Board decision-making is supported by a committee system, including an Investment Committee comprised of directors. Certain discretionary authority is delegated to the latter and to fund officers.
At present, the Chairperson of the Board of Directors is James A. McCambly. The President of Working Ventures in Ron Begg.
Working Ventures presently employs over forty persons, including employees of Working Ventures Investment Services, in offices located in Toronto, Saskatoon and Saint John (New Brunswick).
An eligible investor in Working Ventures is defined as any Canadian resident at the moment of buying common (Class A) shares. Common shareholders are obliged to retain their investment for no less than five years. Redemption at an earlier date is permitted, without tax penalty, only in the event of the investor's death, terminal illness or disability causing her or him to become permanently unfit for work. The fund charges fees on shares reclaimed within eight years.
Unlike the Fonds de solidarité, Working Ventures chose to enjoin licensed, professional investment dealers and brokers to solicit and subscribe investors (an early CFL proposal to to utilize union-based agents and resources was denied by the Ontario Securities Commission). Today, the fund distributes common shares through thousands of agents with client bases linked to Canada's leading securities firms. This has given Working Ventures an especially potent mechanism for raising capital quickly.
The separately-incorporated Working Ventures Investment Services organizes and supervises national sales campaigns (and performs some limited independent distribution). To ensure the fund is reaching average income investors, commissioned agents are encouraged — and facilitated — in making contact with workers and unions through CFL channels and offices. As a result, Working Ventures has a high representation of union members in its shareholder base. In 1995, this was approximately one-third of the total or around 30,000 shareholders.
Working Ventures also draws year-round contributions through voluntary payroll deduction plans. In 1995, this program was in a very early phase, with a total of twenty private and public sector employers having implemented such schemes. The fund is actively pursuing more through meetings with company managers and unions across the country.