April 8, 2022
IN THE MATTER OF THE SECURITIES LEGISLATION OF ONTARIO (the Jurisdiction)
and
IN THE MATTER OF THE PROCESS FOR EXEMPTIVE RELIEF APPLICATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS
and
IN THE MATTER OF COMMON WEALTH PENSION SERVICES INC. (the Filer)
DECISION
Background
The principal regulator in the Jurisdiction has received an application from the Filer for a decision, on behalf of the Filer (including its respective directors, officers, representatives and employees acting on its behalf), any Plan Sponsor (as defined herein) and any Fund (as defined herein), under the securities legislation of the Jurisdiction of the principal regulator (the Legislation) for a ruling that:
(a) The Original Decision (as defined herein) is revoked and replaced by this Decision (the Revocation Relief);
(b) the dealer registration requirements contained in the Legislation shall not apply to the Filer (including its respective directors, officers, representatives and employees acting on its behalf) or any Plan Sponsor of a CAP (as defined herein) or a Non-Tax Assisted CAP (as defined herein) that uses the services of the Filer in respect of its CAP or Non-Tax Assisted CAP in respect of trades in the securities of the Funds to a CAP or a Non-Tax Assisted CAP sponsored by the Plan Sponsor, subject to certain terms and conditions (the Dealer Registration Relief); and
(c) the prospectus requirements contained in the Legislation shall not apply in respect of the distribution of securities of Funds to CAPs or Non-Tax Assisted CAPs sponsored by the Plan Sponsor for which the Filer provides services (the Prospectus Relief, together with the Dealer Registration Relief, the Exemption Sought),
Under the Process for Exemptive Relief Applications in Multiple Jurisdictions (for a passport application):
(a) the Ontario Securities Commission is the principal regulator for this application; and
(b) the Filer has provided notice that subsection 4.7(1) of Multilateral Instrument 11-102 Passport System (“MI 11-102”) is intended to be relied upon in the jurisdictions of (i) Quebec, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Yukon Territory and Nunavut in respect of CAPs and (ii) Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, the Yukon Territory and the Northwest Territories in respect of Non-Tax Assisted CAPs.
Interpretation
Terms defined in MI 11-102 and National Instrument 14-101 Definitions and NI 81-102 have the same meaning if used in this Decision, unless otherwise defined. Capitalized terms used in this Decision, have the following meanings:
(a) CAP has the meaning given to the term “capital accumulation plan” as defined in section 1.1 of the CAP Guidelines (as defined herein), namely, a tax assisted investment or savings plan that permits the members of the CAP to make investment decisions among two or more options offered within the plan. CAPs include a defined contribution registered pension plan, a group registered retirement savings plan, a group registered education savings plan, a group tax-free savings plan or a deferred profit sharing plan, and in Quebec and Manitoba, include a simplified pension plan.
(b) CAP Guidelines means the Guidelines for Capital Accumulation Plans published in May 2004 by the Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators, as updated in 2009 and 2010.
(c) Fund means a mutual fund as defined in section 1 of the Legislation, whether offered by prospectus or pursuant to prospectus exemptions in the Legislation, and which in both cases, comply with Part 2 of National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds (NI 81-102), which for greater certainty includes exchange-traded fund.
(d) Member means a current or former employee, or a person who belongs, or did belong, to a trade union or association, or
(i) his or her spouse;
(ii) a trustee, custodian or administrator who is acting on his or her behalf, or for his or her benefit, or on behalf of or for the benefit of, his or her spouse; or
(iii) his or her holding entity, or a holding entity of his or her spouse,
that has assets in a CAP or a Non-Tax Assisted CAP and also includes any person who is eligible to participate in a CAP or Non-Tax Assisted CAP
(e) Non-Tax Assisted CAP means an investment or savings plan that meets the definition of CAP in the CAP Guidelines and that is administered in accordance with the CAP Guidelines, but for the fact that it is an investment or savings plan that is non-tax assisted.
(f) Plan means, depending on the context in which it is used, a CAP or a Non-Tax Assisted CAP or both of them.
(g) Plan Sponsor means any employer, trustee, trade union or association or a combination of them that establishes a CAP or a Non-Tax Assisted CAP and uses the services of the Filer in respect of such CAP or Non-Tax Assisted CAP, and includes the Filer to the extent that the Plan Sponsor has delegated some or all of its responsibilities to the Filer.
Representations
This Decision is based on the following facts represented by the Filer:
The Filer is a corporation organized under the laws of Ontario. Its head office is in Toronto, Ontario. The Filer is not registered as a dealer, adviser or investment fund manager under the securities regulation of any Jurisdiction.
The Filer provides pensions and retirement plan advisory services to clients including pension plans, pension asset managers, associations, labour unions, and governments.
Among other things related to its principal business of pensions and retirement plan advisory services, the Filer provides consulting services related to the design, implementation, and ongoing administration and governance of pension and retirement savings arrangements. The Filer has expertise in:
(i) Design of pension and retirement plans, including defined benefit pension plans and capital accumulation plans;
(ii) Set up of new pension and retirement plans, including defined benefit pension plans and capital accumulation plans;
(iii) Pension and retirement plan governance;
(iv) Pension and retirement plan administration and ongoing operations, including member service and communication;
(v) Pension and retirement plan investments;
(vi) Organizational design and effectiveness of pension and retirement institutions and functions;
(vii) Pension and retirement plan public policy and regulation; and
(viii) Pension and retirement plan strategy.
The Filer intends to assist Plan Sponsors in initial Plan design and set up, including providing consulting services to Plan Sponsors on investment choices for the Plan. The investment choices for the Members of the Plans may include Funds, which may be publicly offered mutual funds and exchange-traded funds or mutual funds distributed under private placements that are managed by various investment fund managers registered in one or more Canadian Jurisdictions. The investment choices for the Plans may also be segregated funds managed by insurance companies. Where the investment choices are Funds, the Funds comply with Part 2 of NI 81-102 in respect of their investment restrictions and practices.
The services that the Filer provides to Plan Sponsors also involve recordkeeping of Member data, transactions processing in respect of Member accounts, provision of Member statements as required under pension standards legislation and/or the applicable recordkeeping agreement and processing changes to Member accounts such as termination, death, retirement or a change in marital status. The Filer will also allow Members to call for information about a Plan through its call centre and will facilitate access to a variety of self-help tools that allow Members to make investment decisions regarding their investments held through the Plans.
The Filer does not engage in discretionary decision-making with respect to the Plans or Member accounts and does not select investments for the Plans or provide investment advice to Members. The Filer does not manage or administer any of the Funds, nor does it provide custodial services in respect of the Plans or the Funds.
Members will make initial investment decisions to invest in Funds chosen by a Plan Sponsor, although the Plan Sponsor may establish a default option if the Member fails to make an investment choice, and subsequent changes to those investment decisions, with or without the assistance of a registered dealer selected by the Member. Plan Sponsors may facilitate access to a registrant for advice to Members. Member instructions are transmitted to the Filer using electronic systems provided by the Filer. The Filer will process the trades in the Funds as instructed and will establish and maintain the records reflecting the interest of each Member or Plan Sponsor, as the case may be, in each Fund and for each Plan.
The Filer, the Plan Sponsors and the Funds trade or will trade with the Plans or the Members in accordance with the conditions set out in proposed amendments to National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions related to CAPs, which were published by the Canadian Securities Administrators (the CSA) on October 21, 2005 (the Proposed CAP Exemption) and adopted in the form of a blanket exemption in all Jurisdictions, other than in Ontario, Québec, Newfoundland and Labrador and the Yukon Territory and Nunavut Territory (the CAP Blanket Exemption). The Proposed CAP Exemption and the CAP Blanket Exemption contemplate both dealer registration and prospectus exemptions, where required.
Although no equivalent to the CAP Blanket Exemption has been adopted in the Jurisdictions of Ontario, Québec, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Yukon Territory and Nunavut Territory, CSA Notice 81-405 Request for Comment on Proposed Exemptions for Certain Capital Accumulation Plans published on May 28, 2004 (the CAP Staff Notice) states that, in Ontario, the conditions described in the Proposed CAP Exemption will form the basis of the circumstances in which staff of the Ontario Securities Commission expects that they could recommend that the Ontario Securities Commission grant discretionary relief to an applicant. The Jurisdictions in which no equivalent to the CAP Blanket Exemption was adopted made it clear that they would be prepared to grant discretionary relief on terms similar to those contained in the Proposed CAP Exemption. The CAP Staff Notice stated that the purpose of the Proposed CAP Exemption was to remove existing barriers to trading mutual fund securities with members of CAPs where there is no valid regulatory reason for having such barriers.
As Plan Sponsors will typically approach retirement consultants, such as the Filer, for assistance with respect to securities regulatory issues (when the investment choices are Funds), the Filer is seeking an exemption on behalf of itself, the Plan Sponsors and the Funds, as applicable, from the dealer and the prospectus requirements, including the obligation to deliver a prospectus, where required, subject to the conditions as described in this Decision.
The Filer is not in default of securities legislation in any Jurisdiction.
The Filer may be requested by a Plan Sponsor to provide services to a Non-Tax Assisted CAP established by the Plan Sponsor for the benefit of individual Members. These Non-Tax Assisted CAPs would not constitute CAPs, as defined in the CAP Guidelines, the Proposed CAP Exemption or the CAP Blanket Exemption, since they are not “tax-assisted” under applicable legislation. Non-Tax Assisted CAPs are intended as non-registered employee savings plans to which excess contributions of Members that cannot be invested in a CAP because of legislative limits for such CAP investments will be invested on behalf of the Members.
Non-Tax Assisted CAPs are established in conjunction with CAPs because Canadian tax legislation imposes a limit on the amounts that may be contributed to a CAP. The benefit formula under a Plan Sponsor’s benefit program sometimes results in contributions that exceed that tax limit. A Plan Sponsor may establish a Non-Tax Assisted CAP to allow for those excess contributions to be invested in the same manner as the tax assisted contributions. These excess contributions to Non-Tax Assisted CAPs are not expected to be significant and in any event, will be limited by the calculation set out in the conditions to this Decision and subject to the remaining conditions set out in this Decision.
Non-Tax Assisted CAPs will operate in the same manner as CAPs in terms of the relationship between Members and Plan Sponsors, and the duties, rights and responsibilities of Members and Plan Sponsors. The only significant difference between the two types of plans is the tax-assisted nature of one and not the other.
Each Member of a Non-Tax Assisted CAP of a Plan Sponsor that is administered by the Filer will also be a member of the Plan Sponsor’s CAP.
The Filer will administer the Non-Tax Assisted CAPs in accordance with the CAP Guidelines and, in the case of the Non-Tax Assisted CAPs, in a similar manner to the related CAPs for the applicable Members. The Filer will only administer Non-Tax Assisted CAPs which originate out of CAPs of a Plan Sponsor also serviced by the Filer.
On February 24, 2017, the principal regulator issued a decision granting Dealer Registration Relief and Prospectus Relief to the Filer, or any Plan Sponsor of a CAP or a Non-Tax Assisted CAP that uses the services of the Filer in respect of its Plan, in respect of trades in securities of mutual funds other than exchange-traded funds to a CAP or a Non-Tax Assisted CAP sponsored by the Plan Sponsor (the Original Decision).
Given the number and prominence of exchange-traded funds, and their low-cost and degree of diversification, the Filer wishes to include exchange-traded funds that comply with Part 2 of NI 81-102 as a possible investment choice for the members of the Plans, and for that purpose, wishes to revoke and replace the Original Decision with this Decision.
Decision
The principal regulator is satisfied that the Decision meets the test set out in the Legislation for the principal regulator to make the Decision.
The Decision of the principal regulator under the Legislation is that:
A. The Revocation Relief is granted; and
B. The Exemption Sought is granted provided that:
- for the Dealer Registration Relief;
(a) the Plan Sponsor selects the Funds that Members will be able to invest in under the Plans;
(b) the Plan Sponsor establishes a policy, and provides Members with a copy of the policy and any amendments to it, describing what happens if a Member does not make an investment decision;
(c) in addition to any other information that the Plan Sponsor believes is reasonably necessary for a Member to make an investment decision within the Plan, and unless that information has previously been provided, the Plan Sponsor provides the Member with the following information about each Fund the Member may invest in:
(i) the name of the Fund;
(ii) the name of the manager of the Fund and its portfolio adviser;
(iii) the fundamental investment objective of the Fund;
(iv) the investment strategies of the Fund or the types of investments the Fund may hold;
(v) a description of the risks associated with investing in the Fund;
(vi) where a Member can obtain more information about each Fund's portfolio holdings; and
(vii) where a Member can obtain more information generally about each Fund, including any continuous disclosure;
(d) the Plan Sponsor provides Members with a description and amount of any fees, expenses and penalties relating to the Plan, as the case may be, that are borne by Members, including:
(i) any costs that must be paid when a Fund is bought or sold;
(ii) costs associated with accessing or using any of the investment information, decision-making tools or investment advice provided by the Plan Sponsor;
(iii) the management fees paid by the Funds;
(iv) the operating expenses paid by the Funds;
(v) record keeping fees;
(vi) any costs for transferring among investment options, including penalties, book and market value adjustments and tax consequences;
(vii) account fees; and
(viii) fees for services provided by the Filer,
provided that the Plan Sponsor may disclose the fees, penalties and expenses on an aggregate basis, if the Plan Sponsor discloses the nature of the fees, expenses and penalties, and the aggregated fees do not include fees that arise because of a choice that is specific to a particular Member;
(e) the Plan Sponsor has, within the past year, provided the Members with performance information about each Fund the Members may invest in, including:
(i) the name of the Fund for which the performance is being reported;
(ii) the performance of the Fund, including historical performance for one, three, five and ten years if available;
(iii) a performance calculation that is net of investment management fees and mutual fund expenses;
(iv) the method used to calculate the Fund's performance return calculation, and information about where a Member could obtain a more detailed explanation of that method;
(v) the name and description of a broad-based securities market index, selected in accordance with National Instrument 81-106 Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure, for the Fund, and corresponding performance information for that index; and
(vi) a statement that past performance of the Fund is not necessarily an indication of future performance;
(f) the Plan Sponsor has, within the past year, informed Members if there were any changes in the choice of Funds that Members could invest in and where there was a change, provided information about what Members needed to do to change their investment decision, or make a new investment;
(g) the Plan Sponsor provides Members with investment decision-making tools that the Plan Sponsor reasonably believes are sufficient to assist them in making an investment decision within the Plan;
(h) the Plan Sponsor must provide the information required by paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (g) prior to the Member making an investment decision under the Plan;
(i) if the Plan Sponsor makes investment advice from a registrant available to Members, the Plan Sponsor must provide Members with information about how they can contact the registrant;
(j) the maximum amount that may be contributed in respect of a Member to a Non-Tax Assisted CAP in a given year is limited to any positive difference between:
(i) the maximum amount that the Member and the Plan Sponsor would have been able to contribute for that year to the applicable CAP under the terms of the applicable CAP if contributions to the applicable CAP were not restricted to the maximum dollar limit provided in the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the ITA); and
(ii) the maximum dollar limit provided in the ITA for the applicable CAP,
provided that this maximum amount that may be contributed in respect of a Member to the Non-Tax Assisted CAP in a given year shall not exceed an amount equal to the “money purchase limit”, as defined in the ITA, for the year.
In this paragraph (j), the amount determined under (i) shall be no more than 18% of the Member’s “earned income” as defined in the ITA and the “maximum dollar limit” means the “RRSP dollar limit” as defined in the ITA (in the case where the applicable CAP is an RRSP), the “money purchase limit” as defined in the ITA (in the case where the applicable CAP is a DCPP), one-half of the “money purchase limit” (in the case where the applicable CAP is a DPSP) or any applicable maximum fixed dollar contribution prescribed under the ITA (in the case of any other type of CAP);
2. for the Prospectus Relief;
(a) the conditions set forth in paragraph 1 above are met;
(b) the Funds comply with Part 2 of NI 81-102; and
(c) where a Member chooses to invest in a publicly available Fund selected by the Plan Sponsor as an investment option for a Non-Tax Assisted Plan, the current prospectus of the Fund and/or Fund Facts as permitted by the Legislation, will be made available, upon demand, to the Member;
3. before the first time a Fund relies on this Decision, the Fund files a notice in the form found in Appendix C of the Proposed CAP Exemption in each Jurisdiction in which the Fund expects to distribute its securities;
4. this Decision, as it relates to the jurisdiction of a securities regulatory authority or regulator (a Decision Maker) with respect to the Dealer Registration Relief will terminate upon the coming into force in securities rules of a registration exemption for trades in a security of a mutual fund to a CAP or 90 days after the Decision Maker publishes in its Bulletin a notice or a statement to the effect that it does not propose to make such a rule;
5. this Decision, as it relates to the jurisdiction of a Decision Maker with respect to the Prospectus Relief will terminate upon the coming into force in securities rules of a prospectus exemption for the distribution of a security of a mutual fund to a CAP or 90 days after the Decision Maker publishes in its Bulletin a notice or a statement to the effect that it does not propose to make such a rule.
“Mary Anne De Monte-Whelan” “Cathy Singer”
Mary Anne De Monte-Whelan Cathy Singer
Commissioner Commissioner
Ontario Securities Commission Ontario Securities Commission