It’s hard to believe it has been nearly three months since the launch of SEDAR+. The new system has already processed over 30,000 filings and welcomed thousands of filers. With a busy filing season coming up, those numbers will continue to grow.
Since the launch on July 25, the CSA and its members have been working closely with filing organizations, public users and other key stakeholders to help them through their initial use of SEDAR+.
For many filers, the transition process started nearly one year ago and will continue for the first annual filing cycle. Public users, including investors, started using SEDAR+ on the first day it was live. All are helping us identify opportunities to enhance how issuer information is filed, disclosed and searched for in SEDAR+. The transition is a significant undertaking for all involved and we deeply appreciate everyone’s constructive feedback and working with us through these early days of SEDAR+.
The first month of SEDAR+
As is expected when launching a system of this scale, there were some initial bumps. SEDAR+ experienced some intermittent performance issues the first week, and extended maintenance periods the first few weeks. Our expanded CSA Service Desk team and project team worked around the clock to support filers, regulators and the public. We identified, triaged and addressed issues as they arose. To minimize impact to users, system maintenance occurred during off-peak filing hours when possible.
SEDAR+ is stable and since early August has been operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week with limited planned maintenance windows. The late-August spike in securities filings were processed successfully by SEDAR.
Supporting capital market participants through the change
With SEDAR+, we introduced a significant system change to Canada’s capital market participants. Successfully navigating change is challenging – particularly in a complex industry that is driven by critical timelines.
The CSA Service Desk continues to be available 24/7 and we are regularly expanding content in the Help Centre and Learning Centre. All these resources are available to help you through the learning curve.
This is just the beginning
Replacing multiple legacy systems is a significant undertaking. We recognize that the new system may not meet everyone’s needs right out of the gate. Over time, through quarterly updates, enhancements to existing functionality and the addition of new features will further improve the user experience for all. The first quarterly update is planned for early December.
Our commitment to you is that we will continue to keep you informed, provide support and listen to your feedback. Together, we will achieve the long-term goal of providing a robust national system that will meet the needs of Canada’s capital markets for years to come.
I encourage you to take a few minutes to read through the articles in this edition of SEDAR+ Connection. We provide some key statistics from the first month of SEDAR+, detail the new ways to access investor information, and start sharing what we have planned for the future of SEDAR+.
Thank you,
David Fountain
Chief Information Officer, CSA
October 2023 – Information provided is accurate at time of publication.