CSA Provide New Guidance On Automatic Securities Disposition Plans

New guidance on automatic securities disposition plans (ASDPs) published by the Canadian Securities Administrators on December 10, 2020 focuses on the reduction of the potential for improper insider trades and enhancing transparency around the establishment and use of ASDPs.

CSA Staff Notice 55-317 Automatic Securities Disposition Plans (the Staff Notice) notably sets out the following recommendations:

• Oversight by the issuer when establishing and using ASDPs to seek to ensure compliance with securities legislation and any insider trading or internal policies of the issuer.
• Establishment of a term for the ASDP that is sufficiently long to reduce the risk of potential use of material non-public information (MNPI).