Stephen Paglia

Mackenzie Financial Corporation and IPC Investment Corporation applied for exemptive relief from the requirement in subsection 3.2.01(1) of NI 81-101 to deliver a Fund Facts document before accepting an instruction for the purchase of a mutual fund security.

The relief was sought for automatic switches made pursuant to the Systematic DSC to Unbundled Series Switching Program.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including initial delivery of the Fund Facts and annual notification to investors.

The applicant, Brandes Investment Partners & Co., applied on behalf of the Greystone Canadian Equity Income & Growth Fund for approval to merge it into the Morningstar Strategic Canadian Equity Fund.

Regulatory approval was required because the investment objectives of the funds were not substantially similar and the merger might not be a tax-deferred transaction.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemptive relief, finding that the merger would be beneficial to unitholders by streamlining the product line-up and reducing administrative costs, provided that prior unitholder approval is obtained.

The applicants sought exemptive relief from the prior approval and notice requirements under National Instrument 81-102 for a change of control of the investment fund manager.

The change of control occurred when the manager repurchased and cancelled shares held by a vendor, resulting in a holding company owning 100% of the manager.

Due to an oversight, notice to securityholders was sent after the change of control rather than 60 days prior.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions that no material changes be made to the funds for 60 days and that certain investors be reimbursed for sales charges if they choose to redeem their shares.

The Filers applied for exemptive relief from the Fund Facts delivery requirement under National Instrument 81-101 for automatic switches between Laurentian Retail Series and Laurentian Preferred Pricing Series securities.

They also sought relief to permit the preparation of a consolidated Fund Facts document for each pair of series.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including notification to investors and specific disclosure requirements in the simplified prospectus and the consolidated Fund Facts document.

The applicant, RBC Global Asset Management Inc., applied for exemptive relief from the investment prohibition in section 4.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the mutual funds managed by the applicant to invest in debt securities during a distribution period where a related dealer acts as an underwriter, and to increase the permitted acquisition limit from 20% to 50% of the securities distributed.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including independent review committee approval and pricing requirements.

The applicant applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an exemption to extend the time limits for filing the renewal prospectus of its education savings plans.

The applicant requested that the lapse date of the current prospectus be extended from November 6, 2018, to February 6, 2019, to allow sufficient time to finalize disclosure regarding proposed changes to operational and allocation practices.

The Commission found that the current prospectus continued to provide accurate information and that the exemption would not be prejudicial to the public interest.

The requested exemption was granted.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of the Fund from the concentration restriction in subsection 2.1(1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the Fund to invest up to 20% or 35% of its net asset value in highly rated foreign government securities.

The principal regulator granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that the securities are traded on a mature and liquid market and that the Fund's simplified prospectus discloses the additional risks and the nature of the relief.

Mackenzie Financial Corporation and IPC Investment Corporation applied for exemptive relief from the Fund Facts delivery requirement under National Instrument 81-101 for automatic switches between Retail Series and High Net Worth Series mutual funds.

They also sought relief to permit the use of a Consolidated Fund Facts Document for both series.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including investor notification and specific disclosure requirements in the simplified prospectus and Consolidated Fund Facts Document.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the restriction in subsection 4.2(1) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit its mutual funds to purchase from, or sell to, a related dealer that acts as a principal dealer in the Canadian debt securities market.

The relief was sought in connection with the acquisition of the Filer's parent company by The Bank of Nova Scotia, which would make Scotia Capital Inc. a related dealer.

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions including independent review committee approval and market integrity requirements.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval to merge two terminating non-redeemable investment funds into a continuing exchange-traded mutual fund.

The approval was required because the terminating funds did not have substantially similar fundamental investment objectives as the continuing fund, thereby not satisfying all criteria for pre-approved reorganizations under NI 81-102.

The Commission granted the merger approval, subject to the Filer obtaining prior approval from the unitholders of each terminating fund.

The applicants, MD Financial Management Inc. and 10803553 Canada Limited, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval of a change of control of the Manager under subsection 5.5(1)(a.1) of National Instrument 81-102.

The change of control resulted from the indirect acquisition of the Manager by The Bank of Nova Scotia.

The principal regulator was satisfied that the test set out in the legislation was met and granted the requested approval.

The Filers, on behalf of mutual funds they manage, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from the Fund Facts Delivery Requirement under section 3.2.01 of National Instrument 81-101.

The relief was sought for purchases of mutual fund securities made pursuant to Automatic Rebalancing Services, where it is impractical to deliver Fund Facts prior to each automatic rebalancing trade.

The Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including that purchasers receive initial written notice of the exemption, instructions on how to request Fund Facts, and annual reminders.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief from the requirement to deliver a Fund Facts document for purchases of High Net Worth Class securities made pursuant to automatic Lower Fee Switches.

The Filer proposed an automatic switch program where retail investors meeting eligibility criteria would be automatically switched to lower-fee High Net Worth Class securities.

The Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions requiring the Filer to implement a notification plan, incorporate specific disclosure in the prospectus and Fund Facts, and send annual reminder notices to investors.

The applicants sought exemptive relief from the Pre-Sale Fund Facts Delivery Requirement and the requirement to prepare a Fund Facts in the form of Form 81-101F3.

The relief was requested to facilitate an Automatic Switch Program that automatically switches investors between Main Series and Fee Tier Series based on investment thresholds, and to permit the use of a Multiple Fund Facts Document containing Program Disclosure.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including notification plans, prospectus disclosure, and annual reporting.

The applicants, Mackenzie Financial Corporation and Quadrus Investment Services Ltd., applied for an exemption from the requirement to deliver Fund Facts documents for purchases of High Net Worth Series securities made pursuant to automatic lower-fee switches.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including notification plans, prospectus disclosure, and annual reminder notices, finding that investors would not be prejudiced as they would pay lower fees and had already received disclosure for the initial retail series.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief to approve the proposed reorganization of several terminating mutual funds into continuing mutual funds.

The approval was required because certain mergers did not meet the criteria for pre-approved reorganizations under National Instrument 81-102, as the fundamental investment objectives were not substantially similar and certain mergers would not be tax-deferred.

The Commission granted the requested relief, provided that the Filer obtains prior approval from the securityholders of the terminating funds at a special meeting.

The Filer, an investment fund manager, applied for exemptive relief from the sales communication requirements in paragraphs 15.3(4)(c) and 15.3(4)(f) of National Instrument 81-102.

The relief was sought to permit the Funds to reference FundGrade A+ Awards, FundGrade Ratings, Lipper Awards, and Lipper Leader Ratings in their sales communications, despite these ratings not strictly complying with the standard performance data matching and time limit requirements.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to specific disclosure conditions ensuring investors receive adequate context about the ratings and awards.

The applicant, Caldwell Investment Management Ltd., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the simplified prospectus for several of its mutual funds.

The extension was requested to allow the applicant to hold a unitholder meeting to approve changes to the fundamental investment objective of one of the funds before filing the pro forma prospectus.

The Commission granted the requested relief, finding that it would not be prejudicial to the public interest and would avoid unreasonable costs associated with filing an amendment shortly after renewal.

The applicants, an investment fund manager and its purchaser, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval of a change of control and an abridgement of the 60-day notice period to securityholders to not less than 30 days.

The change of control resulted from the purchaser acquiring all outstanding shares of the manager.

The Commission granted the requested relief, finding that the change of control would not negatively impact the management of the funds and that the abridged notice period would not prejudice securityholders.

The applicant applied for exemptive relief to extend the lapse dates for the renewal of the simplified prospectuses, fund facts, and annual information forms of several mutual funds.

The extension was requested to align the renewal dates of these funds with those of affiliated funds, allowing for consolidated disclosure documents and administrative efficiency.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, extending the lapse dates to October 27, 2018.