Vera Nunes

The Manager applied for exemptive relief to merge two terminating mutual funds into two continuing mutual funds under paragraph 5.5(1)(b) of NI 81-102.

The mergers did not meet all pre-approval criteria because the fundamental investment objectives were not substantially similar.

The principal regulator granted the approval, finding that the mergers would benefit securityholders through better performance, lower fees, and a more effective strategic mandate.

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

The principal regulator granted the exemption, subject to conditions requiring specified disclosure and that the referenced awards not be older than 365 days.

The Filer applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for an order to cease to be a reporting issuer in all jurisdictions of Canada where it is a reporting issuer.

The principal regulator found that the Filer met the requirements, including having fewer than 15 securityholders in each Canadian jurisdiction and fewer than 51 worldwide, and granted the order.

The Filer applied for an exemption from the requirement under National Instrument 81-106 to send an information circular to each registered holder of securities of a Fund whose proxy is solicited.

The Filer sought to use a Notice-and-Access Document instead.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions including sending an explanatory document in lieu of the printed information circular and giving securityholders the option to request and obtain a printed information circular at no charge.

Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. applied for exemptive relief to extend the lapse date of the simplified prospectus for three of its mutual funds from April 18, 2018, to June 6, 2018.

The extension was requested to consolidate the renewal of these funds' prospectus with the prospectus of 73 other funds managed by the applicant, thereby reducing costs and administrative burden.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, finding it would not be prejudicial to the public interest.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief from the requirement in subsection 3.2.01(1) of National Instrument 81-101 to deliver the most recently filed Fund Facts document to a purchaser before accepting an instruction for the purchase of a mutual fund security.

The relief was sought in respect of purchases of Series B, Series S5, and Series S8 securities made pursuant to automatic conversions from deferred sales charge securities to initial sales charge securities.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions including specific disclosure requirements in the Fund Facts and simplified prospectus, and the provision of annual reminder notices to investors.

The applicant, Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., applied on behalf of the Bissett Canadian Core Bond Trust for exemptive relief from certain continuous disclosure requirements under National Instrument 81-106 and National Instrument 81-102.

The relief sought to permit the Fund to include past performance data in its management reports of fund performance for periods prior to becoming a reporting issuer.

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 posting of historical financial statements on the Fund's website.

The applicant applied on behalf of the Fund for exemptive relief from certain provisions of National Instrument 81-102 and National Instrument 81-101.

The relief sought to permit the Fund to include past performance data in its sales communications and fund facts for periods prior to the Fund becoming a reporting issuer.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, subject to conditions requiring disclosure that the Fund was not a reporting issuer during the relevant periods.

The applicant, manager of a mutual fund, applied for an extension of the 90-day period under subsection 2.1(2) of National Instrument 81-101 to file a simplified prospectus.

The Director of the Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested exemption, permitting the prospectus to be filed no later than January 2, 2018.

The headnote also indicates relief was granted to permit the inclusion of past performance data from when the fund was not a reporting issuer.

The applicants, LOGiQ Asset Management Ltd. and LOGiQ Capital 2016, applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval of a change of manager for all of their investment funds to Redwood Asset Management Inc., and for approval of three investment fund mergers.

The proposed changes were part of a transaction where Purpose Investments Inc. acquired substantially all of the retail asset management agreements owned by the applicants.

The Commission granted the requested approvals under National Instrument 81-102, finding that the changes were in the best interests of the securityholders and that sufficient information had been provided to securityholders to make an informed decision.

The applicant, an investment fund manager, applied for exemptive relief from the requirement under NI 81-106 to send an information circular to each registered holder of securities whose proxy is solicited.

The applicant sought to use a notice-and-access procedure similar to that permitted for corporate finance issuers.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the exemption, subject to conditions ensuring securityholders receive a Notice-and-Access Document with instructions on how to access the information circular electronically or request a paper copy.

The Filer applied for exemptive relief on behalf of its mutual funds to permit investments in Canadian and U.S. exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including commodity ETFs, contrary to the concentration, control, and commodity investment restrictions in National Instrument 81-102.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions limiting the funds' exposure to physical commodities and U.S. ETFs, and requiring the underlying ETFs to be listed on recognized exchanges and subject to applicable regulatory frameworks.

The Manager applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief under subsection 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit the merger of the Quadrus Trimark Balanced Fund into the Mackenzie Strategic Income Fund.

Pre-approval was not available because the investment objectives were not substantially similar and the terminating fund might not qualify as a mutual fund trust on the merger date.

The Commission granted the requested relief, finding it met the legislative test.

The applicant, Invesco Canada Ltd., applied for a decision to vary a prior exemptive relief decision by removing its expiry date.

The prior decision permitted the Invesco Floating Rate Income Fund to borrow cash up to 10% of its net asset value to accommodate redemption requests, due to the longer settlement times of senior loans.

The principal regulator granted the requested variation, allowing the exemption to continue without an expiry date, subject to the existing conditions.

The Manager applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief to merge two terminating mutual funds into two continuing funds.

The mergers did not meet all pre-approval criteria under National Instrument 81-102 because the investment objectives and fee structures were not substantially similar, and the mergers would not be completed as a qualifying exchange under the Income Tax Act.

The Commission granted the requested relief, finding that the mergers would benefit securityholders by eliminating duplicative costs and providing a lower management expense ratio.

The applicants, Excel Funds Management Inc. and Sun Life Global Investments (Canada) Inc., applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for approval of a change of manager for several mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.

The change of manager was proposed in connection with Sun Life Global Investments' acquisition of Excel.

The Commission granted the requested approval under section 5.5(1)(a) of National Instrument 81-102, finding that the proposed transaction met the applicable regulatory requirements and would not have a material adverse impact on the funds or their securityholders.

The Manager applied for exemptive relief under paragraph 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102 to permit the merger of the Excel Blue Chip Equity Fund into the Excel Emerging Markets Balanced Fund.

Regulatory approval was required because the fundamental investment objectives of the funds were not substantially similar.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested approval, finding that the merger would achieve a fair and reasonable result for unitholders.

Invesco Canada Ltd. applied for exemptive relief from the requirement to deliver a Fund Facts document when automatically switching investors from a retail series to a lower-fee private investor series of the same mutual fund.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the relief, subject to conditions requiring Invesco to provide advance notification to investors, update its prospectus and Fund Facts disclosure, and send annual reminder notices regarding the automatic switches and investors' rights.

The Manager applied to the Ontario Securities Commission for exemptive relief under paragraph 5.5(1)(b) of National Instrument 81-102 to approve the mergers of several terminating mutual funds into continuing mutual funds.

The mergers were proposed because the terminating funds risked losing their 'mutual fund trust' status under the Income Tax Act due to declining unitholder numbers.

The Commission granted the requested relief, provided the Manager obtains prior approval from the unitholders of the terminating funds.

The Manager applied for exemptive relief on behalf of several terminating mutual funds to merge them into continuing funds.

Regulatory approval was required because the mergers did not satisfy all criteria for pre-approved reorganizations under section 5.6 of NI 81-102, specifically regarding fundamental investment objectives and tax-deferred transaction status.

The Ontario Securities Commission granted the requested relief, finding that the mergers would achieve a fair and reasonable result for the funds and provide benefits such as a streamlined product line-up and increased portfolio diversification.