The Investment Dealers Association has won relief for its members from a yearend deadline for obtaining new directions regarding shareholder communication from clients currently deemed to be “non-objecting beneficial owners” of certain securities.

The IDA sought relief from the requirement that “in the absence of new instructions, firms shall treat a client who was deemed to be a non-objecting beneficial owner under old rules as a non-objecting beneficial owner under the new rules only until Dec. 31; and, that firms obtain new instructions from these clients before Jan. 1, 2004.”

Under the old rules, a client who failed to respond to an firm’s notice and provide specific instructions as to whether it wished to have its personal information disclosed to reporting issuers, and as to whether it wished to receive securityholder materials, would be deemed to be a NOBO, enabling the firm to disclose to the issuer and certain others the personal information (name, address and shareholdings) of the client; and, to have given instructions that it does not want to receive proxy-related materials pertaining to annual meetings of securityholders or audited financial statements.

The new rules require that, prior to the deadline, each firm must obtain new instructions from its deemed NOBOs on the matters to which a client response form pertains.

However, on Oct. 3, the Canadian Securities Administrators published for comment a notice and proposed amendments to the new rules that would include amendments essentially grating the same relief as the IDA seeks. So, the Ontario Securities Commission granted the IDA’s request.