THE MANITOBA SECURITIES COMMISSION
MSC NOTICE 2010-9
On September 28, 2009, National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements and
Exemptions and amendments to related instruments including National Instrument 33-
109 Registration Information came into force.
The Manitoba Securities Commission has ordered, effective March 27, 2010 pursuant to
Blanket Order 31-505 - Registration Exemption for Trades in Connection with Certain
Prospectus Exempt Distributions, that a person is exempt from the registration
requirement (subject to meeting the conditions of the order) when trading in securities
relying on one or more of the following prospectus exemptions contained in National
Instrument 45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions
- accredited investor (section 2.3)
- family, friends, and business associates (section 2.5)
- offering memorandum (section 2.9)
- minimum investment amount (section 2.10).
The purpose of the Guidance to Blanket Order 31-505 - Registration Exemption for
Trades in Connection with Certain Prospectus-Exempt Distributions is to guide market
participants in understanding when they may rely on Blanket Order 31-505, and
providing information on the expectations of Commission Staff for market participants
who rely on the terms of the order.
THE MANITOBA SECURITIES COMMISSION
MSC NOTICE 2010-9
Guidance to Commission Order No. 6077
Blanket Order 31-505 - Registration Exemption for Trades in Connection with
Certain Prospectus-Exempt Distributions
February 26, 2010
The Commission has ordered that a person is exempt from the dealer registration
requirement when trading in securities in connection with a distribution made in reliance
on one or more of the following prospectus exemptions contained in National Instrument
45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions (NI 45-106):
o
accredited investor (section 2.3),
o
family, friends, and business associates (section 2.5),
o
offering memorandum (section 2.9), and
o
minimum investment amount (section 2.10).
Commission Order No. 6077 grants a registration exemption only effective March 31,
2010. There must also be compliance with the terms of the prospectus exemptions in
National Instrument 45-106 specified out.
The purpose of this Notice is to guide market participants in understanding when they
may rely on the blanket registration exemption, including information on the conditions
upon which the exemption is granted and the Commission’s expectations of market
participants who rely on the exemption.
A market participant that is in the business of trading in securities is required to register
as a dealer. To decide whether you are in the business of trading in securities, see the
discussion in Companion Policy 31-103 Registration Requirements and Exemptions on
this point.
Exemption not available to registered persons
The exemption is not available to a person registered in any jurisdiction, including
foreign jurisdictions. We feel this restriction is necessary to ensure a registrant has the
same obligations to all its clients who purchase, or seek advice on, any type of security.
No suitability advice
A market participant relying on this exemption must not provide advice to the purchaser,
and is restricted to providing factual information about the security and the purchase
agreement. For example, a market participant may tell the purchaser about the features
of the security, the risks of the investment, how the subscription agreement works, and
other items of a general, factual nature.
That same market participant must not give suitability advice to the purchaser. This
means the market participant cannot tell the purchaser that the securities are a good
investment or that the purchaser should, for whatever reason, enter into the purchase
agreement. The market participant must refrain from saying or doing anything that might
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lead the purchaser to think that they should buy the security because it somehow meets
their investment needs or desires. The market participant must refrain from answering
any of the purchaser’s questions that are related to the purchaser’s
o
investment needs and objectives,
o
financial circumstances, or
o
risk tolerance.
To prevent any misunderstanding, a market participant relying on this exemption should
communicate to the purchaser that only a registered dealer or adviser that is permitted
to trade in or advise on these securities can tell the purchaser whether the security is
suitable for the purchaser. If a purchaser persists in asking questions that relate to
suitability, the market participant should reiterate the point.
Market participants relying on this exemption should refrain from using marketing
materials
that
suggest
general
suitability
or
suitability
for
a
particular
kind
or
demographic of purchaser. Marketing materials that are at odds with or contradict the
information in the risk acknowledgement the purchaser reads and signs create genuine
opportunities for confusion. We will take the effect of marketing materials into account
when considering whether this condition for using the exemption has been met.
Risk acknowledgement
The risk acknowledgement signed by the purchaser and obtained by the market
participant must be in the form specified in the exemption order.
The disclosure in this risk acknowledgment describes risks that are particular to the
purchase transaction and the absence of suitability advice, in addition to describing the
general risks inherent in prospectus-exempt securities. The disclosure in this risk
acknowledgement differs from, and is additional to, the disclosure in the risk
acknowledgement required by NI 45-106. When the market participant trading the
security to the purchaser is an agent of the issuer, the agent must ensure that the
purchaser signs both the NI 45-106 risk acknowledgement, if applicable, and this risk
acknowledgement. We note that this risk acknowledgement must be obtained for all
trades
under
this
exemption
(accredited
investor, friends, family, and
business
associates,
and
minimum
investment
amount),
even
if
there
are
no
risk
acknowledgement requirements under the related NI 45-106 prospectus exemption.
It is the market participant’s responsibility to understand the contents of the risk
acknowledgement and to explain the risk acknowledgement in a clear, plain way to the
purchaser. The purchaser should clearly understand, by the end of discussions with the
market participant, that this purchase transaction offers fewer protections than are
available when purchasing other kinds of securities.
No financial services (if applicable)
If a market participant has provided financial services to the purchaser at any time, the
market participant cannot rely on this exemption. When a purchaser has previously
received financial services from a market participant, we think there is an unacceptably
high risk that the purchaser will assume that the market participant is necessarily acting
on behalf of the purchaser’s best interest in any subsequent transactions. A previous
financial relationship thereby induces reliance by the purchaser on the market participant
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and it will be difficult to displace that expectation in order to comply with condition 6(c) of
the exemption order.
Examples of financial services include, but are not limited to, acting in the role of:
o
a financial planner who considers the tax, personal, or financial situation of a
person and then provides that person with advice about how to make financial
plans;
o
an insurance agent who sells an insurance products to a person;
o
a mortgage broker who provides mortgage services to a person.
Financial services provided by a market participant to a purchaser in connection with a
trade
in securities
pursuant to this
exemption
(or
the
predecessor
registration
exemptions in NI 45-106) are specifically excepted from this prohibition and thus do not
disqualify the market participant from relying on this exemption.
No hold or have access to purchaser’s assets
A market participant who holds or has access to a purchaser’s assets cannot rely on this
exemption. Indicia of holding or having access to a purchaser’s assets include, but are
not limited to:
•
holding a purchaser’s securities certificates or cash for any period of time;
•
having authority (e.g. power of attorney) to withdraw funds or securities from a
purchaser’s account;
•
accepting funds from a purchaser directly (e.g. a cheque made payable to the
market participant) or accepting funds on the purchaser’s behalf from a
custodian;
•
acting in the capacity of a trustee for a purchaser;
•
having, in any capacity, legal ownership of, or access to, the purchaser’s funds or
securities.
For the purposes of this condition, we interpret the phrase “hold or have access” as not
including the handling in transit of a purchaser’s cheque made payable to a third party.
Thus, for example, a market participant can normally handle a purchaser’s cheque made
payable to the issuer of the securities being traded pursuant to this exemption. This
would not be the case, however, if the issuer and the market participant have the same
officers in which case we would interpret the market participant as holding or having
access to the purchaser’s assets.
Reporting
A market participant that relies on this exemption must file an information report with the
Commission within 10 days of relying on this exemption. Where a market participant
has previously filed an information report pursuant to this exemption and is subsequently
relying on this exemption to trade in securities, the market participant is required to
update any changes to that previously filed report, within 10 days of relying on this
exemption.
This information report is in addition to the reporting requirements in section 6.1 of NI 45-
106.
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We will use the information collected for research and compliance purposes.
The information on the form can be filed electronically. Go to the Commission’s Web
site at www.msc.gov.mb.ca.
This link will take you to the British Columbia Securities Commission’s E-filing system.
Follow the instructions for completing the information form electronically. The BCSC is
accepting the filing of the information form on our behalf.
Recordkeeping
To
demonstrate
compliance,
market
participants
will
need
to
keep
records
demonstrating that they met the conditions of this exemption when they sold a
prospectus-exempt security. Evidence of the purchaser’s risk acknowledgement should
be kept for a reasonable period of time. In NI 45-106, the equivalent prospectus
exemption risk acknowledgement condition requires that the risk acknowledgement be
kept for 8 years.
The market participant should also retain evidence of communications between the
market participant and the purchaser. This will serve the market participant well from a
compliance standpoint and if a dispute ever arises between the market participant and
the purchaser.
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You are being directed to the most recent version of the statute which may not be the version considered at the time of the judgment.