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Toronto-based Aequitas NEO Connect (NEO Connect) announced on Wednesday that offering memorandum (OM) funds will now be available on its platform.

As a result, it’s now possible to purchase and redeem both prospectus and OM funds in the same way as buying and selling ETFs, enabling efficiencies and cost savings that ultimately benefit investors, through NEO Connect, the firm states in a news release.

“Our innovative technology enables fund manufacturers, portfolio managers and investment advisors to be more efficient,” says Jos Schmitt, president and CEO of NEO Connect, in a statement. “With NEO Connect now supporting OM funds, we are not only growing our offering, but taking our first operational step toward serving the Canadian private markets.”

Since the operational launch of NEO Connect, assets under management in existing Invesco platform-traded funds have grown substantially and are edging towards $150 million, the announcement states. There has also been a steady rise in the number of investment dealers signing up, with 10 now active on the platform.

Read: Four dealers sign on to Aequitas fund platform

Read: Invesco pioneers new fund platform

Access to NEO Connect is available at no cost for all Canadian investment dealers and an initial test trade can be organized and executed within 24 hours. Burlington, Ont.-based Aligned Capital Partners Inc. was the first dealer to transact OM-based funds on the platform.

“The platform enables fund manufacturers to offer the best priced product for all investors, regardless of their size, and to provide access to new and innovative investments for portfolio managers and advisors to use in their portfolios,” says Chris Enright, president and managing director, Aligned Capital Partners, in a statement. “The ease and efficiency of the platform allows these professionals to spend time managing their clients’ money, not overburdened by administrative tasks.”

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