MONTREAL, Aug. 1, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - National Bank Securities Inc.
("NBS") today announced a proposal to change the way operating expenses
are charged to the Meritage Portfolios (the "Administration Fee
Proposal"). Securityholders will be asked to vote on the Administration
Fee Proposal, as well as other proposals described below, at a special
meeting to be held on or about October 22, 2013 (the "Special
Meeting").
"This proposal is intended to protect securityholders from potential
increases in certain operating expenses. These increases will now be
borne by National Bank Securities," said Michel Falk, President and
Chief Executive Officer of NBS. "This proposal, if it receives
securityholder approval, will result in greater predictability and
clarity of expenses," he added.
If the Administration Fee Proposal is approved by the securityholders,
NBS will start to pay, on or about October 29, 2013, all operating
expenses of the Meritage Portfolios except the portfolio costs listed
below. In return, the Meritage Portfolios will pay a fixed-rate
administration fee to NBS. The fixed-rate administration fee for each
Meritage Portfolio will be less than or equal to the actual operating
expenses paid by each Meritage Portfolio during the last six-month
period.
Currently, each Meritage Portfolio bears all of its operating expenses.
If the Administration Fee Proposal is approved by the securityholders,
the operating expenses payable by NBS will include transfer agency and
recordkeeping costs, custodial costs, accounting and valuation fees,
audit fees, legal fees, the costs of preparing and distributing
financial reports, simplified prospectuses, annual information forms,
fund facts, continuous disclosure documents and other investor
communications and the costs of trustee services relating to registered
tax plans. NBS will pay these expenses, provided such expenses are
incurred in the normal course of business of the Meritage Portfolios.
The portfolio costs that will continue to be paid by the Meritage
Portfolios will include taxes, the costs of complying with any material
change to existing regulatory requirements and/or any new regulatory
requirements, including any new fees introduced after August 1, 2013,
interest and borrowing costs, fees related to external services that
were not commonly charged in the Canadian mutual fund industry as at
August 1, 2013, fees and expenses related to National Bank Funds
Corporation's board of directors, fees and expenses of the Independent
Review Committee ("IRC") and operating expenses relating to the
operating expenses payable by NBS that are incurred outside the normal
course of business of the Meritage Portfolios.
The fixed-rate administration fee will be subject to a transitional
adjustment payment up to December 31, 2013. Similar fixed-rate
administration fee proposals have been approved by the securityholders
of other mutual funds managed by large Canadian corporations.
The Administration Fee Proposal was submitted to the Meritage
Portfolios' Independent Review Committee (the "IRC"). The IRC
considered the Administration Fee Proposal and determined that, if
implemented, it would achieve a fair and reasonable result for the
Meritage Portfolios.
Other proposed changes to the Meritage Corporate Portfolios
At the Special Meeting, the shareholders of the Meritage Corporate
Portfolios will also be asked to vote on changes to the fundamental
investment objectives of the Meritage Corporate Portfolios that would
allow, in particular, each such Portfolio to invest in its equivalent
Trust Portfolio. Appendix A provides a summary of the proposed changes
in this regard. If the changes to the investment objectives are
approved by the shareholders of the Meritage Corporate Portfolios and
the exemptive relief necessary to implement the proposed investment
objectives is obtained from the Canadian Securities Authorities, the
fund investment strategies will be revised accordingly.
Subject to receipt of shareholder approval and the above-mentioned
exemptive relief, the proposed changes to the investment objectives
will take effect on or about October 29, 2013.
Finally, the shareholders of the Meritage Corporate Portfolios will be
asked to vote on a change to the redemption rights of the Meritage
Corporate Portfolios that would permit such Portfolios to redeem shares
more efficiently when closing series that are no longer economically
viable or that have become, in any way, detrimental to investors or the
Portfolio.
Securityholders are asked to refer to the amendments to the simplified
prospectus and the Annual Information Form of the Meritage Portfolios,
which will be filed shortly and will contain the relevant information
concerning the proposals. These amendments will be posted on www.sedar.com
All information pertaining to the changes proposed as part of the
Special Meeting will be provided to current investors, and potential
investors can obtain this information from National Bank Securities
Inc. prior to the Special Meeting. The time and place of the Special
Meeting will appear in the notice of meeting and management circular
which shall be mailed to securityholders. In addition, this information
will be posted on www.sedar.com and will be available from your advisor or from National Bank
Securities Inc.
About National Bank Securities Inc.
The Meritage Portfolios (the "Portfolios") are offered by National Bank
Securities Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Bank of Canada.
Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses all may
be associated with investments in the Portfolios. Please read the
prospectus of the Portfolios before investing. The Portfolio'
securities are not insured by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation
or by any other government deposit insurer. The Portfolios are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance
may not be repeated.
About National Bank of Canada
With $185 billion in assets as at April 30, 2013, National Bank of
Canada (www.nbc.ca), together with its subsidiaries, forms one of Canada's leading
integrated financial groups, and was named among the 20 strongest banks
in the world by Bloomberg Markets. The Bank has close to 20,000
employees and is widely recognized as a top employer. Its securities
are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX: NA). Follow the Bank's
activities via social media and learn more about its extensive
community involvement at clearfacts.ca and commitment.nationalbank.ca.
APPENDIX A
Portfolio
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Current Investment Objective
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Proposed New Investment Objective
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Meritage Canadian Equity Class Portfolio
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The Portfolio's investment objectives are to achieve long-term capital
appreciation by investing primarily in a diverse mix of Canadian equity
mutual funds.
|
The Portfolio's investment objective is to obtain a comparable return to
that of the Meritage Canadian Equity Portfolio (the "Underlying Fund").
The Portfolio invests mainly in units of the Underlying Fund and/or in
securities of the mutual funds held by the Underlying Fund and/or in
mutual funds similar to those funds, based on a similar weighting to
that used by the Underlying Fund.
|
Meritage Global Equity Class Portfolio
|
The Portfolio's investment objectives are to achieve long-term capital
appreciation by investing primarily in a diverse mix of global equity
mutual funds.
|
The Portfolio's investment objective is to obtain a comparable return to
that of the Meritage Global Equity Portfolio (the "Underlying Fund").
The Portfolio invests mainly in units of the Underlying Fund and/or in
securities of the mutual funds held by the Underlying Fund and/or in
mutual funds similar to those funds, based on a similar weighting to
that used by the Underlying Fund.
|
Meritage Growth Class Portfolio
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The Portfolio's investment objectives are to achieve long-term capital
appreciation by investing primarily in a diverse mix of fixed-income
and equity mutual funds.
|
The Portfolio's investment objective is to obtain a comparable return to
that of the Meritage Growth Portfolio (the "Underlying Fund").
The Portfolio invests mainly in units of the Underlying Fund and/or in
securities of the mutual funds held by the Underlying Fund and/or in
mutual funds similar to those funds, based on a similar weighting to
that used by the Underlying Fund.
|
Meritage Equity Class Portfolio
|
The Portfolio's investment objectives are to achieve long-term capital
appreciation by investing primarily in a diverse mix of fixed-income
and equity mutual funds.
|
The Portfolio's investment objective is to obtain a comparable return to
that of the Meritage Equity Portfolio (the "Underlying Fund").
The Portfolio invests mainly in units of the Underlying Fund and/or in
securities of the mutual funds held by the Underlying Fund and/or in
mutual funds similar to those funds, based on a similar weighting to
that used by the Underlying Fund.
|
SOURCE National Bank of Canada