2023-04-20
Canadian securities regulators amended Policy Statement 31-103 to clarify investment fund managers' duty to provide accurate fund expense information to dealers and advisers for client reporting. The updates establish detailed methodologies for calculating daily fund expenses and permit the use of reasonable approximations when exact data is unavailable or disproportionately costly. Additionally, the amendments refine annual reporting requirements for registered firms regarding client charges and compensation, including specific guidance for foreign investment funds and newly-established funds.
AMENDMENTS TO POLICY STATEMENT TO REGULATION 31-103 RESPECTING REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS, EXEMPTIONS AND ONGOING REGISTRANT OBLIGATIONS
2 Use of approximations Subsection 14.1.2(2) allows for the use of approximations where they would not result in misleading information being reported by registered dealers or advisers to their clients. This recognizes that there can be circumstances in which it would not be possible to arrive at exact information at a reasonable cost and without unreasonable delay, and that in some cases, there may not be material differences between exact information and a reasonable approximation. Investment fund managers must exercise their professional judgment in determining what approximations are reasonable. We would generally expect it to be reasonable for an investment fund manager to rely on information in an investment fund’s most recently published fund facts document or management report of fund performance for these purposes. Exceptions would include, for example, cases where there had been a significant change in the information since its publication or if it was published more than twelve months ago. Paragraph 14.1.2(2)(a) allows investment fund managers to use a reasonable approximation of the fund expense ratio or market value factors used in the formula in subsection 14.1.2(1). For example, investment fund managers may approximate the fund expense ratio for the day of a class or series of an investment fund by dividing the annual fund expense ratio of the investment fund as disclosed in the investment fund’s latest management report of fund performance by the number of days in the year, when doing so would result in a reasonable approximation of the fund expense ratio for the day. Paragraph 14.1.2(2)(b) allows investment fund managers to provide a reasonable approximation of the fund expenses, direct investment fund charges or fund expense ratio of a class or series of an investment fund. We would expect this provision to be used where exact information cannot be provided by the investment fund manager at a reasonable cost. An example of an unreasonable approximation would be one that systematically and materially underestimates the amount of fees or expenses required to be reported to clients. Notification regarding use of approximations When using or providing a reasonable approximation under paragraphs 14.1.2(2)(a) or 14.1.2(2)(b), investment fund managers must communicate to the registered firm that an assumption or approximation was used so that the registered firm can comply with its obligation under paragraph 14.17(1)(r). Newly-established investment funds As specified by section 14.1.2(3), investment fund managers are not required to provide information concerning the fund expenses and fund expense ratio of newly-established investment funds. However, we encourage investment fund managers of newly-established funds to provide such information about those funds, if available to them. Where exact information is not available, we encourage them to provide a reasonable approximation based on the fund’s management fee disclosed in its prospectus or Fund Facts, taking into account the anticipated operating expenses and trading costs of the fund.”. 2. Section 14.17 of the Policy Statement is amended: (1) by replacing the first paragraph by the following:
3 “Each registered firm must provide its clients with an annual report on the firm’s charges and other compensation received by the firm in connection with a client’s investments, as well as information about the ongoing costs related to investment funds owned by the client. “Examples of operating charges and transaction charges are provided in the discussion of the disclosure of charges and other compensation in section 14.2 of this Policy Statement. The annual report must include information about all of the firm’s current operating charges that might be applicable to a client’s account. A firm is only required to include the charges for those of its services that it would reasonably expect the particular client to utilize in the coming 12 months. “The report must include information about the ongoing costs related to investment funds owned by the client at any time during the period covered by the report.”; (2) by inserting, after the first paragraph, the following title: “Debt securities”; (3) by inserting, after the second paragraph, the following title: “Scholarship plan-specific fees”; (4) by inserting, after the third paragraph, the following title: “Payments from third parties”; (5) by inserting, after the fourth paragraph, the following title: “Trailing commissions”; (6) by inserting, after the fifth paragraph, the following: “Fund expenses The total amount of fund expenses required to be reported under paragraph 14.17(1)(i) must be determined using the formula specified in section 14.17(6). The total amount of fund expenses required to be reported under paragraph 14.17(1)(i) must include all amounts required to be aggregated in the fund expense ratio of each investment fund class or series of securities owned by the client during the period covered by the report, after making any necessary adjustments to add performance fees and deduct fee waivers, rebates or absorptions that apply to the securities owned by the client. If a dealer or adviser provides a client with fee waivers, rebates or absorptions, they must be included in the corresponding charges required to be reported under paragraphs 14.17(1)(a) to (f), but must not be included in the information reported under paragraph 14.17(1)(i). In addition to providing the total fund expenses as required under paragraph 14.17(1)(i), registered firms may choose to include a separate line item showing the amount of any performance fees, fee waivers, rebates or absorptions which were added or deducted from the total fund expenses. If doing so, the total amounts required to be reported according to paragraphs 14.17(1)(k) and (l) must nonetheless reflect all of the information prescribed under paragraph 14.17(1)(i). “Fund expense ratio In addition to providing the fund expense ratio for each class or series of securities of each investment fund owned by the client during the period covered by the report, as required under paragraph 14.17(1)(m), registered firms may choose to
4 include a separate line item showing the amount, as a percentage, of any performance fees, fee waivers, rebates or absorptions which are included in the fund expense ratio reported. “Direct investment fund charges Direct investment fund charges are defined in section 1.1 as an amount charged to a client if the client buys, holds, sells or switches units or shares of an investment fund, including any federal, provincial or territorial sales taxes paid on that amount, other than, for greater certainty, an amount included in the investment fund’s fund expenses. The amount of direct investment fund charges reported under paragraph 14.17(1)(j) must exclude amounts required to be reported under paragraphs 14.17(1)(c), (f) or (i), in order to avoid double counting. Examples of direct charges reported under 14.17(1)(j) include switch fees, redemption fees and short-term trading fees. “Reporting information when approximations are used Registered firms should consider the cumulative effect of multiple approximations in assessing their reasonableness and whether their combined use may cause misleading information to be reported to clients, notwithstanding that any one such approximation may be reasonable in itself.”; (7) by replacing the sixth paragraph by the following: “Organization of the annual report on charges and other compensation We encourage registered firms to organize the annual report on charges and other compensation with separate sections showing the charges paid by the client to the firm, other compensation received by the firm in respect of the client’s account, and investment fund company fees, as well as the overall total charges to the client.”; (8) by inserting, after the sixth paragraph, the following title: “Sample report”. 3. The Policy Statement is amended by inserting, after section 14.17, the following: “14.17.1. Reporting of fund expenses and direct investment fund charges Reliance on information provided by investment fund managers Dealers and advisers are required to rely on information provided by registered investment fund managers pursuant to section 14.1.1, outside of the exceptional circumstances contemplated under subsections 14.17.1(2) or (3). We expect dealers and advisers to exercise their professional judgment in determining when there are such exceptional circumstances. We do not expect dealers and advisers to routinely undertake a due diligence review of the information provided to them by investment fund managers, outside of those exceptional circumstances. Examples of the exceptional circumstances contemplated in subsection 14.17(2) and (3) include the following cases: ● an investment fund manager does not comply with section 14.1.1 for any reason, ● there is no registered investment fund manager, ● relevant information is not required to be provided for a fund (for example, as in the case of certain non-Canadian investment funds), or ● the registered firm has information that causes the firm to reasonably believe that the information delivered to clients would be misleading.
5 Information from other sources We expect registered firms to use their professional judgement in determining what other means of obtaining or determining necessary information would be appropriate. Examples of the reasonable efforts we would expect a registered firm to make under section 14.17.1(2)(a) to obtain or determine the information required by the firm for the purposes of complying with paragraphs 14.17(1)(i), (j), (m), (p) may include, taking into account considerations of cost and materiality: ● relying on information in the investment fund’s disclosure documents, including those prepared according to the reporting requirements applicable in a foreign jurisdiction, ● requesting that the information be provided in writing by the investment fund or investment fund manager, or ● relying on information reported by a reliable third-party service provider. Use of approximations We expect registered firms to rely on their professional judgement when obtaining or determining a reasonable approximation under paragraph 14.17.1(2)(a). An example of when the use of a reasonable approximation may be appropriate is where information was obtained or determined based on information from other sources, as discussed immediately above. Foreign investment funds In the case of information required to be reported under paragraphs 14.17(1)(i), (j) or (m) for a foreign investment fund, we believe it would generally be acceptable for registrants to report a reasonable approximation based on similar information which is required to be reported in the foreign fund’s jurisdiction, if more accurate information cannot be obtained by other means using reasonable efforts. For example, we believe that the following could generally be considered a reasonable approximation of a foreign fund’s fund expense ratio: ● for a US mutual fund, its total expense ratio; ● for a fund to which the Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) framework applies, its ongoing charges. Paragraph 14.17(1)(t) requires client reports to include a notification that information reported regarding such funds may not be directly comparable to equivalent information for Canadian investment funds, which may include different types of fees. Fund expenses calculation Registered dealers and advisers must use the formula in section 14.1.2 if section 14.17.1(2) applies, including where an investment fund manager has not provided the necessary information to them.”. 3. Appendix D of the Policy Statement is replaced by the following:
6 « Appendix D Sample annual cost and compensation report Dealer ABC Inc.
Your Account Number: 123-4567 Your Cost of Investing and Our Compensation This report shows for 2023 • your cost of investing, including what you paid to us and to investment fund companies • our compensation Your Cost of Investing Costs reduce your profits and increase your losses Your total cost of investing was $815 last year What you paid Our charges: Amounts that you paid to us by withdrawals from your account or by other means such as cheques or transfers from your bank. Account administration and operating fees – you pay these fees to us each year $100.00 Trading fees – you pay these fees to us when you buy or sell some investments $20.00 Total you paid to us $120.00 Investment fund company fees: Amounts you paid to investment fund companies that operate the investment funds (e.g., mutual funds) in your account, and in investment fund related fees. Fund Expenses1 - See the fund expenses % shown in the table below $645.00 Redemption fees on deferred sales charge (DSC) investments2 $50.00 Total you paid to investment fund companies $695.00 Your total cost of investing3 $815.00
7 Our Compensation What we received
8 Fund Expense Ratio for Investment Funds You Owned During the Year1 On December 31, 2023 Portfolio Assets Description Fund Expense Ratio2 Canadian Investment Funds ABC Management Monthly Income Fund, Series A FE 1.00% ABC Management Canadian Equity, Series A FE 2.00% ABC Management Global Equity, Series A N/A 3 Foreign Investment Funds XYZ Management S&P 500 ETF (U.S. fund) 0.03%4 Weighted Average 1.64%