The Securities Commission has granted an extension to the lapse dates for the prospectuses of various ETFs managed by Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. The extensions are 76 days for the Active ETFs prospectus, 83 days for the Index ETFs prospectus, and 35 days for the Thematics Plus ETFs prospectus. This decision allows the incorporation of audited annual financial information into the ETFs’ renewal prospectus, avoiding the costs of reviewing unaudited interim financial statements. Additionally, it enables the consolidation of ETFs offered under separate prospectuses into a single document, which is expected to streamline investor comparisons and reduce costs.
The extensions are justified by the need to include audited financial statements for the Active ETFs, whose fiscal year-end is December 31, and to align the renewal of the Thematics Plus ETFs prospectus with the availability of quarterly portfolio disclosure. The Commission determined that the extensions will not compromise the currentness or accuracy of the information in the prospectuses and are not against the public interest.
The decision is based on subsection 62(5) of the Securities Act (Ontario) and is supported by the fact that there have been no material changes in the affairs of the ETFs since the date of their respective prospectuses, other than those for which amendments have been filed. The relief is granted without conditions under the applicable legislative provisions, including National Policy 11-203 Process for Exemptive Relief Applications in Multiple Jurisdictions and National Instrument 41-101 General Prospectus Requirements.