Exemption Orders (Discretionary)
THE BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
2001 BCSECCOM 820
IN THE MATTER OF THE SECURITIES ACT
R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 418
AND
IN THE MATTER OF THE BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CORPORATION
Exemption Order Under Section 48
[para 1]
WHEREAS the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (the “Applicant”) has applied to the Executive Director for an order under section 48 of the Securities Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 418 that the Applicant, its chief investment officer and the chief investment officer’s delegates, be exempt from section 34(1)(a) of the Act in connection with the acquisition and disposition from time to time of exchange contracts and futures contracts and options that are not exchange contracts through markets located in the United States by dealers appropriately registered in the United States;
[para 2]
AND WHEREAS the Applicant has represented to the Executive Director that:
1. the Applicant is a corporation established effective November 1, 1999 pursuant to the Public Sector Pension Plans Act, S.B.C. 1999, c. 44 (the “Pension Plans Act”);
2. the Applicant is an agent of the Government of British Columbia;
3. the Applicant has been established to provide, among other things, investment management services to certain pension boards set out in the Pension Plans Act and other funds as defined in the Pension Plans Act (the “Funds”);
4. to discharge its duties, the Applicant, through its chief investment officer and the chief investment officer’s delegates, is empowered with investing the Funds in securities and exchange contracts including public and private debt and equity holdings, futures contracts and options;
5. so as to facilitate trading in exchange contracts and in futures contracts and options that are not exchange contracts on public markets located in the United States, the Applicant proposes to establish trading accounts in the United States with dealers appropriately registered under applicable United States securities legislation; and
6. when the Applicant buys and sells exchange contracts and futures contracts and options that are not exchange contracts in the circumstances described in paragraph 4, the Applicant will be unable to rely on the registration exemption contained in section 45(2)(7) of the Act because the Applicant will not be acting solely through a registered dealer under the Act;
[para 3]
AND WHEREAS the Executive Director considers that to do so would not be prejudicial to the public interest;
[para 4]
IT IS ORDERED under section 48 of the Act that trades in exchange contracts and in futures contracts and options that are not exchange contracts in the circumstances described in paragraph 4 by the Applicant, its chief investment officer and the chief investment officer’s delegates, in connection with the discharge of the Applicant’s duties under the Pension Plans Act, are exempt from section 34(1)(a) of the Act.
[para 5]
DATED August 13, 2001.
Derek E. Patterson
Manager