Investment fund survey

The OSC has a mandate to (i) protect investors, (ii) foster fair, efficient and competitive capital markets and confidence in capital markets, (iii) foster capital formation, and (iv) contribute to the stability of the financial system and reduce systemic risk. Given the importance of investment funds for Ontario’s investors and capital markets, the resilience of the investment fund industry is critical, particularly at times of financial and economic crises. As such, it is important for OSC staff to maintain close regulatory oversight of the industry. Access to data on investment funds will allow staff to monitor the health of the industry in a proactive manner.

The OSC also collaborates on its monitoring activities with other regulatory bodies with a shared interest in promoting financial stability. Domestically, the OSC is part of the Heads of Agencies which provides a forum for federal and provincial bodies to discuss financial sector issues. Globally, the OSC is a member jurisdiction of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and coordinates information sharing with organizations such as the Financial Stability Board (FSB).

The information provided in the Investment Fund Survey will allow for the development of a risk identification framework to deliver on the OSC’s mandate. In addition, the data gathered will allow for comprehensive and meaningful information sharing and interactions with regulatory partners, both domestically and internationally. 

The Investment Fund Manager Form

All investment funds managers registered in Ontario are requested to complete the Investment Fund Manager Form, which has been circulated to investment fund managers directly via email. The Investment Fund Manager Form collects high-level profile information about the manager. If you are a registered investment fund manager and your firm did not receive the Investment Fund Manager Form, please email [email protected].

The deadline for completing the Investment Fund Manager Form is January 30, 2023.

The Investment Fund Spreadsheet

Investment fund managers are also asked to complete the Investment Fund Spreadsheet for investment funds with net asset values of at least $10 million as of December 31, 2022 in addition to the Investment Fund Manager Form. Once completed, the Investment Fund Spreadsheet should be submitted via email to [email protected]. 

The deadline for submitting the Investment Fund Manager Spreadsheet is April 28, 2023.

This survey covers all investment funds, including prospectus-exempt and prospectus-qualified investment funds, that have net asset values of at least $10 million as of December 31, 2022. Information for these funds should be reported in the Investment Fund Spreadsheet.

Investment funds can include a range of products, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, hedge funds, pooled funds, flow-through LPs, etc.

This survey does not include labour sponsored investment funds or scholarship plans.

Some of the key changes to the Investment Fund Spreadsheet for this year include the following:

• Fund dollar amounts can now be reported in either CAD or USD
• Investment fund manager (IFM) legal entity identifiers (LEI) and IFM domicile questions will be transferred from the IFM form to the IFS spreadsheet
• SEDAR number field added for Prospectus funds only
• Portfolio allocation methodology field added to indicate whether ETFs utilize an index-tracking, rules-based, enhanced (index or rules-based with options or leverage) or discretionary (actively managed) approach to investment strategy (ETF only)
• Traded on exchange field added to report funds with at least one series that is traded on exchange (Yes/No) including ETFs, Closed-end funds, Split share corps, and Mutual funds with an ETF series

Historical Investment Fund Survey spreadsheets used to collect data can be found below:

• 2023 Investment Fund Survey spreadsheet- Do not use
• 2022 Investment Fund Survey spreadsheet- Do not use
• 2021 Investment Fund Survey spreadsheet- Do not use

The OSC continues to explore, strategize and execute on streamlined and efficient data collection and usage. Our goal is to minimize duplicate requests by taking advantage of data sets already made available to us through various channels to the greatest extent possible, gain maximum insights from available datasets, build internal efficiencies and synergies as they relate to data requests, reporting and insight generation, and streamline data collection through various modern capabilities. We will continue to build capabilities around this within the OSC, which we believe will result in reduced burden and a better experience around this process for our participants going forward.

The introduction of the Digital Solutions branch is one step forward towards the digital transformation of the OSC. By working closely with the Digital Solutions branch, we intend to modernize our business and data collection platforms and processes across the OSC to align with the strategic plans noted above.

To further the OSC’s mandate of contributing to financial stability and reducing systemic risk, data from the Investment Fund Survey may be shared confidentially with other regulatory agencies, such as the Bank of Canada and other Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) jurisdictions, pursuant to existing MOUs and applicable law. In addition, the results of the Investment Fund Survey are published annually in order to promote greater transparency in a manner that protects IFM confidentiality.

More information on the Investment Fund Survey is also available in OSC Staff Notice 81-732 Investment Fund Survey.

If you have any questions, concerns or suggested improvements, please contact: [email protected].