Exchange-traded funds are not often associated with active investment management. Just the opposite as they are generally considered passive, market-index investing. But that long-held perception is changing. Ongoing product innovation and a growing acceptance among professional money managers means it no longer holds that ETFs and active management are contradictory forces.
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On January 16, 2014, the Resource Revenue Transparency Working Group (the Working Group) released its final recommendations for the creation of mandatory transparency standards that would see mining companies publicly traded on Canadian stock exchanges publicly disclose payments to governments.
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Proposed amendments would require firms to report on efforts to include women on corporate boards.
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The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) previously announced the transition of the hosting, operation and maintenance of the existing CSA National Systems, the System for Electronic Documents Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR), the System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders (SEDI) and the National Registration Database (NRD) to CGI Information Systems and Management Consultants Inc. The transition was completed successfully on January 13, 2014.
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Equity markets were limited for mining issuers during 2013, and the trend is expected to continue into 2014 as the direction of metals prices remains uncertain and miners face increasing development and production costs.
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Buyout dealmaking was moderate in 2013, with aggregate value and volume down 10 per cent and 15 per cent, respectively, from 2012. However, there are some bright spots in 2014, with 2013 having closed out with a reported uptick of five per cent in the number of transactions in the second half of the year over the same period in 2012.
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Unlike in past years, there are no new disclosure requirements which need to be reflected in this year's proxy statement; however, with ongoing shareholder activism and the desire of companies to communicate effectively with their shareholders, this year provides an opportunity to review and improve prior disclosures.
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On December 18, 2013, the SEC proposed amendments to Regulation A under the Securities Act to implement a mandate under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act) directing the SEC to adopt rules exempting offerings of up to $50 million of securities annually from Securities Act registration.
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Equity analysts work harder when economies and financial markets are slumping. They also have more influence over stocks - even though their earnings forecasts are less accurate.
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As prescribed by Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd-Frank Act"), the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") proposed an amendment to Item 402 of Regulation S-K, to be codified as Item 402(u). This amendment requires disclosure of a ratio of the total annual compensation of an issuer's chief executive officer and the total annual compensation of the issuer's median employee, excluding the chief executive officer.
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It's no longer an insult to be called an activist investor. Once painted as greedy corporate raiders, they would amass large stakes in a company and, through brute force, push for changes in the company's leadership and business practices. They reveled in their image of attacking the fortress of corporate America. Now, some three decades later, their efforts have become more sophisticated and they are often seen as a good thing, shaking up companies too entrenched in their ways.
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Canadian corporate and securities laws are favourable to activists. The following discussion highlights five key features of Canadian laws important to an activist in taking a position in a publicly-traded Canadian issuer.
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