Christopher Yeretsian, Toronto

About Christopher

Chris advises clients on a wide variety of capital markets transactions, including public offerings and private placements of securities, financings, and mergers and acquisitions. He has significant experience with public and private investment products, and regularly advises Canadian and international asset managers on strategically building out their investment management platforms.

He regularly provides advice to leading investment fund managers, portfolio managers and investment dealers on the formation, structuring, development and offering of investment and structured products, including alternative, open-end, closed-end, exchange-traded, hedge and private equity funds, and other pooled investments. Chris also advises clients on registration and regulatory compliance, corporate governance and other securities regulatory matters.

Chris has spent time on secondment at some of Canada's largest and most innovative investment firms.

Select Experience

Recent representative experience includes acting as counsel to:

Investment Products & Asset Management

Asset managers, including 1832 Asset Management LP, AGF Investments Inc., CIBC Asset Management Inc., CI Investments Inc., Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc., Evermore Capital Inc., Evolve Funds Group Inc., First Asset Investment Management Inc., Guardian Capital Group Limited, Hamilton Capital Partners Inc., Harvest Portfolios Group Inc., Horizons ETF Management (Canada) Inc., Manulife Investment Management Limited, Purpose Investments Inc., Questrade Wealth Management Inc., Starlight Investments Capital GP Inc. and Tangerine Investment Management Inc.

Closed-end and open-end investment funds, split share corporations and other structured product issuers in connection with their initial and/or continuous offerings

Lead underwriters, investment dealers and agents in connection with several investment fund initial public offerings and re-openings
Dynamic Funds, a division of Scotiabank, on the acquisition of exchange-traded fund assets under management from BlackRock Canada
Jarislowsky, Fraser Limited, one of Canada’s leading institutional and private wealth investment managers, in entering into a strategic relationship with HarbourVest Partners, an independent, global private markets investment specialist

Capital Markets

A Canadian financial institution in connection with its non-principal protected notes program
B.E.S.T. Venture Opportunities Fund Inc. in connection with the listing of its Class A shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. in connection with its remarketing of US$1.15-billion principal amount of senior notes
CI Financial Corp. on the establishment and renewals of its base shelf prospectus and public offerings of notes aggregating over C$2-billion, and the establishment of its US$2-billion cross-border base shelf prospectus and public offerings of notes aggregating US$1.86-billion
Intact Financial Corporation on its private placement offering of US$500-million principal amount of senior notes

M&A

Royal Bank of Canada on its acquisition of HSBC Bank Canada
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. on its acquisition of Aequitas Innovations, Inc.

Mackenzie Financial Corporation in connection with its joint venture with Great-West Lifeco Inc. and their acquisition of a 49.9% non-controlling interest and 70% economic interest in Northleaf Capital Partners Ltd.

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. on its acquisition of MATCHNow, a Canadian alternative trading system
Starlight Fund 5 in connection with its US$1.4-billion acquisition by Tricon Capital Group
LOGiQ Asset Management Inc. on its sale to Purpose Investments Inc.
Evolve Funds Group Inc. on the acquisition of fund assets managed by Sphere Investment Management Inc.
Questrade Wealth Management Inc. on the sale of its fund assets to WisdomTree Canada
Scalar Decisions Inc. on its sale to CDW Canada

Professional Activities

Chris has presented and appeared as a panelist on the topic of regulatory changes and developments in the investment management industry. He is also a member of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and the Regulatory Burden Sub-Group of The Investment Funds Institute of Canada (IFIC).

Chris is the former chair of the board of directors of the Bayview Glen Alumni Association and a former member of the Governance Committee of the Toronto Cricket, Skating & Curling Club.

Chris is a member of the Armenian Bar Association.

Publications

Co-author : Canada Chapter
International Comparative Legal Guides, Public Investment Funds 2024, Seventh Edition, Global Legal Group, 2024.
Co-author : Highlights From the OSC’s 2023 Summary Report for Investment Fund and Structured Product Issuers
Blakes Bulletin on Investment Products & Asset Management, October 5, 2023.
Co-author : CSA Finalizes Total Cost Reporting Rules for Investment Funds
Blakes Bulletin on Investment Products & Asset Management, May 16, 2023.
Co-author : Registration Requirements: Overview
Thomson Reuters, Practical Law Canada, June 8, 2022.