inverse ETFs, gold ETFs, and leveraged gold ETFs traded on Canadian or US stock exchanges.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption subject to certain conditions, including that the investments align with the funds' fundamental investment objectives and that the funds do not short sell the underlying ETFs.

The applicant applied for exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102 Mutual Funds on behalf of an exchange traded commodity pool.

The relief was sought to permit the pool to enter into a forward agreement providing exposure to a reference fund comprised of underlying exchange traded mutual funds.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, subject to conditions ensuring the pool's exposure aligns with its investment objectives and the underlying funds meet specific regulatory and trading criteria.

The applicants, RBC Asset Management Inc. and Phillips, Hager & North Investment Management Ltd., applied for exemptive relief from the conflict of interest provisions in National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to permit their mutual funds to purchase equity securities during distributions in the United States where a related dealer acts as an underwriter.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, finding that the growing presence of the applicants' related dealers in US equity underwriting was limiting the funds' ability to acquire securities, creating a market necessity.

The exemption was granted subject to conditions, including approval by the funds' independent review committee and that the securities be distributed pursuant to a US prospectus or private placement.

The applicant sought exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102 and National Instrument 81-106 to permit a mutual fund to include performance data and financial highlights from the period before it became a reporting issuer in its sales communications and management reports of fund performance.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, noting that the fund had complied with investment restrictions since inception and that the historical performance data was significant information for investors.

The applicant, on behalf of a mutual fund, applied for exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-106 and National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the fund to include financial highlights and past performance data from periods before it became a reporting issuer in its annual and interim management reports of fund performance.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including disclosure that the fund was not a reporting issuer during those periods and that its expenses would have been higher had it been subject to reporting issuer requirements.

The Filer, manager of several commodity pool mutual funds, applied for exemptive relief from sections 2.6(a), 2.6(c), and 6.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the funds to engage in short selling of securities up to 40% of their net assets on a daily marked-to-market basis, and to deposit assets with borrowing agents as security.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to several conditions including maintaining cash cover, implementing written policies and risk management controls, and limiting short positions in any single issuer to 10% of net assets.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the requirement under NI 81-102 to obtain unitholder approval before merging a terminating mutual fund into a continuing mutual fund.

The Filer also sought regulatory approval for the merger.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, noting that the funds were only available to investors who had entered into discretionary investment management agreements giving the Filer full authority, making a unitholder meeting an unnecessary expense.

Aston Hill Financial Inc. applied for approval of a change of control of Navina Asset Management Inc., a mutual fund manager, pursuant to subsection 5.5(2) of National Instrument 81-102.

Aston Hill entered into a share purchase agreement to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Navina.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, noting that the change of control would not materially affect the operation and administration of the Navina Funds.

BMO Asset Management Inc. applied for exemptive relief from the conflict of interest trading prohibition in paragraph 13.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 31-103.

The relief sought to permit inter-fund trades between public mutual funds, pooled funds, and managed accounts, as well as in-specie subscriptions and redemptions by separately managed accounts and pooled funds.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including independent review committee approval or client consent, and specific pricing and transparency requirements.

The applicant sought exemptive relief from the self-dealing provisions in section 4.2 of National Instrument 81-102 to permit inter-fund trades in debt securities between mutual funds and pooled funds managed by the same manager or an affiliate.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, provided that the independent review committee of each fund approves the trade and the trade complies with the conditions in section 6.1(2) of National Instrument 81-107.

Sentry Select Capital Inc. applied for exemptive relief from sections 2.5(2)(a) and (c) of National Instrument 81-102 Mutual Funds.

The relief was sought to permit the mutual funds managed by the applicant to invest up to 10% of their net assets in leveraged ETFs, inverse ETFs, gold ETFs, and leveraged gold ETFs traded on Canadian or US stock exchanges.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to certain conditions including prospectus disclosure and investment limits.

The applicants, affiliated portfolio managers, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from the cross-trading prohibitions in section 13.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 31-103.

The relief was sought to permit in specie transfers of securities between separately managed accounts, pooled funds, and mutual funds managed by the applicants.

The Commission granted the exemption, subject to several conditions including independent review committee approval for mutual funds, client consent for managed accounts, and valuation requirements to ensure the transfers are executed at the applicable net asset value.

The applicant, Sentry Select Capital Inc., applied for exemptive relief under National Instrument 81-102 to merge several terminating mutual funds into continuing mutual funds.

Approval was required because the mergers did not meet all criteria for pre-approval, specifically regarding differences in fundamental investment objectives and the tax-deferred status of certain mergers.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, finding that the mergers would achieve a fair and reasonable result for the funds and that securityholders were provided with adequate disclosure.