AGF Funds Inc. - MRRS Decision
Headnote
Director's Decision
Exemptive relief for a mutualfund dealer from the requirement to become a member of the MutualFund Dealers Association.
Applicable Ontario StatutoryProvisions
Securities Act, R.S.O. 1990,c. S.5, as am s. 25.
Applicable Ontario SecuritiesCommission Rule
Rule 31-506 - SRO Membership- Mutual Fund Dealers, s. 2.1.
IN THE MATTER OF
THE SECURITIES LEGISLATIONOF
ONTARIO AND BRITISH COLUMBIA
AND
IN THE MATTER OF
THE MUTUAL RELIANCE REVIEWSYSTEM
FOR EXEMPTIVE RELIEF APPLICATIONS
AND
IN THE MATTER OF
AGF FUNDS INC.
MRRS DECISION DOCUMENT
WHEREAS the local securitiesregulatory authority or regulator (the "Decision Maker")in each of the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia (the"Jurisdictions") has received an application (the"Application") from AGF Funds Inc. (the "Registrant")for a decision pursuant to the securities legislation of theJurisdictions (the "Legislation") that the Registrantnot be required to file an application to become a member ofthe Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada (the "MFDA")and to become a member of the MFDA.
AND WHEREAS pursuantto the Mutual Reliance Review System for Exemptive Relief Applications(the "System"), the Ontario Securities Commissionis the principal regulator for this application.
AND WHEREAS it has beenrepresented by the Registrant to the Decision Makers that:
1. the Registrant is a corporationsubsisting under the laws of the Province of Ontario and isregistered as a dealer in the category of mutual fund dealerin the Jurisdictions;
2. the Registrant also isregistered with the Ontario Securities Commission as an advisorin the categories of investment counsel and portfolio managerand as a commodity trading manager;
3. the Registrant's principalbusiness activity is managing mutual funds (the "MutualFunds"), the securities of which are generally qualifiedfor sale to the public in some or all of the provinces andterritories of Canada pursuant to prospectuses for which receiptshave been issued by the relevant Canadian securities administrators;
4. the Registrant also engagesin activities incidental to its principal business activitiespursuant to its registration as mutual fund dealer registration;
5. the Registrant's activitiesas a mutual fund dealer currently represent and will continueto represent activities that are incidental to its principalbusiness activities;
6. the Registrant has agreedto the imposition of the terms and conditions on the Registrant'sregistration as a mutual fund dealer set out in the attachedSchedule "A", which outlines the activities theRegistrant has agreed to adhere to in connection with itsapplication for this Decision;
7. any person or company thatis not currently a client of the Registrant on the effectivedate of this Decision, will, before they are accepted as aclient of the Registrant, receive prominent written noticefrom the Registrant that:
The Registrant is notcurrently a member, and does not intend to become a memberof the Mutual Fund Dealers Association; consequently, clientsof the Registrant will not have available to them investorprotection benefits that would otherwise derive from membershipof the Registrant in the MFDA, including coverage underany investor protection plan for clients of members of theMFDA;
8. upon the next general mailingto its account holders and in any event before July 2, 2002,the Registrant shall provide, to any client that was a clientof the Registrant on the effective date of this Decision,the prominent written notice referred to in paragraph 7, above;
AND WHEREAS pursuantto the System this MRRS Decision Document evidences the decisionof each Decision Maker (collectively, "Decision");
AND WHEREAS each of theDecision Makers is satisfied that the test contained in theLegislation that provides the Decision Maker with the jurisdictionto make the Decision has been met;
IT IS THE DECISION ofthe Decision Makers pursuant to the Legislation that, effectiveMay 23, 2001 in both Ontario and British Columbia, the Registrantnot be required to file an application to become a member ofthe MFDA and to become a member of the MFDA;
PROVIDED THAT:
The Registrant complies withthe terms and conditions on its registration under the Legislationas a mutual fund dealer set out in the attached Schedule "A".
June 20, 2002.
"David M. Gilkes"
Schedule "A"
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF REGISTRATION
OF
AGF FUNDS INC.
AS A MUTUAL FUND DEALER
Definitions
1. For the purposes hereof,unless the context otherwise requires:
(a) "Act" means,in Ontario, the Securities Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.S5,as amended; and, in British Columbia, the SecuritiesAct, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 418, as amended;
(b) "Adviser"means an adviser as defined in the applicable Act;
(c) "Client Name Trade"means, for the Registrant, a trade to, or on behalf of,a person or company, in securities of a mutual fund, thatis managed by the Registrant or an affiliate of the Registrant,where, immediately before the trade, the person or company,is shown on the records of the mutual fund or of an othermutual fund managed by the Registrant or an affiliate ofthe Registrant as the holder of securities of such mutualfund, and the trade consists of:
(A) a purchase, by theperson or company, through the Registrant, of securitiesof the mutual fund; or
(B) a redemption, bythe person or company, through the Registrant, of securitiesof the mutual fund;
and where, the person orcompany
(C) is a client of theRegistrant that was not solicited by the Registrant;or
(D) was an existingclient of the Registrant on the Effective Date;
(d) "Effective Date"means May 23, 2001;
(e) "Employee",for the Registrant, means:
(A) an employee of theRegistrant;
(B) an employee of anaffiliated entity of the Registrant; or
(C) an individual thatis engaged to provide, on a bona fide basis,consulting, technical, management or other servicesto the Registrant or to an affiliated entity of theRegistrant, under a written contract between the Registrantor the affiliated entity and the individual or a consultantcompany or consultant partnership of the individual,and, in the reasonable opinion of the Registrant, theindividual spends or will spend a significant amountof time and attention on the affairs and business ofthe Registrant or an affiliated entity of the Registrant;
(f) "Employee",for a Service Provider, means an employee of the ServiceProvider or an affiliated entity of the Service Provider,provided that, at the relevant time, in the reasonable opinionof the Registrant, the employee spends or will spend, asignificant amount of time and attention on the affairsand business of:
(A) the Registrant oran affiliated entity of the Registrant; or
(B) a mutual fund managedby the Registrant or an affiliated entity of the Registrant;
(g) "Executive",for the Registrant, means a director, officer or partnerof the Registrant or of an affiliated entity of the Registrant;
(h) "Executive",for a Service Provider, means a director, officer or partnerof the Service Provider or of an affiliated entity of theService Provider;
(i) "Exempt Trade",for the Registrant, means:
(i) in Ontario and BritishColumbia, a trade in securities of a mutual fund thatis made between a person or company and an underwriteracting as purchaser or between or among underwriters;
(ii) in Ontario, a tradein securities of a mutual fund for which the Registrantwould have available to it an exemption from the registrationrequirements of the Act if the Registrant were not a "marketintermediary" as such term is defined in section204 of the Ontario Regulation;
(iii) in British Columbia,a trade in securities of a mutual fund for which the Registrantwould have available to it an exemption from the registrationrequirements of the Act; or
(iv) a trade in securitiesof a mutual fund for which the Registrant has receiveda discretionary exemption from the registration requirementsof the Act;
(j) "Fund-on-Fund Trade"means a trade that consists of:
(i) a purchase, throughthe Registrant, of securities of a mutual fund that ismade by another mutual fund;
(ii) a purchase, throughthe Registrant, of securities of a mutual fund that ismade by a person or company where the person or company,an affiliated entity of the person or company, or an otherperson or company is, or will become, the counterpartyin a specified derivative or swap with another mutualfund; or
(iii) a sale, throughthe Registrant, of securities of a mutual fund that ismade by another mutual fund where the party purchasingthe securities is:
(A) a mutual fund managedby the Registrant or an affiliated entity of the Registrant;or
(B) a person or companythat acquired the securities where the person or company,an affiliated entity of the person or company, or another person or company is, or was, the counterpartyin a specified derivative or swap with another mutualfund; and
where, in each case, atleast one of the referenced mutual funds is a mutual fundthat is managed by either the Registrant or an affiliatedentity of the Registrant;
(k) "In FurtheranceTrade" means, for the Registrant, a trade by the Registrantthat consists of any act, advertisement, or solicitation,directly or indirectly in furtherance of an other tradein securities of a mutual fund, where the other trade consistsof:
(i) a purchase or saleof securities of a mutual fund that is managed by theRegistrant or an affiliated entity of the Registrant;or
(ii) a purchase or saleof securities of a mutual fund where the Registrant actsas the principal distributor of the mutual fund;
and where, in each case,the purchase or sale is made by or through an other registereddealer if the Registrant is not otherwise permitted to makethe purchase or sale pursuant to these terms and conditions;
(l) "Mutual Fund Instrument"means National Instrument 81-102 Mutual Funds, as amended;
(m) "Ontario Regulation"means R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 1015, as amended, made under theOntario Act;
(n) "Permitted Client"means a person or company that is a client of the Registrant,and that is, or was at the time the person or company becamea client of the Registrant:
(i) an Executive or Employeeof the Registrant;
(ii) a Related Party ofan Executive or Employee of the Registrant;
(iii) a Service Provideror an affiliated entity of a Service Provider;
(iv) an Executive or Employeeof a Service Provider; or
(v) a Related Party ofan Executive or Employee of a Service Provider;
(o) "Permitted ClientTrade" means, for the Registrant, a trade to a personwho is a Permitted Client or who represents to the Registrantthat he or she is a person included in the definition ofPermitted Client, in securities of a mutual fund that ismanaged by the Registrant or an affiliate of the Registrant,and the trade consists of a purchase or redemption, by theperson, through the Registrant, of securities of the mutualfund;
(p) "Registered Plan"means a registered pension plan, deferred profit sharingplan, registered retirement savings plan, registered retirementincome fund, registered education savings plan or otherdeferred income plan registered under the Income Tax Act(Canada);
(q) "Registrant"means AGF Funds Inc.;
(r) "Related Party",for a person, means an other person who is:
(i) the spouse of theperson;
(ii) the issue of:
(A) the person,
(B) the spouse of theperson, or
(C) the spouse of anyperson that is the issue of a person referred to insubparagraphs (A) or (B) above;
(iii) the parent, grandparentor sibling of the person, or the spouse of any of them;
(iv) the issue of anyperson referred to in paragraph (iii) above; or
(v) a Registered Planestablished by, or for the exclusive benefit of, one,some or all of the foregoing;
(vi) a trust where oneor more of the trustees is a person referred to aboveand the beneficiaries of the trust are restricted to one,some, or all of the foregoing;
(vii) a corporation whereall the issued and outstanding shares of the corporationare owned by one, some, or all of the foregoing;
(s) "securities",for a mutual fund, means shares or units of the mutual fund;
(t) "Seed Capital Trade"means a trade in securities of a mutual fund made to a personsor company referred to in any of subparagraphs 3.1(1)(a)(i)to 3.1(1)(a)(iii) of the Mutual Fund Instrument; and
(u) "Service Provider"means:
(i) a person or companythat provides or has provided professional, consulting,technical, management or other services to the Registrantor an affiliated entity of the Registrant;
(ii) an Adviser to a mutualfund that is managed by the Registrant or an affiliatedentity of the Registrant; or
(iii) a person or companythat provides or has provided professional, consulting,technical, management or other services to a mutual fundthat is managed by the Registrant or an affiliated entityof the Registrant.
2. For the purposes hereof,a person or company is considered to be an "affiliatedentity" of an other person or company if the person orcompany would be an affiliated entity of that other personor company for the purposes of Ontario Securities CommissionRule 45-503 Trades To Employees, Executives and Consultantsand British Columbia Instrument 45-507 Trades to Employees,Executives and Consultants.
3. For the purposes hereof:
(a) "issue" and"sibling" includes any person having such relationshipthrough adoption, whether legally or in fact;
(b) "parent" and"grandparent" includes a parent or grandparentthrough adoption, whether legally or in fact;
(c) "registered dealer"means a person or company that is registered under the Actas a dealer in a category that permits the person or companyto act as dealer for the subject trade; and
(d) "spouse",for an Employee or Executive, means a person who, at therelevant time, is the spouse of the Employee or Executive.
4. Any terms that are notspecifically defined above shall, unless the context otherwiserequires, have the meaning:
(a) specifically ascribedto such term in the Mutual Fund Instrument; or
(b) if no meaning is specificallyascribed to such term in the Mutual Fund Instrument, thesame meaning the term would have for the purposes of theAct.
Restricted Registration
Permitted Activities
5. The registration of theRegistrant as a mutual fund dealer under the Act shall befor the purposes only of trading by the Registrant in securitiesof a mutual fund where the trade consists of:
(a) a Client Name Trade;
(b) an Exempt Trade;
(c) a Fund-on-Fund Trade;
(d) an In Furtherance Trade;
(e) a Permitted Client Trade;or
(f) a Seed Capital Trade;
provided that, in the caseof all trades that are only referred to in clauses (a) or(e), the trades are limited and incidental to the principalbusiness of the Registrant.