CIFSC Policies and Procedures
On Feb 29, 2012, the CIFSC released a new document outlining the general policies and procedures of the committee. The committee is committed to the ongoing development of this document, and will update it when necessary.
CIFSC Policies and Procedures
General Operations
Mission
To help Canadians make better investment decisions by developing and monitoring standards for the classification of investment funds.
Charter
1. The CIFSC will be made up of both voting and non - voting members. A member can be either an individual or a firm. Each voting member has one vote. A voting member may have more than one representative involved in CIFSC activities, however that voting member still has only one vote.
2. The voting members shall elect, effective with the November regular CIFSC meeting, a chair person who is responsible for coordinating and directing the CIFSC's activities. To stand for election as chair a member must have attended 5 of the 6 previous regular meetings in person. The chair must be approved, by secret vote, by more than 50% of then current voting members of the CIFSC. The elected chair shall have the discretion to appoint a vice - chair who will act in the elected chair's absence.
3. Potential new members of the CIFSC must be recommended for membership by a current member of the CIFSC. To be approved for membership a recommended individual or firm must be approved, by vote, by more than 75% of then current voting members of the CIFSC. When granting membership the CIFSC will designate if it is the individual or the firm that is being approved. (The criteria for membership are that the potential new member have a demonstrable familiarity with the investment funds industry, be capable of contributing to the activities of the CIFSC and not be employed by an investment fund manager, sponsor or dealer).
4. All members are required to use the CIFSC category assigned to a particular fund, in their services. Failure to do so is grounds for immediate dismissal from the CIFSC. (FundSERV 's exemption from this rule is to be grandfathered pending the development of a facility that will enable them to incorporate the CIFSC category assignments into the FundSERV "set up" file).
5. Any member of the CIFSC who fails to attend 2 regular meetings in a calendar year and further fails to provide a proxy for his / her vote shall be dismissed from the CIFSC. In addition, any member who is represented by proxy more than 3 times in a calendar year shall be dismissed from the CIFSC.
6. All CIFSC category assignments must be reviewed at least quarterly.
7. The CIFSC category schema must be reviewed at least annually and should also be reviewed on an ongoing basis. Changes relating to the category schema will follow the category review process: a. Suggestions and recommendations pertaining to the category schema, from internal or external sources, will be considered by the CIFSC at any time. b. After a change has been approved for review by the CIFSC, the announcement will be made via www.cifsc.org or press release at the next calendar quarter end. Changes will be announced at the following month ends: March, June, September, and December. c. The announcement will be followed by a 30 day comment period during which the CIFSC will accept any feedback or questioning through the feedback link on the website. d. At the end of the 30 day comment period the CIFSC will hold a private vote to determine whether or not to proceed with the change. Any change to the CIFSC category schema requires approval of 75% or more of the current voting members. e. Following approval, the CIFSC will allow for an implementation period of at least 45 days. The approved category schema will be in effect at the beginning of the next quarter.
8. Any change to the charter provisions requires approval, by secret vote, by more than 75% of then current voting members of the CIFSC.
Meeting Rules
1. A quorum for meetings shall require the attendance of 75% of the voting members in person, by phone, by proxy or by substitute attendee.
2. For decisions of the CIFSC related to the assignment, classification or re-classification of investment funds a simple majority of the voting members in attendance is sufficient for a motion to be approved.
3. A member may not be represented by more than 3 representatives at any meeting.