Raymond Chan

AGF Investments Inc. applied for exemptive relief to permit the merger of several mutual funds where the mergers did not meet all pre-approval criteria under National Instrument 81-102.

The principal regulator granted the requested Merger Approval, finding that the mergers would be beneficial to securityholders and that adequate disclosure had been provided.

The applicant, GCIC Ltd., applied on behalf of several mutual funds for exemptive relief from the investment prohibition in subsection 4.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to permit the funds to purchase securities of a non-reporting issuer under a private placement, despite an affiliate of the applicant acting as an underwriter.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including approval by the funds' independent review committee.

The applicants sought exemptive relief under section 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102 to merge several terminating mutual funds into continuing funds.

The mergers did not meet pre-approval criteria because they would be completed on a taxable basis and the funds did not have substantially similar investment objectives.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, noting that unitholders had approved the mergers and would receive adequate disclosure.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of the Fund to permit the Fund to show its historic performance data in sales communications, despite not having distributed its securities under a simplified prospectus for 12 consecutive months following its conversion from a closed-end fund to a mutual fund.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, noting that the Fund had complied with the investment restrictions of NI 81-102 since inception, except with respect to leverage, and would be managed substantially the same post-conversion.

The applicant sought exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102 to permit several exchange-traded mutual funds and commodity pools to enter into forward purchase and sale agreements.

These agreements would provide the funds with 100% exposure to the portfolios of corresponding reference funds.

The relief was required because the reference funds were not subject to NI 81-101 or NI 81-102 and were not qualified for distribution in the same jurisdictions.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, subject to conditions including that the reference funds operate in accordance with applicable national instruments and that the exposure aligns with the funds' fundamental investment objectives.

The applicants applied for exemptive relief from the investment prohibition in subsection 4.1(1) of NI 81-102 to permit certain mutual funds to purchase securities under a private placement where the issuer is not a reporting issuer in any of the jurisdictions.

The principal regulator granted the relief, conditional on the funds complying with subsection 4.1(4)(a), (c)(ii) and (d), which includes approval by the mutual funds' independent review committee.

The applicant, a registered portfolio manager, applied for an exemption from the conflict of interest trading prohibition in section 13.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 31-103.

The exemption was sought to permit in-specie purchases and redemptions of pooled funds by separately managed accounts and other pooled funds managed by the applicant.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to specific conditions regarding valuation, consent, and record-keeping.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief under National Instrument 81-102 to permit its commodity pool ETFs to enter into forward agreements providing exposure to underlying reference funds.

The reference funds may gain exposure to exchange-traded mutual funds tracking physical commodities.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, revoking and replacing a prior decision, subject to conditions ensuring the reference funds operate in accordance with modified investment requirements.

The applicant sought exemptive relief from the self-dealing prohibition in s. 13.5(2)(b)(iii) of National Instrument 31-103 to permit the transfer of the investment portfolio of a terminating non-redeemable investment fund to a continuing mutual fund.

The transfer was a step in a merger of the two funds, both advised by the same portfolio manager.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, noting the merger would be completed on a tax-deferred rollover basis and the costs would be borne by the manager.

The applicant, Claymore Investments, Inc., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief under section 5.5(1)(a) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit a change of manager for the Claymore Funds.

The change of manager was triggered by BlackRock's indirect acquisition of the applicant.

The Commission granted the requested approval, noting that securityholders had received adequate disclosure and approved the acquisition, and that the change of manager was not detrimental to securityholders or the public interest.

The applicant, as manager of certain exchange-traded mutual funds, applied for exemptive relief from various provisions of National Instrument 81-102 Mutual Funds relating to securities lending transactions.

The funds sought to lend up to 100% of their Canadian equity securities, which were pledged to counterparties under forward contracts, and to use an agent other than the funds' custodian for administering the lending.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions ensuring appropriate collateralization, credit ratings, and standard of care.

The applicants sought exemptive relief under National Instrument 81-102 to permit the merger of several terminating mutual funds into continuing funds.

The relief was required because the mergers did not meet all pre-approval criteria, specifically as the fundamental investment objectives were not substantially similar and some mergers would not be tax-deferred.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, noting that securityholders were provided with timely and adequate disclosure and the mergers would achieve a fair and reasonable result.

The applicant applied on behalf of a commodity pool for exemptive relief from paragraphs 2.5(2)(a) and (c) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to permit the fund to indirectly gain exposure to a trading program by means of notes held in another portfolio.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the underlying commodity pool is a reporting issuer and the investment in the notes is limited to 10% of the net assets.

The applicant sought exemptive relief from the conflict of interest trading prohibition in section 13.5(2)(b) of National Instrument 31-103.

The relief was requested to permit fully managed accounts to purchase and redeem securities of mutual funds managed by the applicant via in specie transactions.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions including prior written consent from clients, independent review committee approval, and specific valuation and record-keeping requirements.

The applicant sought exemptive relief from section 4.1 of National Instrument 81-102 to permit dealer-managed mutual funds to invest in private placements of equity securities of reporting issuers, and distributions of debt securities lacking an approved rating, where a related dealer acts as an underwriter.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions including independent review committee approval, independent underwriter participation, and pricing restrictions.

The applicants, flow-through limited partnerships and their manager, applied for exemptive relief from certain continuous disclosure requirements under National Instrument 81-106, specifically the requirements to file an annual information form and to maintain and post a proxy voting record.

The applicants submitted that the limited partnerships have a short lifespan of approximately two years, are not operating businesses, and their units are not traded on any market.

The principal regulator granted the requested exemptions, finding that the relief met the test set out in the legislation and would avoid imposing a material financial burden on the limited partnerships.

The applicant manager applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several mutual funds to permit them to invest in units of related underlying funds after the underlying funds ceased to offer their securities under a simplified prospectus.

The underlying funds will remain reporting issuers and continue to be subject to the requirements of NI 81-102, NI 81-106, and NI 81-107.

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

The Filers applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief on behalf of several flow-through limited partnerships.

The requested relief sought exemptions from the requirements under National Instrument 81-106 to file an annual information form and to maintain, prepare, and post an annual proxy voting record.

The Commission granted the requested exemptive relief, noting the short lifespan of the partnerships and the lack of a readily available secondary market for their units.

The applicant, Goodman & Company, Investment Counsel Ltd., applied on behalf of the Dynamic Strategic Energy Class mutual fund for exemptive relief from section 2.3(h) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the fund to invest in standardized futures with underlying interests in sweet crude oil or natural gas on the NYMEX or ICE Futures Europe for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including limits on the aggregate value of standardized futures held for hedging and non-hedging purposes.

The Filer applied for an exemption from the self-dealing prohibition in section 4.2 of National Instrument 81-102 to permit the Renaissance Corporate Bond Capital Yield Fund to enter into forward contracts with a related counterparty, CIBC.

The Fund needed to diversify its counterparty risk due to its large size, and only two financial institutions were available, one being CIBC.

The Commission granted the exemption subject to conditions, including approval by the Fund's Independent Review Committee and a limit on the mark-to-market value of the exposure to the related counterparty.