The Ontario Securities Commission granted BMO Investments Inc. an exemption for its existing and future investment funds from certain restrictions under National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds (NI 81-102). Specifically, the exemption allows these funds to invest up to 10% of their net assets in securities of SICAV Funds governed by Luxembourg laws and UCITS Funds governed by the Central Bank of Ireland, despite these underlying funds not being subject to NI 81-102 or being reporting issuers in Canada. The decision was based on the fact that the underlying foreign funds are subject to similar investment restrictions and disclosure requirements as the top funds. The exemption is conditional on the underlying funds qualifying as UCITS, compliance with section 2.5 of NI 81-102, and certain investment limits and disclosure requirements. Relevant legislative provisions include sections 2.5(2)(a), 2.5(2)(a.1), 2.5(2)(c), and 19.1 of NI 81-102.
