BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. and the Investment Fund Managers Listed in Schedule A

Headnote

National Policy 11-203 Process for Exemptive Relief Applications in Multiple Jurisdictions -- Relief granted from the Securities Act to permit dealers to send the Fund Facts instead of the simplified prospectus to satisfy current prospectus delivery requirements subject to conditions -- the right of withdrawal and right of rescission under securities legislation apply to the sending and delivery of the Fund Facts -- sunset clause on relief.

Applicable Legislative Provisions

Securities Act (Ontario), ss. 71, 147.

[Translation]

October 11, 2011

IN THE MATTER OF

THE SECURITIES LEGISLATION OF

QUÉBEC AND ONTARIO

AND

IN THE MATTER OF

THE PROCESS FOR EXEMPTIVE RELIEF

APPLICATIONS IN MULTIPLE JURISDICTIONS

AND

IN THE MATTER OF

THE INVESTMENT FUND MANAGERS

LISTED IN SCHEDULE A

(the Filers)

AND

IN THE MATTER OF

BMO NESBITT BURNS INC.

(the Representative Dealer)

DECISION

Background

The securities regulatory authority or regulator in each of Québec and Ontario (Decision Maker) has received an application from the Filers for a decision under the securities legislation of Québec and Ontario (the Legislation) for exemptive relief to permit a Dealer (as defined below), including the Representative Dealer to send or deliver the most recently filed fund facts document (Fund Facts) to satisfy the requirement contained in the Legislation that obligates a Dealer to send or deliver, within a specified time period and in a specified manner, the prospectus, and any amendment to the prospectus (the Delivery Requirement), in respect of an order or subscription to purchase securities of a Fund (as defined below) (the Exemption Sought).

Under the Process for Exemptive Relief Applications in Multiple Jurisdictions (for a dual application):

(a) the Autorité des marchés financiers is the principal regulator for this application;

(b) the Filers have provided notice that subsection 4.7(1) of Regulation 11-102 respecting Passport System (Regulation 11-102) is intended to be relied upon in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and Yukon (together with Ontario and Québec, the Jurisdictions); and

(c) the decision is the decision of the principal regulator and evidences the decision of the securities regulatory authority or regulator in Ontario.

Interpretation

Terms defined in Regulation 14-101 respecting Definitions and Regulation 11-102 have the same meaning if used in this decision, unless otherwise defined.

Right of Withdrawal means the right, given to a purchaser under the Legislation, to withdraw from a purchase order for a security of a mutual fund if the dealer from which the purchaser purchases the security receives written notice evidencing the intention of the purchaser not to be bound by the purchase order within two days of receipt of the latest prospectus sent or delivered in compliance with the Delivery Requirement. In Québec, this right is provided in section 30 of Securities Act, R.S.Q. c. V-1.1. Collectively, these rights are referred to as the Rights of Withdrawal.

Right of Rescission means the right of action, under the Legislation, for rescission or damages against a dealer, for failure of the dealer to send or deliver the prospectus to a purchaser of a security to whom a prospectus was required to be sent or delivered, but was not sent or delivered in compliance with the Delivery Requirement. In Québec, as provided in section 214 of Securities Act, R.S.Q. c. V-1.1, such a purchaser may apply to have the transaction rescinded or the price revised, at the purchaser's option, without prejudice to the purchaser's claim for damages. Collectively, these rights are referred to as the Rights of Rescission.

Representations

This decision is based on the following facts represented by the Filers:

1. Each of the Filers is registered as an investment fund manager in one or more of the Jurisdictions.

2. The head office of each Filer is located in Québec.

3. Securities of each of the existing mutual funds and any future mutual funds managed by the Filers to which the Exemption Sought relates (each, a Fund and collectively, the Funds) is, or will be, offered for sale on a continuous basis in one or more Jurisdictions pursuant to a simplified prospectus (a Prospectus) governed by Regulation 81-101 respecting Mutual Fund Prospectus Disclosure (Regulation 81-101).

4. Each Fund is, or will be, a reporting issuer in one or more of the Jurisdictions.

5. Securities of the Funds are, or will be, distributed through dealers which may or may not be affiliated with the Filer (individually, each dealer that distributes securities of a Fund managed by a Filer is a Dealer and collectively, the Dealers).

6. Each Dealer is, or will be, registered as a dealer in one or more of the Jurisdictions. Most of the Dealers are, or will be, members of either (i) the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada or (ii) the Mutual Fund Dealers Association of Canada, or their successors.

7. Securities of the existing Funds may be purchased through BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc. (the Representative Dealer), other than securities of certain Funds of a Filer and/or certain classes or series of the Funds which are distributed exclusively through a Filer in reliance upon its dealer registration, through a Dealer affiliated with a Filer, through a Dealer that is affiliated with the purchaser, or through an affiliate of a Filer that is a financial institution distributing securities in reliance upon an exemption from dealer registration.

8. Each of the Filers and the Funds is not in default of securities legislation in any of the Jurisdictions.

9. Each dealer has an obligation to send or deliver the Prospectus to a purchaser of a security of a Fund within the time period specified in the Legislation.

10. Pursuant to the Canadian Securities Administrators' (the CSA) point of sale disclosure project for mutual funds (the Project), the CSA has determined that it is desirable to create a summary disclosure document called the Fund Facts.

11. CSA Staff Notice 81-319 Status Report on the Implementation of Point of Sale Disclosure for Mutual Funds outlines the CSA's decision to implement the point of sale disclosure framework in stages.

12. Stage 1 of the Project became effective on January 1, 2011 by amending Regulation 81-101 and related regulations mandating a mutual fund to prepare and file a Fund Facts on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) for each relevant class or series of the mutual fund, and having the Fund Facts posted to the mutual fund's or its manager's website and delivered to any person upon request, at no cost.

13. Stage 2 of the Project proposes to allow delivery of the Fund Facts to satisfy the current requirement under the Legislation to send or deliver a prospectus within two days of purchasing mutual fund securities.

14. Further to the publication of the CSA Staff Notice 81-321 Early Use of Fund Facts to Satisfy Prospectus Delivery Requirements on February 25, 2011, each of the Filers decided to apply for the Exemption Sought. The application from the Filers also reflects the proposed regulatory amendments published on August 12, 2011 by the CSA as part of the Stage 2 of the Project.

15. Investors will be able to request a copy of the Prospectus, at no cost, by contacting the applicable Filer or Dealer and will continue to be able to access the Prospectus on the SEDAR website and on the website of the Filer or the Fund (as applicable).

Decision

Each of the Decision Makers is satisfied that the decision meets the test set out in the Legislation for the Decision Maker to make the decision.

The decision of the Decision Makers under the Legislation is that the Exemption Sought is granted provided the conditions set out below are met.

1. Prior to providing the Fund Facts to a Dealer to send or deliver in lieu of the Prospectus, the Filer:

(a) files a Fund Facts for the applicable class or series of securities of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of Regulation 81-101 and in the format prescribed by Form 81-101F3 Contents of Fund Facts Document;

(b) discloses in the Fund Facts for a specific class or series

(i) if management fees, administration fees and/or other fees are payable directly by investors to the Filer in respect of holding securities of that class or series of the mutual fund, the existence of such fees and, in any Fund Facts filed after the date of this decision and no later than the next renewal of the Prospectus for such class or series, the maximum management fees, administration fees and/or other fees that may be charged by the Filer to the investor; and

(ii) any requirement for an investor to participate in a fee-based arrangement with their dealer in order to be eligible to purchase the particular class or series of the mutual fund; and

(c) renews or amends the Prospectus that offers such class or series of the Fund to specify under Item 3 of Part A of Form 81-101F1 Contents of Simplified Prospectus that the Fund Facts is incorporated by reference into the Prospectus.

2. A Fund Facts that is being sent or delivered will not be attached to, or bound with another Fund Facts unless each Fund Facts:

(a) relates to securities of a Fund that have been purchased by the investor; and

(b) is being sent or delivered pursuant to this decision.

3. The Filer, and any Dealer relying on the ability to send or deliver Fund Facts in lieu of the Prospectus for Funds managed by the Filer, grants to an investor purchasing the securities of a Fund a right equivalent to the Rights of Withdrawal upon the sending or delivery of the Fund Facts. The Rights of Withdrawal and the Rights of Rescission will no longer apply if the Fund Facts is sent or delivered to an investor in accordance with the time period and in the manner specified for the Prospectus under the Delivery Requirement.

4. Prior to a Dealer relying on the ability to send or deliver Fund Facts in lieu of the Prospectus for Funds managed by a Filer, the Filer or an agent of the Filer provides to the Dealer:

(a) a copy of this decision;

(b) a disclosure statement informing the Dealer of the implications of this decision; and

(c) an acknowledgment of the matters referred to in paragraph 5 below (the Acknowledgment), to be signed and returned by the Dealer to the Filer or its agent.

5. Prior to a Dealer relying on the ability to send or deliver Fund Facts in lieu of the Prospectus for Funds managed by a Filer, the Dealer returns the Acknowledgement to the Filer or an agent of the Filer:

(a) acknowledging receipt of a copy of this decision;

(b) agreeing to send or deliver the Fund Facts to an investor in lieu of the Prospectus;

(c) confirming that the Dealer will provide a right equivalent to the Rights of Withdrawal attaching to the sending or delivery of the Fund Facts;

(d) acknowledging that, in the event a Fund Facts is not sent or delivered in accordance with this decision, a Prospectus must be sent or delivered and the Rights of Rescission will continue to apply to the failure to send or deliver the Prospectus;

(e) undertaking that the Dealer will only attach or bind one Fund Facts with another Fund Facts if both are being sent or delivered at the same time to an investor pursuant to this decision; and

(f) confirming that the Dealer has in place written policies and procedures to ensure that there is compliance with the conditions of the decision.

6. Investors in the Funds managed by the Filers receive notice in a document other than the Fund Facts, at or before the time they receive the Fund Facts, indicating that they will have equivalent rights and protections otherwise applicable under securities law in their jurisdiction for the sending or delivery of the Fund Facts, which includes wording substantially similar to the following:

The Fund Facts for the securities you purchase is being sent or delivered to you instead of the simplified prospectus. You will continue to have the equivalent rights and protections otherwise applicable under securities law as if you were sent or delivered the simplified prospectus. Depending on your province or territory, you may have the right to:

• withdraw from an agreement to buy securities of mutual funds within two business days after you receive a fund facts document, or

• cancel your purchase within 48 hours after you receive confirmation of the purchase.

For more information, see the securities law of your province or territory or ask a lawyer.

7. The Filer will cause the Funds managed by it to honour any request made by an investor to exercise a right equivalent to the Rights of Withdrawal in respect of an agreement to purchase securities of a Fund managed by the Filer that a Dealer fails to honour, provided such request is made in respect of a validly exercised right.

8. Each Filer or its agent keeps records of the Dealers that have returned to the Filer or its agent signed copies of the Acknowledgement and, on a confidential basis, each Filer or its agent provides the principal regulator for its Funds on a quarterly basis beginning 60 days after the date upon which the Exemption Sought is first relied upon by the Filer and Funds it manages, and upon request, at the discretion of the Filer, either (i) a current list of all such Dealers, or (ii) an update to the list of such Dealers or confirmation that there has been no change to such list.

9. The Exemption Sought terminates the earlier of (a) 6 months from any notice by the CSA that the Exemption Sought may no longer be relied upon; and (b) the coming into force of any legislation or rule relating to the sending or delivery of the Fund Facts to satisfy the Delivery Requirement.

SCHEDULE A

Investment Fund Managers