Mutual fund manager Scotia Securities Inc. says it has obtained permission from most Canadian securities regulators allowing it to send copies of its annual financial reports only to unitholders who have requested them. It is the first fund manager in Canada to receive such an exemption.

The firm had filed an application with securities regulators in September for an order that would permit the firm to send annual financial reports only to those unitholders who request to receive them.

The firm says it anticipates that many clients will choose not to receive the report, decreasing the costs of producing, printing and distributing the reports.

“The approval of our application is in the best interest of the industry because it’s consistent with rules that are already in place for unitholders who hold their mutual funds with investment dealers and have the option to receive financial reports,” says Richard Austin, vice president legal and regulatory affairs, Scotia Securities Inc.

Regulators have proposed making this change to the regulations generally under a new disclosure regime for funds.