Toronto – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) today published for comment proposed amendments to NI 81-101 Mutual Fund Prospectus Disclosure, which will allow delivery of the Fund Facts document to satisfy the current prospectus delivery requirements. Under current securities legislation, a prospectus must be delivered to an investor within two days of buying a mutual fund.

The amendments represent Stage 2 of the CSA’s implementation of the point of sale disclosure initiative for mutual funds, which is intended to provide investors with more meaningful and effective disclosure.

Central to this initiative is the Fund Facts document. It is in plain language, no more than two pages double-sided and highlights key information about a mutual fund that is important to investors. As of July 8, 2011, a Fund Facts document for each class or series of a mutual fund must be filed with the CSA and made available upon request and on the mutual fund’s or mutual fund manager’s website.

“The Fund Facts is a short, easy-to-read document that sets out the key features of a mutual fund,” said Bill Rice, Chair of the CSA and Chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission. “The CSA’s proposals will make sure that the Fund Facts gets into the hands of investors in a timely fashion to allow them to better understand what they have purchased.” 

No changes have been made to a mutual fund’s obligation to file its prospectus with the CSA, to make it available to investors on a website, or to deliver the prospectus free of charge to investors upon request..

The proposed amendments are expected to be adopted in each Canadian jurisdiction. Some jurisdictions require legislative amendments in order to implement the proposals. The comment period is open until November 10, 2011.

The CSA, the council of the securities regulators of Canada’s provinces and territories, co-ordinates and harmonizes regulation for the Canadian capital markets.

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