The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) have published for comment a series of proposed amendments aimed at modernizing the continuous disclosure regime for investment funds.
These proposals are designed to provide investors with more focused and valuable disclosure while reducing the regulatory burden on investment fund managers.
The CSA proposes to replace the existing annual and interim Management Report of Fund Performance (MRFP) with a new annual and interim Fund Report.
The proposed Fund Report was developed using behavioural insights research, which provides information on how people think, behave and make decisions.
This included carrying out rigorous investor testing aimed at comparing the effectiveness of several alternative proposed versions of the Fund Report against a sample MRFP.
“These amendments reflect our commitment to ensuring that investors have access to disclosure that includes appropriate information that is more likely to be read and understood and is easier to apply when making investment decisions,” said Stan Magidson, CSA Chair and Chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission.
“By streamlining disclosure requirements, we aim to reduce the regulatory burden on investment fund managers while enhancing the overall quality of information available to investors.”
Two other continuous disclosure-related proposals being made are to:
- Provide exemptions from certain conflict of interest reporting requirements in securities legislation if other similar requirements are satisfied.
- Eliminate some required class- or series-level disclosures from investment fund financial statements that are not required by International Financial Reporting Standards.
The CSA is also making two additional proposals to:
- Reference the term Fund Expense Ratio (FER), which combines the management expense ratio and the trading expense ratio of an investment fund, in the Fund Facts and the ETF Facts.
- Make minor editorial and other revisions to the simplified prospectus form (SP Form).
The CSA invites comments on these proposals, which can be found on CSA members’ websites. The 120-day comment period closes on January 17, 2025.
The investor testing report that outlines the results of the behavioural insights research is being published separately and can be accessed on the CSA Secretariat’s website and the websites of some CSA members.
The British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) is not publishing the proposed amendments for comment at this time. BCSC Staff anticipate doing so following the British Columbia provincial general election.
The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.
Source: CSA
