The Securities Commission has granted an exemption to a mutual fund (the Fund) managed by an investment fund manager (the Filer), allowing for an extension of the Fund’s prospectus lapse date by 123 days. This decision is based on the Filer’s intention to synchronize the offering documents of the Fund with those of 44 other mutual funds it manages, which have a later lapse date. The extension will enable the Filer to streamline operations, reduce costs, and provide consistent information to investors.
The Fund’s current prospectus was set to lapse on January 25, 2022, but with the granted exemption, the new lapse date will be May 28, 2022. The Filer argued that without the exemption, renewing the Fund’s prospectus twice in a short period would be unnecessarily costly and would not benefit investors. The Filer also confirmed that there have been no material changes in the Fund’s affairs since the current prospectus was issued, ensuring that the information remains accurate.
The decision was made under subsection 62(5) of the Securities Act (Ontario), which allows for such an exemption if it is not prejudicial to the public interest. The principal regulator, the Ontario Securities Commission, concluded that the exemption meets the necessary legislative criteria and granted the request.