The Ontario Securities Commission granted BMO Investments Inc. an exemption allowing new continuing funds to use the historical performance and financial data of corresponding terminating funds in various disclosure documents and communications. This decision was made under the securities legislation of Ontario, specifically referencing National Instruments 81-101, 81-102, and 81-106, which govern mutual fund prospectus disclosure, investment funds, and investment fund continuous disclosure, respectively.
The exemption permits the continuing funds to present the formation date, past performance, management expense ratio (MER), trading expense ratio (TER), and fund expenses of the terminating funds in their sales communications, simplified prospectus, fund facts documents, and management reports of fund performance. The rationale is to make the transition seamless for investors and avoid confusion, as the continuing funds will be managed similarly to the terminating funds and will hold the same assets post-merger.
The granted relief is subject to conditions ensuring that the continuing funds’ disclosures include the historical data of the terminating funds and clearly state the mergers’ occurrence. The decision aims to protect investors’ interests by providing them with relevant historical data to inform their investment decisions.