The Securities Commission granted exemptive relief to a group of mutual funds from certain sections of National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds and other related instruments. This relief allows the funds to include past performance data in their sales communications and other disclosure documents, even though this data pertains to periods before the funds were distributed under a simplified prospectus or became reporting issuers.
The funds in question, managed by Onex Canada Asset Management Inc., had been distributed on a prospectus-exempt basis and had similar management and fee structures before and after becoming reporting issuers. The relief also permits the use of this historical performance data to calculate the funds’ investment risk levels according to the prescribed methodology.
Additionally, the Commission granted relief from section 2.1 of National Instrument 81-101 Mutual Fund Prospectus Disclosure, allowing the mutual funds to use past performance data for risk rating calculations in their simplified prospectus. The funds can also include this data in their fund facts document and annual and interim management reports of fund performance.
Furthermore, the Commission granted relief to permit the consolidation of simplified prospectus disclosure for alternative mutual funds with those of mutual funds that are not alternative mutual funds.
The decision was based on the understanding that the funds would be managed substantially similarly as reporting issuers as they were prior to that status, and that the historical data is meaningful for investors. The relief is contingent on the funds disclosing certain information regarding their status during the performance data periods and making their financial statements since inception available upon request.