The Securities Commission granted exemptive relief to the ETF series of new alternative mutual funds, allowing them to use the past performance, financial data, start date, trading and pricing information, and ETF expenses of corresponding Terminating ETFs in their sales communications, simplified prospectus, ETF facts document, and management reports of fund performance. Additionally, the past performance of the Terminating ETFs can be used to determine the risk level of the new funds.
The decision was made under various sections of National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds, National Instrument 81-101 Mutual Fund Prospectus Disclosure, National Instrument 41-101 General Prospectus Requirements, and National Instrument 81-106 Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure. The relief was granted to facilitate the reorganization of Terminating ETFs into corresponding ETF series of new alternative mutual funds, which have the same investment objectives, strategies, and fees as the Terminating ETFs. Unitholders of the Terminating ETFs will become unitholders of the ETF Series of the corresponding new alternative mutual funds following the reorganization.
The Commission’s decision was based on the belief that this approach would not mislead investors and would provide them with complete and accurate information to make informed investment decisions. The relief is conditional upon the inclusion of specific disclosures about the mergers and the use of past performance data in accordance with Part 15 of NI 81-102. The decision aims to make the mergers seamless for investors and to avoid confusion, ensuring that investors have access to significant historical data to assist in their investment decisions.