The Securities Commission has granted Penderfund Capital Management Ltd. (the Filer) an exemption from subsection 5.1(4) of National Instrument 81-101 Mutual Fund Prospectus Disclosure (NI 81-101). This exemption allows the Filer to consolidate the simplified prospectus of alternative mutual funds with that of non-alternative mutual funds, which is typically prohibited.
The Filer oversees Pender Alternative Absolute Return Fund, Pender Alternative Arbitrage Fund, Pender Alternative Arbitrage Plus Fund, Pender Alternative Multi-Strategy Income Fund, and Pender Alternative Special Situations Fund (Existing Alternative Funds), as well as any future alternative mutual funds managed by the Filer or its affiliates (collectively, the Alternative Funds). The Filer sought to combine these with the simplified prospectus of conventional mutual funds (Conventional Funds) for which it also acts as investment fund manager.
The key reasons for granting the exemption include:
1. Cost reduction in renewal, printing, and related costs.
2. Streamlining of disclosure across the Filer’s fund platform.
3. Facilitation of distribution under the same prospectus disclosure.
4. Enabling investors to more easily compare features of Alternative and Conventional Funds.
5. Consistency in operational and administrative feature changes across both fund types.
The Filer has committed to preparing the combined simplified prospectus in accordance with section 5.1(2) of NI 81-101 and to continue providing fund facts documents and the simplified prospectus to investors as required by law.
The British Columbia Securities Commission is the principal regulator for this application, and the decision also applies to Ontario. The Filer has indicated its intention to rely on subsection 4.7(1) of Multilateral Instrument 11-102 Passport System in other Canadian jurisdictions.
The exemption was granted because the Decision Makers concluded that it meets the test set out in the applicable securities legislation.