How to Use Canada's SEDAR

If you're an investor who lives in the United States, you may be familiar with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission's (SEC) EDGAR database. EDGAR is useful for retrieving SEC filings. These filings include everything from annual reports (10-K filings) to insider transactions (Form 4 filings). In Canada, there is a similar filing system for Canadian firms. This database is known as SEDAR.

Learn more about how you can access SEDAR and identify key filings to assist in your due diligence for Canadian companies.

How Does SEDAR Work?

SEDAR is an acronym for System for Electric Document Analysis and Retrieval. The database is run by the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA), which regulates securities in Canada. SEDAR works very much the same as the U.S. SEC's EDGAR database.

Canadian companies must use SEDAR to file documents such as financial statements and prospectuses in PDF format. The goal is to increase transparency by making the data available to the public and easy to access.

CSA also allows companies to submit filings in XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) as well as PDF. But, regulators have not yet required public companies to make these updated filings, as in the United States. XRBL is a business reporting language designed to make sharing and analyzing financial data easier.

How to Access SEDAR

You can access filings in either English or French at SEDAR's home page. Once you choose a section, you can search records by clicking on the "Search Database" link under the SEDAR logo. Then, select either "company" or "investment fund" to search records.

The company records search page provides many options. You can search for specific companies, look into industry groups, search by filing date, or look for only certain documents.

Once you find what you're looking for, click to view the filing and agree to the terms and conditions. When you open the PDF file, you can save, search, print, or share it using Adobe Acrobat's built-in tools.

The process is a little less streamlined than the United States' EDGAR system. Still, it's a good way to find and read company filings. However, no third-party services offer access to SEDAR filings, given how they must be accessed and the lack of an API.

Important SEDAR Filings

It's important to know what to look for when you use SEDAR to help you identify potential investment opportunities. When you know which filings are most useful, you can sort through the clutter to find the data you need to do your due diligence.

Here are some important filings to watch:

• Annual Report: Annual reports summarize a company's progress and financial condition over the course of a year. These documents provide you with a great overview of a company and its operations.
• Financial Statements: Financial statements provide key insights into a company's growth via its income statement and cash flow statement. Learn about a firm's financial health by looking at its balance sheet.
• Management's Discussion & Analysis: These reports are often filed with financial statements. They contain an in-depth discussion of the financial results and related information.
• Prospectus: A prospectus provides information about companies looking to raise capital or undergo an initial public offering (IPO). These include both business descriptions and financial statements.
• NI 43-101 Reports: NI 43-101 reports are highly regarded reports in Canada's resource sectors, which account for a significant part of the country's economy.

You can find many other filings covering any number of different circumstances. Canadian investors should familiarize themselves with these filing types to better research potential investments and existing holdings.