- What BC Advantage Funds are open for investing?
- What are the current prices/net asset values for BC Advantage Funds?
- What is the hold period associated with my BC Advantage Funds investment?
- How do Venture Capital Corporations (VCCs) like BC Advantage Funds differ from labour-sponsored investment funds?
- What Fees or Commissions are paid to brokers?
- Are there any circumstances by which I can redeem my BC Advantage Funds investment early?
- What are the costs associated with redemption?
- I or my client would like to transfer BC Advantage Fund shares from one account or financial institution to another. Can you help?
- Why is Advantage suspending redemptions of the Advantage Venture Fund and the Advantage Growth Fund?
- Why are you merging the Advantage Venture Fund and the Advantage Growth Fund?
- Why are you closing the Advantage Venture Fund to further investment?
- How will redemption requests be processed?
- Why are you merging Advantage Structured Fund I and II?
- Other than merging the Advantage Structured Funds I and II, will the merger impact me in any other way?
What BC Advantage Funds are open for investing?
We are currently selling shares of the Advantage Structured Fund I (BCA910) with 2010 tax credits. The Advantage Venture Fund and Advantage Growth Fund were merged and closed to new invstments on May 3, 2010.
What are the current prices/net asset values for BC Advantage Funds?
Current fund prices/net asset values are updated every Friday afternoon and are posted on our homepage.
What is the hold period associated with my BC Advantage Funds investment?
The hold period required by the Small Business Venture Capital Act (British Columbia) is a minimum of 5 years from the time your funds are invested in eligible small businesses. BC Advantage Funds has a pacing obligation that requires 40% of the funds raised in a calendar year to be invested in the following calendar with an additional 40% to be invested in the calendar year after. As a result, the effective hold period can range from 6-7 years.
How do Venture Capital Corporations (VCCs) like BC Advantage Funds differ from labour-sponsored investment funds?
There are some significant advantages that distinguish BC Advantage Funds, a Venture Capital Corporation ("VCC") regulated by the BC Small Business Venture Capital Act, from labour-sponsored funds ("LSF") or Employee Venture Capital Corporations registered under the Employee Investment Act.
For instance, you can redeem your BC Advantage Fund shares after approximately six-seven years, whereas the redemption period for a LSF is eight years. Also, the maximum allowable investment in a VCC fund is $200,000 (tax credits of $60,000), compared to tax credits of only $2,000 Provincial and $750 Federal available for a LSF investment.
Another key advantage of our VCC funds over LSFs is that the 30% tax credit you receive from an investment into BC Advantage Funds is fully refundable, unlike the non-refundable credits from labour-sponsored funds.
What Fees or Commissions are paid to brokers?
We pay our selling agents commissions and service fees for selling shares in BC Advantage Funds. There are several commission options, but generally our selling agents are entitled to 5% of the gross proceeds of shares sold by the selling agent and a servicing fee of 0.5% per annum of the aggregate Pricing Net Asset Value of the shares held by clients of the selling agents, calculated monthly and paid quarterly. Please see our Prospectuses for more detailed information.
Are there any circumstances by which I can redeem my BC Advantage Funds investment early?
Unfortunately, the only exception for early redemption is upon the death of the shareholder, under which circumstances the BC Advantage Funds' Board of Directors will review the circumstances and the request for early redemption.
What are the costs associated with redemption?
There is no cost administered by BC Advantage Funds upon redemption of shares in the funds.
I or my client would like to transfer BC Advantage Fund shares from one account or financial institution to another. Can you help?
The best way to facilitate this transaction is for the investment advisor to contact our investment administration service directly at 604.801.6801 Ext. 674. They will be glad to assist in arranging the transfer. If you encounter any difficulty or have any questions, do not hesitate to contact our back office at 604.688.6877 Ext. 18.
Why is Advantage suspending redemptions of the Advantage Venture Fund and the Advantage Growth Fund?
Adverse financial markets for emerging companies have made it difficult for Advantage to achieve liquidity on its investments in the Advantage Venture Fund and the Advantage Growth Fund at reasonable valuations. We believe it is in the best interest of our shareholders to temporarily suspend redemptions in these funds until exits can be achieved at prices more reflective of true enterprise value.
Why are you merging the Advantage Venture Fund and the Advantage Growth Fund?
The Advantage Venture Fund and the Advantage Growth Fund are being merged under the name the “Advantage Venture Fund” to achieve operational efficiencies and reduce costs. The merger will have no impact on the merged funds shareholders ability to be redeemed in the future.
Why are you closing the Advantage Venture Fund to further investment?
We have closed the merged Advantage Venture Fund to further investment to ensure that its existing shareholders receive the full benefit of liquidations of its portfolio investments. The closing of the Advantage Venture Fund to further investment also allows us to further cut costs.
How will redemption requests be processed?
Upon achieving sufficient liquidity, we will notify the shareholders of the merged Advantage Venture Fund that redemptions have been reinstated. We will then process redemption requests in the chronological order the shares became redeemable under the Small Business Venture Capital Act (British Columbia).
Why are you merging Advantage Structured Fund I and II?
We are merging the Advantage Structured Fund I and the Advantage Structured Fund II to increase diversification for their shareholders and to achieve operational efficiencies and reduce costs.
Other than merging the Advantage Structured Funds I and II, will the merger impact me in any other way?
No, the investment thesis and liquidity objectives of the Advantage Structured Fund I remains the same. The Fund will continue to invest in more mature companies and pay dividends of realized gains to its investors upon achieving successful exits – providing them with potential cash flow like a limited partnership fund. Through this structure, shareholders of Advantage Structured Fund I will receive monies on a periodic basis and not solely on a mandated redemption date.
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