ASC Provides Limited Relief for Exempt Market Dealers in Alberta

CALGARY , Feb. 12 /CNW/ - The Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) has issued Blanket Order 31-505 that will exempt a person trading in securities from the registration requirements outlined in National Instrument (NI) 31-103 Registration Requirements and Exemptions when relying on certain commonly used prospectus exemptions contained in NI 45-106 Prospectus and Registration Exemptions.

The Blanket Order comes after ASC staff reviewed and considered comments from Alberta market participants prior to implementation of NI 31-103 on September 28, 2009 . "During the comment period, it became obvious that there was a small subset of exempt market dealers for whom the requirements laid out in NI 31-103 were unnecessary and onerous considering the limited involvement they had in the exempt market," says David McKellar, ASC's Director of Market Regulation. "As a result, this Blanket Order offers relief to those who can meet its specific conditions while still offering protection to Alberta investors and market."

The Blanket Order sets out a narrow set of conditions in which a person would be exempt from registration requirements in NI 31-103, namely that the person:

    
    -   cannot be registered or be required to be registered in any
        jurisdiction;
    -   cannot offer suitability advice;
    -   must obtain a risk acknowledgement form signed by the purchaser;
    -   cannot provide financial services to the purchaser other than in
        connection with the prospectus-exempt distribution;
    -   cannot hold or have access to the purchaser's assets; and
    -   must file an information report to ASC (or an update to the
        information report, if applicable) within 10 days of relying on
        exemption.
    

Blanket Order 31-505 will come into effect on March 27, 2010 , when the registration exemptions currently contained in Part 3 of NI 45-106 are repealed.

A copy of the Blanket Order and accompanying ASC Notice are available on the ASC website at albertasecurities.com.

The ASC is the regulatory agency responsible for administering the province's securities laws. It is entrusted to foster a fair and efficient capital market in Alberta and to protect investors. As a member of the Canadian Securities Administrators, the ASC works to improve, coordinate and harmonize the regulation of Canada's capital markets.

For further information: For Media Inquiries: Mark Dickey, Senior Communications Advisor, [phone]; For Investor Inquiries: ASC Public Inquiries Toll Free, 1-877-355-0585