OSC publishes report on exempt market activity

TORONTO – The Ontario Securities Commission today published a report on capital raising activity by corporate (non-investment fund) issuers in Ontario’s exempt market between 2017 and 2019. The report provides a snapshot of key trends relevant to investors and issuers.

The report revealed that while there has been notable year-over-year growth in the number of individual investors with capital invested in Ontario’s exempt market, the number of issuers raising capital has remained relatively stable.

“Investor participation in Ontario’s exempt market has increased considerably,” said Paul Redman, Director, Regulatory Strategy and Research at the OSC. “The findings in this report will inform the OSC’s ongoing efforts to monitor and oversee this important component of our capital market.”

Highlights from the report include:

• In 2019, approximately 3,200 issuers reported $88.6 billion in capital raised from approximately 35,200 Ontario investors through prospectus exempt distributions.
• Institutional investors accounted for roughly 96 per cent of capital raised, while almost four per cent was raised through individual investors.
• The report also found that prospectus exemptions introduced since 2015 have continued to gain traction with issuers and investors. From 2017 to 2019, the offering memorandum (OM), family, friends and business associates (FFBA), and existing securities holder exemptions have been used by over 1,300 issuers to raise just over $1 billion from Ontario investors.

OSC Staff Notice 45-717 Ontario’s Exempt Market can be found on the OSC’s website.

The mandate of the OSC is to provide protection to investors from unfair, improper or fraudulent practices and to foster fair and efficient capital markets and confidence in the capital markets. Investors are urged to check the registration of any persons or company offering an investment opportunity and to review the OSC investor materials available at http://www.osc.gov.on.ca.

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