The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) will pursue four near-term initiatives to reduce the regulatory burden on investment funds, according to a staff notice published on Thursday.
The notice follows from an initiative known as the Rationalization of Investment Fund Disclosure project (Project RID), which was launched last year to find ways of cutting down on regulatory requirements that don’t aid investor protection or market efficiency.
The CSA expects to publish actual proposals to adopt some of the ideas for curbing needless rules in the coming year, it says in a news release.
Specifically, the CSA will propose measures to: remove redundant information in disclosure documents; use the web to provide information about funds; minimize the filing of documents that can contain redundant information; and adopt exemptions that are routinely granted into the rules.
The CSA aims to have proposals out in these areas by March 2019, it says in a news release.
Longer-term proposals, the CSA says, will look at ways to improve funds’ financial continuous disclosure obligations, prescribed notices and reporting requirements, and methods used to communicate with investors.
“Reviewing regulatory burden for investment fund issuers is a key priority for our 2016-2019 business plan,” says Louis Morisset, chairman of the CSA and president and CEO of the Autorité des marchés financiers. “We have identified areas to lessen regulatory burden for investment funds, while maintaining investor protection and the efficient functioning of the capital markets.”