Marketing and sales of investment funds

There are different requirements and restrictions on the advertising and marketing practices of investment funds in Ontario, depending on the stage of the investment fund’s prospectus offering. Specifically, the requirements and restrictions vary during each of the following stages:

• before the receipt of the investment fund’s preliminary prospectus
• during the waiting period (the time between the issue of a receipt for the preliminary prospectus and the issue of a receipt for the final prospectus)
• after the receipt of the investment fund’s final prospectus and the investment fund becomes a reporting issuer

The requirements and restrictions address, among other things, the content of sales communications, including disclosure of performance ratings and rankings, fees, and past performance.

For more information, refer to:

• Ontario’s Securities Act
• National Instrument 41-101 General Prospectus Requirements
• National Instrument 81-102 Investment Funds 

The sales practices and compensation arrangements between mutual funds that offer securities and the dealers that sell those securities are subject to certain requirements and restrictions, such as:

• restrictions on the payments and other benefits that can be given by a mutual fund (and members of its organization) to a participating dealer and its sales representatives
• disclosure requirements relating to the equity relationships and sales practices between a mutual fund and participating dealers and their sales representatives

For more information, refer to National Instrument 81-105 Mutual Fund Sales Practices.