Approved Participants

Becoming an Approved Participant - Benefits

Approved Participants have direct access to the Exchange markets and trading environment. The most obvious advantage of becoming an Approved Participant is significant cost savings in execution. They also have the right to route client orders and install terminals in client offices.

Becoming an Approved Participant - Requirements

Firms applying to become an Approved Participant must meet certain criteria including:

1) For Canadian firms:

• be duly formed under the Canadian provincial or federal applicable laws;
• be a member of a Canadian self-regulatory organization (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada);
• become a member of the Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation or conclude a clearing agreement with one of its members.

2) For foreign firms:

• be located in one of the following jurisdiction: United States, United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Israel, Jersey, the Netherlands and France;
• be duly formed pursuant to the relevant laws of the country;
• be registered with a securities or derivative instruments regulator, or a recognized self-regulatory organization, unless it is exempted from such registration in its jurisdiction and subject to all other applicable restriction;
• have entered into a clearing agreement with a member of the Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corporation;
• have a designated agent for service of process residing in Quebec.

All employees of an Approved Participant are required to be Approved Persons to access the Electronic Trading System of the Bourse. In addition, all Approved Participants of the Exchange are required to implement the tool developed by the Exchange for the submission of daily position reports on derivative instruments traded on the Exchange, unless they have specifically been exempted from or have delegated this regulatory procedure. This tool should be implemented at the time of the trading connection in order for it to be fully operational from the beginning of the Approved Participant's trading activities on the Exchange. Information relevant to this tool and its implementation is available in the LOPR section of this website.

Becoming an Approved Participant - Requests

Firms applying to become an Approved Participant must complete the "Participant Approval Questionnaire" on the Participant Portal.

Change of Corporate Status

The Regulatory Division must be informed in writing when certain changes occur regarding an Approved Participant or Foreign Approved Participant. In most cases, the Regulatory Division must simply be informed prior to such changes, whereas some situations require the prior approval of the Self-Regulatory Oversight Committee.

Example of situations where a prior notification to the Regulatory Division of the Exchange is sufficient (for further details, please refer to Rule Three of the Rules of the Exchange):

• Name change
• Change of control
• Taking of a major position in the capital of an Approved Participant (10% or more)
• Corporate reorganization
• Merger/acquisition

Situations requiring a prior approval by the Self-Regulatory Oversight Committee:

• Resignation of an Approved Participant
• Taking of a major position resulting in a change of control of an Approved Participant, which is likely to materially affect its operations

Approved Participants must also inform the Exchange as quickly as possible of any change regarding the address of their head office, phone and fax numbers and Web site address.