Are You a Qualified Investor?
Units of the Funds are offered to qualified investors resident in the provinces and territories of Canada (the “Offering Jurisdictions”) pursuant to applicable exemptions from the prospectus requirements of the securities laws in the Offering Jurisdictions. Qualified investors must rely on one of the following exemptions available to purchase units of the funds:
1. ACCREDITED INVESTOR EXEMPTION:
The Funds will accept subscriptions from investors who meet the criteria to be considered an “accredited investor” under NI 45-106 (the “Accredited Investor Exemption”). If you meet the definition of an “accredited investor”, you may invest a minimum of $25,000.
Under NI 45-106, ‘Accredited investor’ means:
(a) except in Ontario, a Canadian financial institution, or a Schedule III bank,
(b) except in Ontario, the Business Development Bank of Canada incorporated under the Business Development Bank of Canada Act (Canada),
(c) except in Ontario, a subsidiary of any person referred to in paragraphs (a) or (b), if the person owns all of the voting securities of the subsidiary, except the voting securities required by law to be owned by directors of that subsidiary,
(d) except in Ontario, a person registered under the securities legislation of a jurisdiction of Canada as an adviser or dealer,
(e) an individual registered under the securities legislation of a jurisdiction of Canada as a representative of a person referred to in paragraph (d),
(e.1) an individual formerly registered under the securities legislation of a jurisdiction of Canada, other than an individual formerly registered solely as a representative of a limited market dealer under one or both of the Securities Act (Ontario) or the Securities Act (Newfoundland and Labrador),
(f) except in Ontario, the Government of Canada or a jurisdiction of Canada, or any crown corporation, agency or wholly owned entity of the Government of Canada or a jurisdiction of Canada,
(g) except in Ontario, a municipality, public board or commission in Canada and a metropolitan community, school board, the Comit’de gestion de la taxe scolaire de’le de Montreal or an intermunicipal management board in Quebec,
(h) except in Ontario, any national, federal, state, provincial, territorial or municipal government of or in any foreign jurisdiction, or any agency of that government,
(i) except in Ontario, a pension fund that is regulated by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Canada), a pension commission or similar regulatory authority of a jurisdiction of Canada,
(j) an individual who, either alone or with a spouse, beneficially owns financial assets* having an aggregate realizable value that, before taxes but net of any related liabilities, exceeds $1,000,000, (j.1) an individual who beneficially owns financial assets* having an aggregate realizable value that, before taxes but net of any related liabilities, exceeds $5,000,000,
(k) an individual whose net income before taxes exceeded $200,000 in each of the 2 most recent calendar years or whose net income before taxes combined with that of a spouse exceeded $300 000 in each of the 2 most recent calendar years and who, in either case, reasonably expects to exceed that net income level in the current calendar year,
(l) an individual who, either alone or with a spouse, has net assets of at least $5,000,000,
(m) a person, other than an individual or investment fund, that has net assets of at least $5,000,000 as shown on its most recently prepared financial statements,
(n) an investment fund that distributes or has distributed its securities only to a person that is or was an accredited investor at the time of the distribution, a person that acquires or acquired securities in the circumstances referred to in sections 2.10 [Minimum amount investment], or 2.19 [Additional investment in investment funds], or a person described in paragraph (i) or (ii) that acquires or acquired securities under section 2.18 [Investment fund reinvestment],
(o) an investment fund that distributes or has distributed securities under a prospectus in a jurisdiction of Canada for which the regulator or, in Quebec, the securities regulatory authority, has issued a receipt,
(p) a trust company or trust corporation registered or authorized to carry on business under the Trust and Loan Companies Act (Canada) or under comparable legislation in a jurisdiction of Canada or a foreign jurisdiction, acting on behalf of a fully managed account managed by the trust company or trust corporation, as the case may be,
(q) a person acting on behalf of a fully managed account managed by that person, if that person is registered or authorized to carry on business as an adviser or the equivalent under the securities legislation of a jurisdiction of Canada or a foreign jurisdiction,
(r) a registered charity under the Income Tax Act (Canada) that, in regard to the trade, has obtained advice from an eligibility adviser or an adviser registered under the securities legislation of the jurisdiction of the registered charity to give advice on the securities being traded,
(s) an entity organized in a foreign jurisdiction that is analogous to any of the entities referred to in paragraphs (a) to (d) or paragraph (i) in form and function,
(t) a person in respect of which all of the owners of interests, direct, indirect or beneficial, except the voting securities required by law to be owned by directors, are persons that are accredited investors,
(u) an investment fund that is advised by a person registered as an adviser or a person that is exempt from registration as an adviser,
(v) a person that is recognized or designated by the securities regulatory authority or, except in Ontario and Quebec, the regulator as an accredited investor, or
(w) a trust established by an accredited investor for the benefit of the accredited investor’s family members of which a majority of the trustees are accredited investors and all of the beneficiaries are the accredited investor’s spouse, a former spouse of the accredited investor or a parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild of that accredited investor, of that accredited investor’s spouse or of that accredited investor’s former spouse.
*Financial assets mean (i) cash, (ii) securities, or (iii) a contract of insurance, deposit or an evidence of a deposit that is not a security for the purposes of securities legislation. The value of an investor’s personal residence or other real estate is not included in the calculation of financial assets. By comparison, net assets mean all of the investor’s assets, minus all of his or her liabilities, and so could include an investor’s personal residence and other real estate. For more guidance, please refer to section 3.5 of the Companion Policy to NI 45-106.
2. OFFERING MEMORANDUM EXEMPTION:
For residents in British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, purchasing Units pursuant to the offering memorandum exemption under NI 45-106 (the “Offering Memorandum Exemption”), there is no regulatory minimum investment amount required but the Manager has established a minimum initial investment of $25,000.
3. MINIMUM AMOUNT EXEMPTION:
Other than in connection with the Accredited Investor Exemption and the Offering Memorandum Exemption, the minimum investment in the Fund for a non-individual resident in the Offering Jurisdictions is subject to meeting the $150,000 minimum amount investment threshold under NI 45-106 (the “Minimum Amount Exemption”).
