(1) An “index mutual fund” is defined in section 1.1of the instrument as a mutual fund that has adopted fundamental investment objectives that require it to
(a) hold the securities that are included in a permitted index or permitted indices of the mutual fund in substantially the same proportion as those securities are reflected in that permitted index or permitted indices or
(b) invest in a manner that causes the mutual fund to replicate the performance of that permitted index or those permitted indices.
(2) This definition includes only mutual funds whose entire portfolio is invested in accordance with one or more permitted indices. The Canadian securities regulatory authorities recognize that there may be mutual funds that invest part of their portfolio in accordance with a permitted index or indices, with a remaining part of the portfolio being actively managed. Those mutual funds cannot avail themselves of the relief provided by subsection 2.1(5) of the instrument, which provides relief from the “10% rule” contained in subsection 2.1(1) of the Instrument, because they are not “index mutual funds”. The Canadian securities regulatory authorities acknowledge that there may be circumstances in which the principles behind the relief contained in subsection 2.1(5) of the instrument is also applicable to “partially-indexed” mutual funds. Therefore, the Canadian securities regulatory authorities will consider applications from those types of mutual funds for relief analogous to that provided by subsectionof the instrument is also applicable to “partially-indexed” mutual funds. Therefore, the Canadian securities regulatory authorities will consider applications from those types of mutual funds for relief analogous to that provided by subsection 2.1(5) of the Instrument.
(3) It is noted that the manager of an index mutual fund may make a decision to base all or some of the investments of the mutual fund on a different permitted index than a permitted index previously used. This decision might be made for investment reasons or because that index no longer satisfies the definition of “permitted index” in the Instrument. It is noted that this decision by the manager will be considered by the Canadian securities regulatory authorities generally to constitute a change of fundamental investment objectives, thereby requiring securityholder approval under paragraph 5.1(1)(c) of the Instrument. In addition, this decision would also constitute a material change for the mutual fund, thereby requiring an amendment to the prospectus of the mutual fund and the issuing of a press release under Part 11 of National Instrument 81- 106 Investment Fund Continuous Disclosure.