Regulatory and Compliance

At Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc. (Horizons ETFs), compliance is an integral part of everything we do, and our dedication to operating in a compliant manner in all areas of our business, starts at the top and permeates each department and function of our entire company.

Compliance is not static, and continues to evolve as does the industry, and Horizons seeks always to revise and update our compliance policies and procedures in keeping with such changes.

While we strive to be compliant in every respect, our comprehensive compliance policies and procedures include such areas of investor interest as:

Conflicts of interest: In keeping with National Instrument 81-107, Horizons ETFs has appointed an Independent Review Committee, to whom it presents any conflict of interest, or even perceived or potential conflict of interest, situations which may arise from time to time.  Horizons ETFs seeks the approval or recommendation of the IRC, as appropriate, before proceeding with any activity which falls within the IRC’s area of responsibility. The annual report of the IRC can be found on our website below.

Continuous Disclosure:  Horizons ETFs and its investment funds (the ETFs) are subject to a number of continuous disclosure requirements, such as; annual and interim Financial Statements, annual and interim Managers Report(s) of Fund Performance (MRFPs), Quarterly top 25 holdings (reported on our website), ETF Facts and ETF Prospectus(es) renewed at least annually, etc.

Investment Parameters: Each of our ETFs are subject to the investment restrictions, rules and regulations of the applicable National Instrument under which it is filed as well as the investment objective, strategy, restrictions and parameters as outlined within the prospectus itself. Portfolio trades within our ETFs are closely scrutinized by our compliance team and follow a specific and appropriate review and approval process.

Marketing: We strive to ensure that our marketing material and public information always represents full, true and transparent disclosure so as not to be misleading. Each item of marketing collateral is subjected to considerable internal scrutiny and compliance review, approval and sign-off.

Sales and Sales Activity: Our sales staff is carefully trained to ensure they have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of each of our products. Although Horizons ETFs produces marketing materials that are directed at the end investors, Horizons ETFs sales staff do not sell direct to end investors. They do, however, actively engage with advisors, brokers and dealers, and institutional investors. Horizons ETFs has established a detailed set of regulations that govern and limit the amount of money that can be spent on such interactions on a per advisor basis, and it is reviewed and updated regularly. The intention of such limitations is to ensure that any involvement with such representatives is in the spirit of business courtesy and is meant to foster the establishment and maintenance of a relationship with such representative, free from any attempt to create a sense or appearance of indebtedness or undue influence, obligation or impropriety.

Anti-Money Laundering/Proceeds of Crime/Terrorism Funding: Although Horizons ETFs does not have direct investor accounts, we strive to detect any instances of activity or transactions or account holdings which might fall within these categories through our work with the transfer agent and unitholder services.

CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Law): Horizons is committed to adherence to CASL. We do contact advisors, brokers, dealers and institutions as potential clients under the business-to-business exemptions found in CASL, however we do not email individual retail investors or potential investors who have not specifically signed up to receive such updates, notices or other information from us. If you receive emails from us (other than direct one-on-one correspondence) such communication will have an unsubscribe option that will remove you from our circulation list(s). If you receive any further communication, please contact our Privacy Officer at: privacyofficer@horizonsetfs.com

PIPEDA (Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act): PIPEDA is the federal privacy law which sets out the ground rules for how businesses must handle personal information in the course of commercial activity. For further information about your privacy and our commitment and policies regarding your personal information, please click on the “PRIVACY” link at the bottom of any page of our website (aside from downloads).

Cyber Security: An area of growing concern within the industry (and most industries), cybercrime has surpassed illicit drugs, and so naturally, cybersecurity has grown in lock-step. While Horizons ETFs does not access, hold or maintain investor information, we continue to strive to maintain a robust system and ensure that our various service providers do the same.

Other Compliance and Regulatory Information:
For our Proxy-voting Policy, [click here].
For our MIFID II and PRIIP information, [click here]
For our IRC Annual Reports to Unitholders, [click here]
For our NI 24-101 Trade Matching and Settlement – Trade Matching Statement, [click here]
For other ETF-specific regulatory documents, please use the links/search feature below.

Horizons ETFs works in cooperation with the Ombudsman for Banking Services and Instruments (OBSI), which can be reached at:

Ombudsman for Banking Services and Investments (OBSI)
401 Bay Street, Suite 1505
P.O. Box 5
Toronto, ON M5H 2Y4

Toll-free Telephone: 1 888 451-4519
Greater Toronto Area Telephone: 416 287-2877
TTY Telephone: 1 855 TTY-OBSI (1 855 889-6274)
Toll-free Fax: 1 888 422-2865
Greater Toronto Area Fax: 416 225-4722
Email: ombudsman@obsi.ca

Employment
Horizons ETFs prides itself on being an equal-opportunity employer and celebrates its diverse staff mosaic. As such we adhere to strict Human Resources Policies and Procedures designed to foster the rights and obligations of employees and employer including anti-discriminatory policies and procedures covering issues such as discrimination, harassment, and exclusion (amongst others). Our policies are designed to nurture a productive, compliant, fair, and mutually respectful work environment in a sensitive and confidential manner. Postings for employment opportunities at Horizons ETFs are open to all qualified applicants.

Fee Disclosure
In compliance with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (“IESBA”) Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants, the auditor is required to publicly disclose the audit and non-audit fees charged to public interest entities, including ETFs managed by Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc., on an annual basis.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, in connection with the audits of the financial statements of the public interest entities managed by Horizons ETFs Management (Canada) Inc., the following fees (excluding applicable taxes) were paid or payable to KPMG LLP and other KPMG network firms: fees for audits of financial statements were $675,642 and fees for other services were $444,631.