Private Capital Markets

Neil Carnell Director Broker Products Computershare Trust Company of Canada www.computershare.com Computershare Trust Company of Canada is a federally licensed trust company providing registered product trustee services in all jurisdictions in Canada.

The exempt or private securities market in Canada is flourishing. Estimates put the amount of capital flow facilitated by the Canadian private markets each year at more than $100 billion and growing. The Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) recently published its Corporate Finance Branch 2014-2015 Annual Report, which stated that “in 2013, non-investment fund issuers raised approximately $45 billion through prospectus-exempt distributions in Ontario.” The report also noted that, “non-investment fund issuers raised capital through approximately 27,000 purchases made by Ontario residents in 2013.”

Growth and Regulation in the Private Securities Market

More organizations are diversifying by investing in private equity with the hope of increasing their returns. The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan had private equity investments totalling $21.0 billion at the close of 2014, compared to $14.8 billion the same time the previous year. OMERS, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System, one of Canada’s largest pension plans, reported in 2015 that its private investments returned 9.5% (net).

The growth in the private market is attracting attention – both from investors and from regulators. The “know-your-client” (KYC) and “ know-your-product” (KYP) rules have introduced requirements for transparency and accountability in the market.

Beginning in 2016, exempt market dealers (EMDs)

and advisors will now also need to meet the requirements of the Client Relationship Model - Phase 2 (CRM2) amendments to NI 31-103. These amendments will require them to provide more reporting to their clients, including: an annual report on charges and compensation paid to their dealer or advisor as well as an annual investment performance report that includes reporting on the deposits into and withdrawals from the account, changes in value of the account and the percentage returns from the previous year.

Further changes were introduced in the Ontario market in the fall 2015 when the OSC published the OM exemption and crowdfunding regime in final form. The result is Ontario investors will have more options in the coming years, and EMDs and vendors must navigate these additional layers of complexity.

Next Steps for Issuers, EMDs and DRs

With new regulation being introduced each year, the time now required to ensure that issuers and trades are ‘suitable’ for a client accounts, that the clients meet the prospectus exemption requirements and that appropriate asset diversification is achieved, is most likely the largest time commitment faced by EMDs and their dealing representatives.