TORONTO, Sept. 04, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OceanRock Investments Inc. (the "Manager" or “ORI”), the manager of the OceanRock and Meritas SRI Funds (collectively, the “Funds”), today announced the results of the special meetings held on August 31, 2018. ORI received unitholder approval for its proposal to (i) merge certain funds, (ii) change the manager of certain Funds, (iii) implement a fixed administration fee for certain Funds, and (iv) change the investment objective of certain Funds.
Fund Mergers
The mergers will take effect after the close of business on or about October 26, 2018. The fund mergers are outlined in the table below:
| Terminating Fund | Continuing Fund |
| OceanRock Canadian Equity Fund | NEI Canadian Equity Fund |
| OceanRock Growth Portfolio | NEI Select Growth Portfolio |
| OceanRock Income & Growth Portfolio | NEI Select Income & Growth Portfolio |
| OceanRock International Equity Fund | Meritas International Equity Fund |
| OceanRock Maximum Growth Portfolio | NEI Select Maximum Growth Portfolio |
| Meritas Canadian Bond Fund | NEI Canadian Bond Fund |
| Meritas Growth Portfolio | NEI Select Growth RS Portfolio |
| Meritas Income Portfolio | NEI Select Income RS Portfolio |
| Meritas Income & Growth Portfolio | NEI Select Income & Growth RS Portfolio |
| Meritas Strategic Income Fund | NEI Conservative Yield Portfolio |
| Meritas U.S. Equity Fund | NEI U.S. Equity RS Fund |
| OceanRock Balanced Portfolio | NEI Select Balanced Portfolio |
| Meritas Balanced Portfolio | NEI Select Balanced RS Portfolio |
| Meritas Monthly Dividend and Income Fund | NEI Canadian Equity RS Fund |
Change in Manager and Renaming of the Funds
At the meeting of unitholders of the Funds below (the “Applicable Funds”), approval was granted to change the manager from OceanRock Investments Inc. to Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. (“NEI”), effective on or about October 26, 2018. In addition to the change of manager, the Applicable Funds will undergo a rebranding as set out in the table below.
| Current Fund Name | New Fund Name |
| Meritas Jantzi Social Index® Fund | NEI Jantzi Social Index® Fund |
| Meritas International Equity Fund | NEI International Equity Fund |
| OceanRock Growth & Income Portfolio | NEI Select Growth & Income Portfolio |
| OceanRock US Equity Fund | NEI U.S. Equity Fund |
| Meritas Growth & Income Portfolio | NEI Select Growth & Income RS Portfolio |
| Meritas Maximum Growth Portfolio | NEI Select Maximum Growth RS Portfolio |
| OceanRock Income Portfolio | NEI Select Income Portfolio |
Change to Fixed Rate Administration Fee and Investment Objectives of the Applicable Funds
At the meeting of unitholders of the Applicable Funds, approval was granted to change the method of charging operating expenses to the Applicable Funds. NEI will pay for all of the operating expenses of the Applicable Funds other than expenses relating to the independent review committee of the Applicable Fund, new government or regulatory requirements, taxes, borrowing and interest and portfolio transaction costs. In return for paying the operating expenses, NEI will receive a fixed rate administration fee.
Approval was also granted to change the fundamental investment objective of each Applicable Fund. These changes along with the adoption of the fixed rate administration fee will occur on or about October 26, 2018.
Unitholders may obtain additional information about these changes by reviewing Amendment No. 1 dated July 6, 2018 to the Simplified Prospectus of the Applicable Funds and/or the Information Circular dated July 27, 2018 for the Applicable Funds. Copies of these documents are available on the ORI website (www.oceanrock.ca) and the SEDAR website (www.sedar.com). We encourage prospective and current unitholders of the Applicable Funds to review these documents.
About OceanRock Investments Inc.
OceanRock Investments Inc. is a Canadian Responsible Investment leader, managing $2 billion on behalf of Canadian investors. OceanRock offers a comprehensive range of managed portfolio solutions and individual funds to meet the needs of individual and institutional investors. OceanRock is dedicated to offering disciplined, risk-controlled and diversified investment solutions to Canadian individual and institutional investors and has a core commitment to Responsible Investing through its Meritas SRI Funds. OceanRock Investments Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Aviso Wealth Inc.
Media Contact
Connie Burke
infinitycomm
connie@infinitycomm.ca
Office: 905-257-5555