Barclays Global Fund Advisors, et al.; Notice of Application, 33006-33007 [E6-8803]

Download as PDF 33006 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 7, 2006 / Notices Public Interest Contribution (EPIC) Awards. OMB Number: 1215–0201. Affected Public: Business or other forprofit, not-for-profit institutions. Total Respondents/Responses: 39. Total Annual responses: 39. Frequency: Annually. Estimated Total Burden Hours: 4,460. Total Burden Cost (capital/startup): $0. Total Burden Cost (operating/ maintenance): $0. Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and Budget approval of the information collection request; they will also become a matter of public record. Dated: June 2, 2006. Ruben L. Wiley, Chief, Branch of Management Review and Internal Control, Division of Financial Management, Office of Management, Administration and Planning, Employment Standards Administration. [FR Doc. E6–8797 Filed 6–6–06; 8:45 am] 5 p.m., Friday, June 23, 2006. Such statements must be typewritten, doublespaced, and may not exceed twenty-five (25) pages. Upon receipt of the required notice. OPIC will prepare an agenda for the hearing identifying speakers, setting forth the subject on which each participant will speak, and the time allotted for each presentation. The agenda will be available at the hearing. A written summary of the hearing will be compiled, and such summary will be made available upon written request to OPIC’s Corporate Secretary, at the cost of reproduction. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Information on the hearing may be obtained from Connie M. Downs at (202) 336–8438, via facsimile at (202) 218– 0136, or via e-mail at cdown@opic.gov. Dated: June 5, 2006. Connie M. Downs, OPIC Corporate Secretary. [FR Doc. 06–5224 Filed 6–5–06; 12:30 pm] BILLING CODE 3210–01–M BILLING CODE 4520–CM–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION OVERSEAS PRIVATE INVESTMENT CORPORATION July 6, 2006, Public Hearing; Sunshine Act TIME AND DATE: 2 p.m., Thursday, July 6, [Investment Company Act Release No. 27387; 812–13285] Barclays Global Fund Advisors, et al.; Notice of Application 2006. June 1, 2006. Offices of the Corporation, Twelfth Floor Board Room, 1100 New York Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. STATUS: Hearing open to the Public at 2 p.m. PURPOSE: Public Hearing in conjunction with each meeting of OPIC’s Board of Directors, to afford and opportunity for any person to present views regarding the activities of the Corporation. PROCEDURES: Individuals wishing to address the hearing orally must provide advance notice to OPIC’s Corporate Secretary no later than 5 p.m., Friday, June 23, 2006. The notice must include the individual’s name, title, organization, address, and telephone number, and a concise summary oft he subject matter to be presented. Oral presentations may not exceed ten (10) minutes. The time for individual presentations may be reduced proportionately, if necessary, to afford all participants who have submitted a timely request to participate an opportunity to be heard. Participants wishing to submit a written statement for the record must submit a copy of such statement to OPIC’s Corporate Secretary no later than AGENCY: rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES PLACE: VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:54 Jun 06, 2006 Jkt 208001 Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’). ACTION: Notice of an application to amend a prior order under section 6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (‘‘Act’’) granting an exemption from sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), and 22(d) of the Act and rule 22c–1 under the Act, and under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act granting an exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and (a)(2) of the Act. Summary of Application: Applicants request an order to amend a prior order that permits: (a) An open-end management investment company that includes series based on certain fixedincome securities indices to issue shares of limited redeemability; (b) secondary market transactions in the shares of the series to occur at negotiated prices; and (c) affiliated persons of the series to deposit securities into, and receive securities from, the series in connection with the purchase and redemption of aggregations of the series’ shares (‘‘Prior Order’’).1 Applicants seek to amend the 1 Barclays Global Fund Advisors, et al., Investment Company Act Release No. Release No. (June 25, 2002), as subsequently amended by PO 00000 Frm 00094 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Prior Order in order to offer two additional series based on fixed-income securities indices (each series, a ‘‘New Fund’’). Applicants: Barclays Global Fund Advisors (‘‘Adviser’’), iShares Trust (‘‘Trust’’) and SEI Investments Distribution Co. (‘‘Distributor’’). Filing Dates: The application was filed on April 20, 2006 and amended on May 24, 2006. Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the requested relief will be issued unless the Commission orders a hearing. Interested persons may request a hearing by writing to the Commission’s Secretary and serving applicants with a copy of the request, personally or by mail. Hearing requests should be received by the Commission by 5:30 p.m. on June 22, 2006 and should be accompanied by proof of service on applicants, in the form of an affidavit or, for lawyers, a certificate of service. Hearing requests should state the nature of the writer’s interest, the reason for the request, and the issues contested. Persons may request notification of a hearing by writing to the Commission’s Secretary. ADDRESSES: Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549– 1090. Applicants: Ira Shapiro, Barclays Global Fund Advisors, c/o Barclays Global Investors, N.A., 45 Fremont Street, San Francisco, CA 94105; Peter Kronberg, iShares Trust, c/o Investors Bank & Trust Company, 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA 02116; and John Munch, SEI Investments Distribution Co., One Freedom Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura J. Riegel, Senior Counsel, at (202) 551–6873, or Michael W. Mundt, Senior Special Counsel, at (202) 551–6821 (Division of Investment Management). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is a summary of the application. The complete application may be obtained for a fee at the Commission’s Public Reference Branch, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549–0102 (tel. 202–551–5850). Applicants’ Representations 1. The Trust is an open-end management investment company registered under the Act and established in the state of Delaware. The Trust is organized as a series fund with multiple series. The Adviser, an investment iShares Trust, et al., Investment Company Act Release No. 26006 (April 15, 2003) and Barclays Global Fund Advisors, et al., Investment Company Act Release No. 26175 (September 8, 2003). E:\FR\FM\07JNN1.SGM 07JNN1 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 109 / Wednesday, June 7, 2006 / Notices adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, serves as investment adviser to each New Fund. The Distributor, a broker-dealer unaffiliated with the Adviser and registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, serves as the principal underwriter for the Trust. 2. The Trust is currently permitted to offer several series based on fixedincome securities indices in reliance on the Prior Order. Applicants seek to amend the Prior Order to permit the Trust to offer the two New Funds, each of which, except as described in the application, would operate in a manner identical to the existing series of the Trust that are subject to the Prior Order.2 3. Each New Fund will invest in a portfolio of securities generally consisting of the component securities of a specified U.S. bond index (each, an ‘‘Underlying Index’’).3 No entity that creates, compiles, sponsors, or maintains an Underlying Index is or will be an affiliated person, as defined in section 2(a)(3) of the Act, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, of the Trust, the Adviser, the Distributor, or a promoter of a New Fund. 4. Each Underlying Index contains fixed-income securities that are eligible for inclusion in the underlying index for an existing series of the Trust that is subject to the Prior Order 4 The 1–3 Year Credit Index represents that portion of the Aggregate Index consisting of U.S. investment grade bonds that have a remaining maturity of 1 to 3 years. The MBS Index represents that portion of the Aggregate Index consisting of U.S. agency mortgage pass-through securities. As with the Aggregate Bond Fund, the New Fund that would be based on the MBS Index (‘‘MBS Fund’’) intends to use ‘‘to-be-announced’’ (‘‘TBA’’) transactions and, in some cases, invest directly in U.S. agency mortgage pass-through securities, to track the performance of U.S. agency mortgage pass-through securities.5 rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES 2 If the amended order is granted, the New Funds would also be able to rely on an exemptive order granting certain relief from section 24(d) of the Act to the existing series of the Trust that are subject to the Prior Order. See iShares, Inc., et al., Investment Company Act Release No. 25623 (June 25, 2002) (order). 3 The Underlying Indices for the New Funds are Lehman Brothers 1–3 Year U.S. Credit Index (‘‘1– 3 Year Credit Index’’) and Lehman Brothers U.S. MBS Fixed Rate Index (‘‘MBS Index’’). 4 The Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate Index (‘‘Aggregate Index’’) is the underlying index of iShares U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund (‘‘Aggregate Fund’’). 5 ‘‘TBA’’ refers to a mechanism for the forward settlement of United States agency mortgage-pass through securities that permits the United States VerDate Aug<31>2005 17:54 Jun 06, 2006 Jkt 208001 5. The investment objective of each New Fund will be to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of its relevant Underlying Index. Each New Fund will utilize as an investment approach a representative sampling strategy where each New Fund will seek to hold a representative sample of the component securities of the Underlying Index. The New Fund that would track the 1–3 Year Credit Index will invest at least 90% of its assets in the component securities of its Underlying Index and may invest the remainder of its assets in certain futures, options, and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, and in bonds not included in its Underlying Index which the Adviser believes will help the New Fund track its Underlying Index. The MBS Fund will have at least 90% of its assets invested in: (a) Component securities of its Underlying Index and (b) investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the economic characteristics of the component securities of its Underlying Index (i.e., the TBAs, as discussed above).6 The MBS Fund may invest the remainder of its assets in certain futures, options, and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, and in bonds not included in its Underlying Index which the Adviser believes will help the New Fund track its Underlying Index. Applicants expect that each New Fund will have a tracking error relative to the performance of its respective Underlying Index of no more than 5 percent. 6. Applicants state that all discussions contained in the application for the Prior Order are equally applicable to the New Funds, except as specifically noted by applicants (as summarized above). Applicants agree that the amended order will subject applicants to the same conditions as imposed by the Prior Order. Applicants believe that the requested relief continues to meet the necessary exemptive standards. agency mortgage-pass through securities to be traded interchangeably pursuant to commonly observed settlement and delivery requirements. Applicants state that the use of TBA transactions permits investors to obtain exposure to U.S. agency mortgage pass-through securities, while promoting liquidity and price transparency. 6 As with the process used by the Aggregate Fund, the MBS Fund may accept delivery of a specified amount of ‘‘cash-in-lieu’’ of delivery of the designated U.S. agency mortgage pass-through securities or TBAs. This practice could result in cash-only creations and redemptions. Applicants do not believe that the acceptance of ‘‘cash-in-lieu’’ of U.S. agency mortgage pass-through securities or TBAs on a regular basis by the MBS Fund presents any material or unforeseen operation issues or will otherwise have a negative impact on the operation of the MBS Fund or the secondary market trading of shares of the MBS Fund. PO 00000 Frm 00095 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 33007 For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, pursuant to delegated authority. J. Lynn Taylor, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. E6–8803 Filed 6–6–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8010–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–53908] Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Declaration of Effectiveness of the Fingerprint Plan of the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC May 31, 2006. On May 30, 2006, the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (‘‘Nasdaq’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’ or ‘‘SEC’’) a fingerprint plan (‘‘Plan’’) pursuant to Rule 17f– 2(c) 1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’).2 Nasdaq believes that the Plan will facilitate compliance by Nasdaq members and Nasdaq member applicants (together, ‘‘participants’’) with section 17(f)(2) of the Exchange Act and Rule 17f–2 thereunder, by providing a facility for participants to have the fingerprints of their partners, directors, officers, and employees processed by the Attorney General of the United States or his designee (‘‘Attorney General’’). The Plan will be administered for Nasdaq by NASD Regulation, Inc. (‘‘NASDR’’) and the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’), the parent corporation of NASDR, pursuant to a regulatory services agreement between NASDR and Nasdaq (the ‘‘Regulatory Contract’’). The Commission notes that, notwithstanding the fact that Nasdaq has entered into the Regulatory Contract to have NASDR perform some of Nasdaq’s functions, Nasdaq shall retain ultimate legal responsibility for, and control of, such functions. Under the Plan, participants submit fingerprints and identifying information, on paper or electronically, to the NASD, which then forwards the cards to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (‘‘FBI’’) (the fingerprint processing arm of the Attorney General). The FBI identifies submitted fingerprints, retrieves relevant criminal history information, and returns fingerprint reports (including the original paper fingerprint cards, if any) 1 17 2 15 E:\FR\FM\07JNN1.SGM CFR 240.17f–2(c). U.S.C. 78a et seq. 07JNN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 109 (Wednesday, June 7, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 33006-33007]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-8803]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 27387; 812-13285]


Barclays Global Fund Advisors, et al.; Notice of Application

June 1, 2006.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice of an application to amend a prior order under section 
6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``Act'') granting an 
exemption from sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), and 22(d) of the Act and 
rule 22c-1 under the Act, and under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act 
granting an exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and (a)(2) of the Act.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Summary of Application: Applicants request an order to amend a prior 
order that permits: (a) An open-end management investment company that 
includes series based on certain fixed-income securities indices to 
issue shares of limited redeemability; (b) secondary market 
transactions in the shares of the series to occur at negotiated prices; 
and (c) affiliated persons of the series to deposit securities into, 
and receive securities from, the series in connection with the purchase 
and redemption of aggregations of the series' shares (``Prior 
Order'').\1\ Applicants seek to amend the Prior Order in order to offer 
two additional series based on fixed-income securities indices (each 
series, a ``New Fund'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Barclays Global Fund Advisors, et al., Investment Company 
Act Release No. Release No. (June 25, 2002), as subsequently amended 
by iShares Trust, et al., Investment Company Act Release No. 26006 
(April 15, 2003) and Barclays Global Fund Advisors, et al., 
Investment Company Act Release No. 26175 (September 8, 2003).

Applicants: Barclays Global Fund Advisors (``Adviser''), iShares Trust 
(``Trust'') and SEI Investments Distribution Co. (``Distributor'').
    Filing Dates: The application was filed on April 20, 2006 and 
amended on May 24, 2006.

Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the requested 
relief will be issued unless the Commission orders a hearing. 
Interested persons may request a hearing by writing to the Commission's 
Secretary and serving applicants with a copy of the request, personally 
or by mail. Hearing requests should be received by the Commission by 
5:30 p.m. on June 22, 2006 and should be accompanied by proof of 
service on applicants, in the form of an affidavit or, for lawyers, a 
certificate of service. Hearing requests should state the nature of the 
writer's interest, the reason for the request, and the issues 
contested. Persons may request notification of a hearing by writing to 
the Commission's Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F 
Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090. Applicants: Ira Shapiro, 
Barclays Global Fund Advisors, c/o Barclays Global Investors, N.A., 45 
Fremont Street, San Francisco, CA 94105; Peter Kronberg, iShares Trust, 
c/o Investors Bank & Trust Company, 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, MA 
02116; and John Munch, SEI Investments Distribution Co., One Freedom 
Valley Drive, Oaks, PA 19456.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura J. Riegel, Senior Counsel, at 
(202) 551-6873, or Michael W. Mundt, Senior Special Counsel, at (202) 
551-6821 (Division of Investment Management).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is a summary of the 
application. The complete application may be obtained for a fee at the 
Commission's Public Reference Branch, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20549-0102 (tel. 202-551-5850).

Applicants' Representations

    1. The Trust is an open-end management investment company 
registered under the Act and established in the state of Delaware. The 
Trust is organized as a series fund with multiple series. The Adviser, 
an investment

[[Page 33007]]

adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, serves as 
investment adviser to each New Fund. The Distributor, a broker-dealer 
unaffiliated with the Adviser and registered under the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934, serves as the principal underwriter for the 
Trust.
    2. The Trust is currently permitted to offer several series based 
on fixed-income securities indices in reliance on the Prior Order. 
Applicants seek to amend the Prior Order to permit the Trust to offer 
the two New Funds, each of which, except as described in the 
application, would operate in a manner identical to the existing series 
of the Trust that are subject to the Prior Order.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ If the amended order is granted, the New Funds would also be 
able to rely on an exemptive order granting certain relief from 
section 24(d) of the Act to the existing series of the Trust that 
are subject to the Prior Order. See iShares, Inc., et al., 
Investment Company Act Release No. 25623 (June 25, 2002) (order).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Each New Fund will invest in a portfolio of securities generally 
consisting of the component securities of a specified U.S. bond index 
(each, an ``Underlying Index'').\3\ No entity that creates, compiles, 
sponsors, or maintains an Underlying Index is or will be an affiliated 
person, as defined in section 2(a)(3) of the Act, or an affiliated 
person of an affiliated person, of the Trust, the Adviser, the 
Distributor, or a promoter of a New Fund.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The Underlying Indices for the New Funds are Lehman Brothers 
1-3 Year U.S. Credit Index (``1-3 Year Credit Index'') and Lehman 
Brothers U.S. MBS Fixed Rate Index (``MBS Index'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. Each Underlying Index contains fixed-income securities that are 
eligible for inclusion in the underlying index for an existing series 
of the Trust that is subject to the Prior Order \4\ The 1-3 Year Credit 
Index represents that portion of the Aggregate Index consisting of U.S. 
investment grade bonds that have a remaining maturity of 1 to 3 years. 
The MBS Index represents that portion of the Aggregate Index consisting 
of U.S. agency mortgage pass-through securities. As with the Aggregate 
Bond Fund, the New Fund that would be based on the MBS Index (``MBS 
Fund'') intends to use ``to-be-announced'' (``TBA'') transactions and, 
in some cases, invest directly in U.S. agency mortgage pass-through 
securities, to track the performance of U.S. agency mortgage pass-
through securities.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ The Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate Index (``Aggregate 
Index'') is the underlying index of iShares U.S. Aggregate Bond Fund 
(``Aggregate Fund'').
    \5\ ``TBA'' refers to a mechanism for the forward settlement of 
United States agency mortgage-pass through securities that permits 
the United States agency mortgage-pass through securities to be 
traded interchangeably pursuant to commonly observed settlement and 
delivery requirements. Applicants state that the use of TBA 
transactions permits investors to obtain exposure to U.S. agency 
mortgage pass-through securities, while promoting liquidity and 
price transparency.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    5. The investment objective of each New Fund will be to provide 
investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield 
performance of its relevant Underlying Index. Each New Fund will 
utilize as an investment approach a representative sampling strategy 
where each New Fund will seek to hold a representative sample of the 
component securities of the Underlying Index. The New Fund that would 
track the 1-3 Year Credit Index will invest at least 90% of its assets 
in the component securities of its Underlying Index and may invest the 
remainder of its assets in certain futures, options, and swap 
contracts, cash and cash equivalents, and in bonds not included in its 
Underlying Index which the Adviser believes will help the New Fund 
track its Underlying Index. The MBS Fund will have at least 90% of its 
assets invested in: (a) Component securities of its Underlying Index 
and (b) investments that have economic characteristics that are 
substantially identical to the economic characteristics of the 
component securities of its Underlying Index (i.e., the TBAs, as 
discussed above).\6\ The MBS Fund may invest the remainder of its 
assets in certain futures, options, and swap contracts, cash and cash 
equivalents, and in bonds not included in its Underlying Index which 
the Adviser believes will help the New Fund track its Underlying Index. 
Applicants expect that each New Fund will have a tracking error 
relative to the performance of its respective Underlying Index of no 
more than 5 percent.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ As with the process used by the Aggregate Fund, the MBS Fund 
may accept delivery of a specified amount of ``cash-in-lieu'' of 
delivery of the designated U.S. agency mortgage pass-through 
securities or TBAs. This practice could result in cash-only 
creations and redemptions. Applicants do not believe that the 
acceptance of ``cash-in-lieu'' of U.S. agency mortgage pass-through 
securities or TBAs on a regular basis by the MBS Fund presents any 
material or unforeseen operation issues or will otherwise have a 
negative impact on the operation of the MBS Fund or the secondary 
market trading of shares of the MBS Fund.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    6. Applicants state that all discussions contained in the 
application for the Prior Order are equally applicable to the New 
Funds, except as specifically noted by applicants (as summarized 
above). Applicants agree that the amended order will subject applicants 
to the same conditions as imposed by the Prior Order. Applicants 
believe that the requested relief continues to meet the necessary 
exemptive standards.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
pursuant to delegated authority.
J. Lynn Taylor,
Assistant Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-8803 Filed 6-6-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
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