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Companion Policy to NI 81-102 Investment Funds
Part 13 Prohibited Representations and Sales Communications
Section 13.1

Misleading Sales Communications

(1) Part 15 of the Instrument prohibits misleading sales communications relating to investment funds and asset allocation services. Whether a particular description, representation, illustration or other statement in a sales communication is misleading depends upon an evaluation of the context in which it is made. The following list sets out some of the circumstances, in the view of the Canadian securities regulatory authorities, in which a sales communication would be misleading. No attempt has been made to enumerate all such circumstances since each sales communication must be assessed individually.

1. A statement would be misleading if it lacks explanations, qualifications, limitations or other statements necessary or appropriate to make the statement not misleading.

2. A representation about past or future investment performance would be misleading if it is

(a) a portrayal of past income, gain or growth of assets that conveys an impression of the net investment results achieved by an actual or hypothetical investment that is not justified under the circumstances;

(b) a representation about security of capital or expenses associated with an investment that is not justified under the circumstances or a representation about possible future gains or income; or

(c) a representation or presentation of past investment performance that implies that future gains or income may be inferred from or predicted based on past investment performance or portrayals of past performance.

3. A statement about the characteristics or attributes of an investment fund or an asset allocation service would be misleading if

(a) it concerns possible benefits connected with or resulting from services to be provided or methods of operation and does not give equal prominence to discussion of any risks or associated limitations;

(b) it makes exaggerated or unsubstantiated claims about management skill or techniques; characteristics of the investment fund or asset allocation service; an investment in securities issued by the fund or recommended by the service; services offered by the fund, the service or their respective manager; or effects of government supervision; or

(c) it makes unwarranted or incompletely explained comparisons to other investment vehicles or indices.

4. A sales communication that quoted a third party source would be misleading if the quote were out of context and proper attribution of the source were not given.

(2) Performance data information may be misleading even if it complies technically with the requirements of the Instrument. For instance, subsections 15.8(1) and (2) of the Instrument contain requirements that the standard performance data for investment funds given in sales communications be for prescribed periods falling within prescribed amounts of time before the date of the appearance or use of the advertisement or first date of publication of any other sales communication. That standard performance data may be misleading if it does not adequately reflect intervening events occurring after the prescribed period. An example of such an intervening event would be, in the case of money market funds, a substantial decline in interest rates after the prescribed period.

(3) An advertisement that presents information in a manner that distorts information contained in the preliminary prospectus or prospectus, or preliminary prospectus, preliminary fund facts document or prospectus, and fund facts document, as applicable, of an investment fund or that includes a visual image that provides a misleading impression will be considered to be misleading.

(4) Any discussion of the income tax implications of an investment in an investment fund security should be balanced with a discussion of any other material aspects of the offering.

(5) Paragraph 15.2(1)(b) of the Instrument provides that sales communications must not include any statement that conflicts with information that is contained in, among other things and as applicable, a prospectus or fund facts document. The Canadian securities regulatory authorities are of the view that a sales communication that provides performance data in compliance with the requirements of Part 15 of the Instrument for time periods that differ from those shown in a prospectus, fund facts document or management report of fund performance does not violate the requirements of paragraph 15.2(1)(b) of the Instrument.

(6) Subsection 15.3(1) of the Instrument permits an investment fund or asset allocation service to compare its performance to, among other things, other types of investments or benchmarks on certain conditions. Examples of such other types of investments or benchmarks to which the performance of an investment fund or asset allocation service may be compared include consumer price indices; stock, bond or other types of indices; averages; returns payable on guaranteed investment certificates or other certificates of deposit; and returns from an investment in real estate.

(7) Paragraph 15.3(1)(c) of the Instrument requires that, if the performance of an investment fund or asset allocation service is compared to that of another investment or benchmark, the comparison sets out clearly any factors necessary to ensure that the comparison is fair and not misleading. Such factors would include an explanation of any relevant differences between the investment fund or asset allocation service and the investment or benchmark to which it is compared. Examples of such differences include any relevant differences in the guarantees of, or insurance on, the principal of or return from theinvestment or benchmark; fluctuations in principal, income or total return; any differing tax treatment; and, for a comparison to an index or average, any differences between the composition or calculation of the index or average and the investment portfolio of the investment fund or asset allocation service.


Companion Policy to NI 81-102 Investment Funds
Part 13 Prohibited Representations and Sales Communications
Section 13.2

Other Provisions

(1) Subsection 15.9(1) of the Instrument imposes certain disclosure requirements for sales communications in circumstances in which there was a change in the business, operations or affairs of an investment fund or asset allocation service during or after a performance measurement period of performance data contained in the sales communication that could have materially affected the performance of the investment fund or asset allocation service. Examples of these changes are changes in the management, investment objectives, portfolio adviser, ownership of the manager, fees and charges, or of policies concerning the waiving or absorbing of fees and charges, of the investment fund or asset allocation service or of a change in the characterization of a mutual fund as a money market fund. A reorganization or restructuring of an investment fund that results in a conversion of a non-redeemable investment fund into a mutual fund, or the conversion of a mutual fund into a non-redeemable investment fund, would also be an example of such a change.

(1.1) Subparagraph 15.6(1)(d)(i) of the Instrument prohibits a sales communication pertaining to a mutual fund from including performance data for a period that is before the time when the mutual fund offered its securities under a prospectus. Where the mutual fund has previously existed as a non-redeemable investment fund and has been a reporting issuer in a jurisdiction for a period of at least 12 consecutive months, either as a mutual fund or a non-redeemable investment fund, subsection 15.6(2) requires any sales communication that contains performance data of the mutual fund to include performance data for the period that the fund existed as a non-redeemable investment fund. The Canadian securities regulatory authorities are of the view that performance data pertaining to a mutual fund that has converted from a non-redeemable investment fund should include both the periods before and after the converting transaction, similar to the past performance information presented in the mutual fund’s management report of fund performance. Performance data must not be included for any period before the time the non-redeemable investment fund was a reporting issuer.

(2) Paragraph 15.11(1)5 of the instrument requires that no non-recurring fees and charges that are payable by some or all securityholders and no recurring fees and charges that are payable by some but not all securityholders be assumed in calculating standard performance data. Examples of non-recurring types of fees and charges are front-end sales commissions and contingent deferred sales charges, and examples of recurring types of fees and charges are the annual fees paid by purchasers who purchased on a contingent deferred charge basis.

(3) Paragraphs 15.11(1)2 and 15.11(2)2 of the instrument require that no fees and charges related to optional services be assumed in calculating standard performance data. Examples of these fees and charges include transfer fees, except in the case of an asset allocation service, and fees and charges for registered retirement savings plans, registered retirement income funds, registered education savings plans, pre-authorized investment plans and systematic withdrawal plans.

(4) The Canadian securities regulatory authorities are of the view that it is inappropriate and misleading for an investment fund that is continuing following a merger to prepare and use pro forma performance information or financial statements that purport to show the combined performance of the two funds during a period before their actual merger. The Canadian securities regulatory authorities are of the view that such pro forma information is hypothetical, involving the making of many assumptions that could affect the results.

(5)Subsections 15.8(2) and (3) of the Instrument require disclosure of standard performance data of a mutual fund, in some circumstances, from “the inception of the mutual fund”. It is noted that paragraph 15.6(1)(d) generally prohibits disclosure of performance data for a period that is before the time when the mutual fund offered its securities under a prospectus or before an asset allocation service commenced operation. Also, each of Instruction (1) to Item 5 of Part B of Form 81-101F1 Contents of Simplified Prospectus and Instruction (1) to Item 2 of Part I of Form 81-101F3 Contents of Fund Facts Document requires disclosure of the date on which a mutual fund’s securities first became available to the public as the date on which the mutual fund “started”. Therefore, consistent with these provisions, the words “inception of the mutual fund” in subsections 15.8(2) and (3) of the instrument should be read as referring to the beginning of the distribution of the securities of the mutual fund under a prospectus of the mutual fund, and not from any previous time in which the mutual fund may have existed but did not offer its securities under a prospectus. If a mutual fund previously existed as a non- redeemable investment fund, the words “inception of the mutual fund” in subsections 15.8(2) and (3) of the Instrument should be read as referring to the date that the non- redeemable investment fund became a reporting issuer.

(6) Paragraph 15.6(1)(a) of the Instrument contains a prohibition against the inclusion of performance data for a mutual fund that has been distributing securities for less than 12 consecutive months. The creation of a new class or series of security of an existing mutual fund does not constitute the creation of a new mutual fund and therefore does not subject the mutual fund to the restrictions of paragraph 15.6(1)(a) unless the new class or series is referable to a new portfolio of assets.

(7) section15.14of the instrument contains the rules relating to sales communications for multi-class investment funds. Those rules are applicable to an investment fund that has more than one class of securities that are referable to the same portfolio of assets. section


Companion Policy to NI 81-102 Investment Funds
Part 13 Prohibited Representations and Sales Communications
Section 13.3

Sales Communications of Non-Redeemable Investment Funds During the Waiting Period and the Distribution Period –

The Canadian securities regulatory authorities remind non-redeemable investment funds of the restrictions contained in securities legislation relating to the distribution of material and advertising and marketing in connection with a prospectus offering during the waiting period and during thedistribution period following the issuance of a receipt for the final prospectus. Part 15 of the Instrument does not vary any of the restrictions imposed during these periods.