Canadian Securities Regulators Adopt Amendments to Improve Scholarship Plan Disclosure for Investors

Toronto – The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) announced today the adoption of amendments to National Instrument 41-101 General Prospectus Requirements and Form 41-101F2 Information Required in an Investment Fund Prospectus, which are designed to provide investors with enhanced disclosure about scholarship plans.

The adopted amendments represent an important step in modernizing the regulation of scholarship plans by introducing Form 41-101F3 Information Required in a Scholarship Plan Prospectus, a new prospectus form that is tailored to the unique features of scholarship plans.

Central to the new form is the Plan Summary, a short, concise document that provides investors with key information in a simple, accessible and comparable format. The Plan Summary is in plain language and provides important information about the potential risks and costs of investing in a scholarship plan.

“Saving for a child’s education is an important step in investment planning and these materials are aimed at providing families with information in an easy-to-understand format in order to help them make an informed investment decision,” said Bill Rice, Chair of the CSA and Chair and CEO of the Alberta Securities Commission.

A copy of the Notice and related materials can be found on the websites of CSA members. In some jurisdictions, ministerial approvals are required to implement the amendments. If all such approvals are obtained, the amendments will come into force on May 31, 2013.

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