Increase in mailing related to transfer activity

1. If the client had held fund units registered in client name, and they were transferred to NBIN, this will definitely trigger a mailing to client – most likely a statement indicating the transaction. This is to protect the investor –  it’s mandatory if the prior relationship was in ‘client name’ which is directly between the fund company and the investor.

2. Changing brokers and related fees: the relinquishing broker may charge exit fees, for example, this is the case from Dynamic on behalf of Investia, who charge an exit fee, confirmed on the statement. Some dealers may have a relationship with the fund company where they have the fund company mail out to clients on their behalf.  It’s also a regulatory requirement related to fees and compensation reporting. 

Simply put, moving from MFDA to IIROC (NBIN is IIROC) will generate extra paperwork in the first year – year end statements from the old dealer and year end statements from NBIN.

Regulatory mailing by funds who are reporting issuers

Certain funds are obligated under securities regulation to reach out to net new investors annually to confirm if they wish to receive mailings of MFRP and Financial statements. The investor has to actively request to receive but under current legislation they also have to be notified that this is available to them.

Tax Slip mailing for non-registered accounts

The fund companies will all mail tax slips directly to investors who have reportable income: they will be mailed before March 31 if the fund is a trust (T3) and before Feb 28 if the fund is a corporation (T5). Funds that are LP’s will issue T5013 typically by end of March, but these are often delayed.  Investors who have a ‘MyCRA’ account will also see these slips reported on the government website once the fund company completes their CRA filing.

NBIN via its portal/mail will furnish tax slips however any income reported would be related to exchange traded securities only. T5008’s furnished by NBIN will include fund dispositions.

Marketing Materials

Generally speaking, any Fundserv funds shouldn’t be sending out anything to investors unless there are extreme circumstances such as a proxy and this is rare in the world of funds. Fund issuers should be dealing with the nominee if there is a material change. 

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) should be registered to NBIN (for managed accounts things like proxies are handled by Croft). There should not typically be marketing materials sent to underlying investors. However, some ETF have access to holder information through channels other than NBIN and may combine marketing with their regulatory obligations.