The Western Exempt Market Association in Calgary has rebranded itself as the National Exempt Market Association (NEMA), the association announced Monday.
The new name is better suited to the association’s membership and mandate, says Craig Skauge, president of NEMA. “When we started out,” says Skauge, “the idea was to be a western association being that’s where we’re from and where our members predominantly came from.” However, since the organizations inception in 2011 many member firms from across the country have joined.
Currently, NEMA has 182 members from every region of Canada excluding Newfoundland and Nunavut. Roughly 10-15% of the association’s membership hails from Ontario. The growth in that province, says Skauge, is mainly due to the association’s efforts to allow for additional prospectus exemptions.
In the near term, NEMA will continue to push for additional prospectus exemptions in Ontario, says Skauge, as well as gathering information and forming a response to issues relating to the British Columbia Securities Commission.
NEMA’s industry focused management and membership, according to Skauge, will prevent any potential overlap between it and the national Exempt Market Dealers Association of Canada, headquartered in Toronto.
“We’re an association that’s actually run by the industry, for the industry,” he says, “whereas if you look at our fellow association they’re a lot more run by securities lawyers.”