PGIM, Inc. – s. 80 of the CFA

Section 80 of the Commodity Futures Act (Ontario) – Foreign adviser exempted from the adviser registration requirement in paragraph 22(1)(b) of the CFA where such adviser acts as an adviser in respect of commodity futures contracts or commodity futures options (Contracts) for certain investors in Ontario who meet the definition of “permitted client” in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations – Contracts are primarily traded on commodity futures exchanges outside of Canada and primarily cleared outside of Canada.

Terms and conditions of exemption correspond to the relevant terms and conditions of the comparable exemption from the adviser registration requirement available to international advisers in respect of securities set out in section 8.26 of National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations – Exemption also subject to a “sunset clause” condition.

Applicable Legislative Provisions

Commodity Futures Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.20. as am., ss. 1(1), 22(1)(b), 80.
Securities Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.5, as am., s. 25(3).
National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations, ss. 1.1, 8.26.
Ontario Securities Commission Rule 13-502 Fees.

December 17, 2018

IN THE MATTER OF
THE COMMODITY FUTURES ACT,
R.S.O. 1990, CHAPTER C.20, AS AMENDED
(the CFA)

AND

IN THE MATTER OF
PGIM, INC.

ORDER
(Section 80 of the CFA)

                UPON the application (the Application) of PGIM, Inc. (the Applicant) to the Ontario Securities Commission (the Commission) for an order of the Commission, pursuant to section 80 of the CFA that the Applicant and any individuals engaging in, or holding themselves out as engaging in, the business of advising others as to trading in Contracts (as defined below) on the Applicant’s behalf (the Representatives) be exempt, for a specified period of time, from the adviser registration requirement in paragraph 22(1)(b) of the CFA, subject to certain terms and conditions.

                AND UPON considering the Application and the recommendation of staff of the Commission;

                AND WHEREAS for the purposes of this Order:

“CFA Adviser Registration Requirement” means the provisions of section 22 of the CFA that prohibit a person or company from acting as an adviser with respect to trading in Contracts unless the person or company is registered in the appropriate category of registration under the CFA;

“CFTC” means the Commodity Futures Trading Commission of the United States;

“Contract” has the meaning ascribed to that term in subsection 1(1) of the CFA;

“Foreign Contract” means a Contract that is primarily traded on one or more organized exchanges that are located outside of Canada and primarily cleared through one or more clearing corporations that are located outside of Canada;

“International Adviser Exemption” means the exemption set out in section 8.26 of NI 31-103 from the OSA Adviser Registration Requirement;

“NFA” means the National Futures Association of the United States;

“NI 31-103” means National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations, as amended from time to time;

“OSA” means the Securities Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.5, as amended from time to time;

“OSA Adviser Registration Requirement” means the provisions of section 25 of the OSA that prohibit a person or company from acting as an adviser with respect to investing in, buying or selling securities unless the person or company is registered in the appropriate category of registration under the OSA;

“Permitted Client” means a client in Ontario that is a “permitted client”, as that term is defined in section 1.1 of NI 31-103, except that for purposes of this Order such definition shall exclude a person or company registered as an adviser or dealer under the securities or derivatives legislation, including commodity futures legislation, of a jurisdiction of Canada;

“SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission of the United States;

“specified affiliate” has the meaning ascribed to that term in Form 33-109F6 to National Instrument 33-109 Registration Information; and

“United States” means the United States of America

                AND UPON the Applicant having represented to the Commission that:

1.             The Applicant is a company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware, United States. Its principal place of business is located in New Jersey, U.S.A.

2.             The Applicant engages in the business of an adviser with respect to securities and with respect to Contracts in the United States. The Applicant provides investment management services on a fully discretionary basis to its clients through funds and separately managed accounts across multiple strategies and financial instruments including Foreign Contracts.

3.             The Applicant is currently (a) registered with the SEC as an investment adviser; (b) registered with the CFTC as a commodity trading advisor and commodity pool operator; and (c) a member of the NFA.

4.             The Applicant is not registered in any capacity under the CFA or the OSA, however it is currently availing itself of the International Adviser Exemption in each of Ontario, Alberta, British Columba, Nova Scotia and Québec.

5.             The Applicant is not in default of securities legislation, commodity futures legislation or derivatives legislation of any jurisdiction in Canada. The Applicant is in compliance in all material respects with securities laws, commodity futures laws and derivatives laws of the United States.

6.             In Ontario, certain institutional investors that are Permitted Clients seek to engage the Applicant as a discretionary investment manager for purposes of implementing certain specialized investment strategies.

7.             The Applicant seeks to act as a discretionary commodity futures advisory manager for Canadian institutional investors that are Permitted Clients. The Applicant’s advisory services to Permitted Clients would primarily include the use of specialized investment strategies employing Foreign Contracts.

8.             Were the proposed advisory services limited to securities (as defined in subsection 1(1) of the OSA) the Applicant would be able to rely on the International Adviser Exemption and carry out such activities for Permitted Clients on a basis that would be exempt from the OSA Adviser Registration Requirement.

9.             There is currently no exemption from the CFA Adviser Registration Requirement that is equivalent to the International Adviser Exemption. Consequently, in order to advise Permitted Clients as to trading in Foreign Contracts, in the absence of this Order, the Applicant would be required to satisfy the CFA Adviser Registration Requirement by applying for and obtaining registration in Ontario as an adviser under the CFA in the category of commodity trading manager.

10.          To the best of the Applicant’s knowledge, the Applicant confirms that there are currently no regulatory actions of the type contemplated by the Notice of Regulatory Action attached as Appendix “B”, except as otherwise disclosed to the Commission.

                AND UPON being satisfied that it would not be prejudicial to the public interest for the Commission to make this Order;

                IT IS ORDERED, pursuant to section 80 of the CFA, that the Applicant and the Representatives are exempt from the adviser registration requirement in paragraph 22(1)(b) of the CFA in respect of providing advice to Permitted Clients as to the trading of Foreign Contracts provided that:

(a)           the Applicant provides advice to Permitted Clients only as to trading in Foreign Contracts and does not advise any Permitted Client as to trading in Contracts that are not Foreign Contracts, unless providing such advice is incidental to its providing advice on Foreign Contracts;

(b)           the Applicant’s head office or principal place of business remains in the United States;

(c)           the Applicant is registered in a category of registration, or operates under an exemption from registration, under the applicable securities or commodity futures legislation of the United States that permits it to carry on the activities in the United States that registration under the CFA as an adviser in the category of commodity trading manager would permit it to carry on in Ontario;

(d)           the Applicant continues to engage in the business of an adviser (as defined in the CFA) in the United States;

(e)           as at the end of the Applicant's most recently completed financial year, not more than 10% of the aggregate consolidated gross revenue of the Applicant, its affiliates and its affiliated partnerships (excluding the gross revenue of an affiliate or affiliated partnership of the Applicant if the affiliate or affiliated partnership is registered under securities legislation, commodity futures legislation or derivatives legislation of a jurisdiction of Canada) was derived from the portfolio management activities of the Applicant, its affiliates and its affiliated partnerships in Canada (which, for greater certainty, includes both securities-related and commodity-futures-related activities);

(f)            before advising a Permitted Client with respect to Foreign Contracts, the Applicant notifies the Permitted Client of all of the following:

(i)            the Applicant is not registered in Ontario to provide the advice described in paragraph (a) of this Order;

(ii)           the foreign jurisdiction in which the Applicant’s head office or principal place of business is located;

(iii)           all or substantially all of the Applicant’s assets may be situated outside of Canada;

(iv)          there may be difficulty enforcing legal rights against the Applicant because of the above; and

(v)           the name and address of the Applicant’s agent for service of process in Ontario;

(g)           if the Applicant is not registered under the OSA and does not rely on the International Adviser Exemption, the Applicant has submitted to the Commission a completed Submission to Jurisdiction and Appointment of Agent for Service in the form attached as Appendix “A”;

(h)           the Applicant notifies the Commission of any regulatory action initiated after the date of this Order with respect to the Applicant or, to the best of the Applicant’s knowledge after reasonable inquiry, any predecessors or the specified affiliates of the Applicant by completing and filing Appendix “B” within 10 days of the commencement of each such action, provided that the Applicant may also satisfy this condition by filing with the Commission,

(i)            within 10 days of the date of this Order, a notice making reference to and incorporating by reference the disclosure made by the Applicant pursuant to federal securities laws of the United States that is identified on the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website, and

(ii)           promptly, a notification of any Form ADV amendment and/or filing with the SEC that relates to legal and/or regulatory actions; and

(i)            if the Applicant is not subject to the requirement to pay a participation fee in Ontario because it is not registered under the OSA and does not rely on the International Adviser Exemption, by December 31st of each year, the Applicant pays a participation fee based on its specified Ontario revenues for its previous financial year in compliance with the requirements of Part 3 and section 6.4 of Ontario Securities Commission Rule 13-502 Fees as if the Applicant relied on the International Adviser Exemption; and

                IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that this Order will terminate on the earliest of:

(a)           the expiry of any transition period as may be provided by law, after the effective date of the repeal of the CFA;

(b)           six months, or such other transition period as may be provided by law, after the coming into force of any amendment to Ontario commodity futures law (as defined in the CFA) or Ontario securities law (as defined in the OSA) that affects the ability of the Applicant to act as an adviser to a Permitted Client; and

(c)           five years after the date of this Order.

Dated at Toronto, Ontario, this 21st day of December 2018.

”Deborah Leckman”
Commissioner
Ontario Securities Commission

“Robert.P.Hutchison”
Commissioner
Ontario Securities Commission

APPENDIX “A”

SUBMISSION TO JURISDICTION AND APPOINTMENT OF AGENT FOR SERVICE

INTERNATIONAL DEALER OR INTERNATIONAL ADVISER EXEMPTED FROM REGISTRATION UNDER THE COMMODITY FUTURES ACT (ONTARIO)

1.             Name of person or company (“International Firm”):

2.             If the International Firm was previously assigned an NRD number as a registered firm or an unregistered exempt international firm, provide the NRD number of the firm:

3.             Jurisdiction of incorporation of the International Firm:

4.             Head office address of the International Firm:

5.             The name, e-mail address, phone number and fax number of the International Firm's individual(s) responsible for the supervisory procedure of the International Firm, its chief compliance officer, or equivalent.

Name:
E-mail address:
Phone:
Fax:

6.             The International Firm is relying on an exemption order under section 38 or section 80 of the Commodity Futures Act (Ontario) that is similar to the following exemption in National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations (the “Relief Order”):

[] Section 8.18 [international dealer]

[] Section 8.26 [international adviser]

[] Other [specify]:

7.             Name of agent for service of process (the “Agent for Service”):

8.             Address for service of process on the Agent for Service:

9.             The International Firm designates and appoints the Agent for Service at the address stated above as its agent upon whom may be served a notice, pleading, subpoena, summons or other process in any action, investigation or administrative, criminal, quasi-criminal or other proceeding (a “Proceeding”) arising out of or relating to or concerning the International Firm's activities in the local jurisdiction and irrevocably waives any right to raise as a defence in any such proceeding any alleged lack of jurisdiction to bring such Proceeding.

10.          The International Firm irrevocably and unconditionally submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the judicial, quasi-judicial and administrative tribunals of the local jurisdiction in any Proceeding arising out of or related to or concerning the International Firm's activities in the local jurisdiction.

11.          Until 6 years after the International Firm ceases to rely on the Relief Order, the International Firm must submit to the regulator

a.             a new Submission to Jurisdiction and Appointment of Agent for Service in this form no later than the 30th day before the date this Submission to Jurisdiction and Appointment of Agent for Service is terminated;

b.             an amended Submission to Jurisdiction and Appointment of Agent for Service no later than the 30th day before any change in the name or above address of the Agent for Service; and.

c.             a notice detailing a change to any information submitted in this form, other than the name or above address of the Agent for Service, no later than the 30th day after the change.

12.          This Submission to Jurisdiction and Appointment of Agent for Service is governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the local jurisdiction.

Dated: ____________________

_____________________________________________________________
(Signature of the International Firm or authorized signatory)

_____________________________________________________________
(Name of signatory)

_____________________________________________________________
(Title of signatory)

Acceptance

The undersigned accepts the appointment as Agent for Service of ____________________ [Insert name of International Firm] under the terms and conditions of the foregoing Submission to Jurisdiction and Appointment of Agent for Service.

Dated: ____________________

_____________________________________________________________
(Signature of the Agent for Service or authorized signatory)

 _____________________________________________________________
(Name of signatory)

_____________________________________________________________
(Title of signatory)

This form, and notice of a change to any information submitted in this form, is to be submitted through the Ontario Securities Commission’s Electronic Filing Portal:

https://www.osc.gov.on.ca/filings

APPENDIX B

NOTICE OF REGULATORY ACTION¹

1.             Has the firm, or any predecessors or specified affiliates of the firm entered into a settlement agreement with any financial services regulator, securities or derivatives exchange, SRO or similar agreement with any financial services regulator, securities or derivatives exchange, SRO or similar organization?

Yes _____ No _____

If yes, provide the following information for each settlement agreement:

2.             Has any financial services regulator, securities or derivatives exchange, SRO or similar organization:

If yes, provide the following information for each action:

3.             Is the firm aware of any ongoing investigation of which the firm or any of its specified affiliates is the subject?

Yes _____ No _____

If yes, provide the following information for each investigation:

Witness

The witness must be a lawyer, notary public or commissioner of oaths.

This form is to be submitted through the Ontario Securities Commission’s Electronic Filing Portal:

https://www.osc.gov.on.ca/filings