Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange, LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade Options on the ETFS Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum Trust, 14646-14648 [2010-6677]
Download as PDF
14646
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 58 / Friday, March 26, 2010 / Notices
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited
or received with respect to the proposed
rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register or within such longer period (i)
as the Commission may designate up to
90 days of such date if it finds such
longer period to be appropriate and
publishes its reasons for so finding or
(ii) as to which the self-regulatory
organization consents, the Commission
will:
(A) By order approve the proposed
rule change, or
(B) Institute proceedings to determine
whether the proposed rule change
should be disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549, on official
business days between the hours of 10
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of such filing
also will be available for inspection and
copying at the principal office of the
Exchange. All comments received will
be posted without change; the
Commission does not edit personal
identifying information from
submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make
available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR–
NYSEArca–2010–15 and should be
submitted on or before April 16, 2010.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Market Regulation, pursuant to delegated
authority.7
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010–6676 Filed 3–25–10; 8:45 am]
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
Electronic Comments
Self-Regulatory Organizations;
International Securities Exchange,
LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule
Change To List and Trade Options on
the ETFS Palladium Trust and the
ETFS Platinum Trust
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File
Number SR–NYSEArca–2010–15 on the
subject line.
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–61742; File No. SR–ISE–
2010–19]
March 19, 2010.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
• Send paper comments in triplicate
notice is hereby given that on March 5,
to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary,
2010, the International Securities
Securities and Exchange Commission,
Exchange, LLC (the ‘‘Exchange’’ or the
100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC
‘‘ISE’’) filed with the Securities and
20549–1090.
Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’)
All submissions should refer to File
the proposed rule change as described
Number SR–NYSEArca–2010–15. This
in Items I, II, and III below, which items
file number should be included on the
have been prepared by the Exchange.
subject line if e-mail is used. To help the
The Commission is publishing this
Commission process and review your
notice to solicit comments on the
comments more efficiently, please use
proposed rule change from interested
only one method. The Commission will
persons.
post all comments on the Commission’s
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
the Proposed Rule Change
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
The Exchange proposes to amend its
with respect to the proposed rule
rules to enable the listing and trading on
change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
7 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
communications relating to the
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
proposed rule change between the
emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Paper Comments
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:23 Mar 25, 2010
Jkt 220001
PO 00000
Frm 00092
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
the Exchange of options on the ETFS
Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum
Trust. The text of the proposed rule
change is available on the Exchange’s
Web site https://www.ise.com, at the
principal office of the Exchange, and at
the Commission’s Public Reference
Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of, and basis for,
the proposed rule change and discussed
any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of these
statements may be examined at the
places specified in Item IV below. The
self-regulatory organization has
prepared summaries, set forth in
Sections A, B and C below, of the most
significant aspects of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
Recently, the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or
‘‘Commission’’) authorized ISE to list
and trade options on the SPDR Gold
Trust,3 the iShares COMEX Gold Trust
and the iShares Silver Trust,4 the ETFS
Gold Trust and the ETFS Silver Trust.5
Now, the Exchange proposes to list and
trade options on the ETFS Palladium
Trust and the ETFS Platinum Trust.
Under current Rule 502(h), only
Exchange-Traded Fund Shares, or ETFs,
that are traded on a national securities
exchange and are defined as an ‘‘NMS’’
stock under Rule 600 of Regulation
NMS, and that (i) represent interests in
registered investment companies (or
series thereof) organized as open-end
management investment companies,
unit investment trusts or similar entities
that hold portfolios of securities and/or
financial instruments, including, but not
limited to, stock index futures contracts,
options on futures, options on securities
and indices, equity caps, collars and
floors, swap agreements, forward
contracts, repurchase agreements and
reverse repurchase agreements (the
‘‘Financial Instruments’’), and money
3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57894
(May 30, 2008), 73 FR 32061 (June 5, 2008) (SR–
ISE–2008–12).
4 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 59055
(December 4, 2008), 73 FR 75148 (December 10,
2008) (SR–ISE–2008–58).
5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61483
(February 3, 2010), 75 FR 6753 (February 10, 2010)
(SR–ISE–2009–106).
E:\FR\FM\26MRN1.SGM
26MRN1
emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 58 / Friday, March 26, 2010 / Notices
market instruments, including, but not
limited to, U.S. government securities
and repurchase agreements (the ‘‘Money
Market Instruments’’) comprising or
otherwise based on or representing
investments in broad-based indexes or
portfolios of securities and/or Financial
Instruments and Money Market
Instruments (or that hold securities in
one or more other registered investment
companies that themselves hold such
portfolios of securities and/or Financial
Instruments and Money Market
Instruments) or (ii) represent interests in
a trust that holds a specified non-U.S.
currency or currencies deposited with
the trust when aggregated in some
specified minimum number may be
surrendered to the trust by the
beneficial owner to receive the specified
non-U.S. currency or currencies and
pays the beneficial owner interest and
other distributions on the deposited
non-U.S. currency or currencies, if any,
declared and paid by the trust (‘‘Funds’’)
or (iii) represent commodity pool
interests principally engaged, directly or
indirectly, in holding and/or managing
portfolios or baskets of securities,
commodity futures contracts, options on
commodity futures contracts, swaps,
forward contracts and/or options on
physical commodities and/or non-U.S.
currency (‘‘Commodity Pool ETFs’’) or
(iv) represent interests in the SPDR®
Gold Trust, the iShares COMEX Gold
Trust, the iShares Silver Trust, the ETFS
Gold Trust or the ETFS Silver Trust or
(v) represents an interest in a registered
investment company (‘‘Investment
Company’’) organized as an open-end
management company or similar entity,
that invests in a portfolio of securities
selected by the Investment Company’s
investment adviser consistent with the
Investment Company’s investment
objectives and policies, which is issued
in a specified aggregate minimum
number in return for a deposit of a
specified portfolio of securities and/or a
cash amount with a value equal to the
next determined net asset value
(‘‘NAV’’), and when aggregated in the
same specified minimum number, may
be redeemed at a holder’s request,
which holder will be paid a specified
portfolio of securities and/or cash with
a value equal to the next determined
NAV (‘‘Managed Fund Share’’) are
eligible as underlying securities for
options traded on the Exchange.6 This
rule change proposes to expand the
types of ETFs that may be approved for
options trading on the Exchange to
include the ETFS Palladium Trust and
the ETFS Platinum Trust.
6 See
ISE Rule 502(h).
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:23 Mar 25, 2010
Jkt 220001
Apart from allowing the ETFS
Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum
Trust to be an underlying for options
traded on the Exchange as described
above, the listing standards for ETFs
will remain unchanged from those that
apply under current Exchange rules.
ETFs on which options may be listed
and traded must still be listed and
traded on a national securities exchange
and must satisfy the other listing
standards set forth in ISE Rule 502(h).
Specifically, in addition to satisfying
the aforementioned listing
requirements, ETFs must meet either (1)
the criteria and guidelines under ISE
Rules 502(a) and (b) or (2) they must be
available for creation or redemption
each business day from or through the
issuing trust, investment company,
commodity pool or other entity in cash
or in kind at a price related to net asset
value, and the issuer must be obligated
to issue Exchange-Traded Fund Shares
in a specified aggregate number even if
some or all of the investment assets and/
or cash required to be deposited have
not been received by the issuer, subject
to the condition that the person
obligated to deposit the investment
assets has undertaken to deliver them as
soon as possible and such undertaking
is secured by the delivery and
maintenance of collateral consisting of
cash or cash equivalents satisfactory to
the issuer, as provided in the respective
prospectus.
The Exchange states that the current
continued listing standards for options
on ETFs will apply to options on the
ETFS Palladium Trust and the ETFS
Platinum Trust. Specifically, under ISE
Rule 503(h), options on ExchangeTraded Fund Shares may be subject to
the suspension of opening transactions
as follows: (1) Following the initial
twelve-month period beginning upon
the commencement of trading of the
Exchange-Traded Fund Shares, there are
fewer than 50 record and/or beneficial
holders of the Exchange-Traded Fund
Shares for 30 or more consecutive
trading days; (2) the value of the
underlying palladium or underlying
platinum is no longer calculated or
available; or (3) such other event occurs
or condition exists that in the opinion
of the Exchange makes further dealing
on the Exchange inadvisable.
Additionally, the ETFS Palladium
Trust and the ETFS Platinum Trust shall
not be deemed to meet the requirements
for continued approval, and the
Exchange shall not open for trading any
additional series of option contracts of
the class covering the ETFS Palladium
Trust and the ETFS Platinum Trust,
respectively, if the ETFS Palladium
Trust and the ETFS Platinum Trust
PO 00000
Frm 00093
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
14647
ceases to be an ‘‘NMS stock’’ as provided
for in ISE Rule 503(b)(5) or the ETFS
Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum
Trust is halted from trading on its
primary market.
The addition of the ETFS Palladium
Trust and the ETFS Platinum Trust to
ISE Rule 502(h) will not have any effect
on the rules pertaining to position and
exercise limits 7 or margin.8
The Exchange represents that its
surveillance procedures applicable to
trading in options on the ETFS
Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum
Trust will be similar to those applicable
to all other options on other ETFs
currently traded on the Exchange. Also,
the Exchange may obtain information
from the New York Mercantile
Exchange, Inc. (‘‘NYMEX’’) (a member of
the Intermarket Surveillance Group)
related to any financial instrument that
is based, in whole or in part, upon an
interest in or performance of palladium
or platinum.
2. Statutory Basis
The proposed rule change is
consistent with Section 6(b) 9 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’), in general, and furthers the
objectives of Section 6(b)(5) 10 in
particular in that it is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative
acts and practices, to promote just and
equitable principles of trade, to foster
cooperation and coordination with
persons engaged in facilitating
transactions in securities, and to remove
impediments to and perfect the
mechanisms of a free and open market
and a national market system in a
manner consistent with the protection
of investors and the public interest. In
particular, the Exchange believes that
amending its rules to accommodate the
listing and trading of options on the
ETFS Palladium Trust and the ETFS
Platinum Trust will benefit investors by
providing them with valuable risk
management tools.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
The proposed rule change does not
impose any burden on competition that
is not necessary or appropriate in
furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants or Others
The Exchange has not solicited, and
does not intend to solicit, comments on
7 See
ISE Rules 412 and 414.
ISE Rule 1202.
9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
10 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
8 See
E:\FR\FM\26MRN1.SGM
26MRN1
14648
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 58 / Friday, March 26, 2010 / Notices
this proposed rule change. The
Exchange has not received any
unsolicited written comments from
members or other interested parties.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register or within such longer period (i)
as the Commission may designate up to
90 days of such date if it finds such
longer period to be appropriate and
publishes its reasons for so finding or
(ii) as to which the self-regulatory
organization consents, the Commission
will:
(a) By order approve such proposed
rule change, or
(b) Institute proceedings to determine
whether the proposed rule change
should be disapproved.
available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549, on official
business days between the hours of 10
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also
will be available for inspection and
copying at the principal office of the
Exchange. All comments received will
be posted without change; the
Commission does not edit personal
identifying information from
submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make
available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR–ISE–
2010–19 and should be submitted on or
before April 16, 2010.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.11
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010–6677 Filed 3–25–10; 8:45 am]
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an e-mail to rulecomments@sec.gov. Please include File
Number SR–ISE–2010–19 on the subject
line.
emcdonald on DSK2BSOYB1PROD with NOTICES
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice
of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by
NYSE Amex LLC Deleting Rule 446—
NYSE Amex Equities and Adopting
New Rule 4370—NYSE Amex Equities
To Correspond With Rule Changes
Filed by the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority, Inc.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary,
Securities and Exchange Commission,
100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC
20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–ISE–2010–19. This file
number should be included on the
subject line if e-mail is used. To help the
Commission process and review your
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed rule
change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
March 19, 2010.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:23 Mar 25, 2010
Jkt 220001
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–61744; File No. SR–
NYSEAMEX–2010–26]
19(b)(1) 1
Pursuant to Section
of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3
notice is hereby given that, on March
11, 2010, NYSE Amex LLC (‘‘NYSE
Amex’’ or the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
change as described in Items I, II, and
III below, which Items have been
prepared by the self-regulatory
organization. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change
from interested persons.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to delete Rule
446—NYSE Amex Equities and adopt
new Rule 4370—NYSE Amex Equities
11 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C.78s(b)(1).
2 15 U.S.C. 78a.
3 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
1 15
PO 00000
Frm 00094
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
to correspond with rule changes filed by
the Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’) and approved
by the Commission.4 The text of the
proposed rule change is available at the
Exchange, the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, and https://
www.nyse.com.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
self-regulatory organization included
statements concerning the purpose of,
and basis for, the proposed rule change
and discussed any comments it received
on the proposed rule change. The text
of those statements may be examined at
the places specified in Item IV below.
The Exchange has prepared summaries,
set forth in sections A, B, and C below,
of the most significant parts of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
The purpose of the proposed rule
changes is to delete Rule 446—NYSE
Amex Equities (Business Continuity and
Contingency Plans) and adopt new Rule
4370—NYSE Amex Equities (Business
Continuity Plans and Emergency
Contact Information) to correspond with
rule changes filed by FINRA and
approved by the Commission.
Background
On July 30, 2007, FINRA’s
predecessor, the National Association of
Securities Dealers, Inc. (‘‘NASD’’), and
NYSE Regulation, Inc. (‘‘NYSER’’)
consolidated their member firm
regulation operations into a combined
organization, FINRA. Pursuant to Rule
17d–2 under the Act, the New York
Stock Exchange LLC (‘‘NYSE’’), NYSER
and FINRA entered into an agreement
(the ‘‘Agreement’’) to reduce regulatory
duplication for their members by
allocating to FINRA certain regulatory
responsibilities for certain NYSE rules
and rule interpretations (‘‘FINRA
Incorporated NYSE Rules’’). The
Exchange became a party to the
Agreement effective December 15,
2008.5
4 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 60534
(August 19, 2009), 74 FR 44410 (August 28, 2009)
(order approving SR–FINRA–2009–036).
5 See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 56148
(July 26, 2007), 72 FR 42146 (August 1, 2007) (order
approving the Agreement); 56147 (July 26, 2007), 72
FR 42166 (August 1, 2007) (SR–NASD–2007–054)
(order approving the incorporation of certain NYSE
E:\FR\FM\26MRN1.SGM
26MRN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 58 (Friday, March 26, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14646-14648]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-6677]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-61742; File No. SR-ISE-2010-19]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; International Securities Exchange,
LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade Options
on the ETFS Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum Trust
March 19, 2010.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(the ``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given
that on March 5, 2010, the International Securities Exchange, LLC (the
``Exchange'' or the ``ISE'') filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in
Items I, II, and III below, which items have been prepared by the
Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments
on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend its rules to enable the listing and
trading on the Exchange of options on the ETFS Palladium Trust and the
ETFS Platinum Trust. The text of the proposed rule change is available
on the Exchange's Web site https://www.ise.com, at the principal office
of the Exchange, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The self-regulatory organization has prepared summaries,
set forth in Sections A, B and C below, of the most significant aspects
of such statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
Recently, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or
``Commission'') authorized ISE to list and trade options on the SPDR
Gold Trust,\3\ the iShares COMEX Gold Trust and the iShares Silver
Trust,\4\ the ETFS Gold Trust and the ETFS Silver Trust.\5\ Now, the
Exchange proposes to list and trade options on the ETFS Palladium Trust
and the ETFS Platinum Trust.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57894 (May 30,
2008), 73 FR 32061 (June 5, 2008) (SR-ISE-2008-12).
\4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 59055 (December 4,
2008), 73 FR 75148 (December 10, 2008) (SR-ISE-2008-58).
\5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 61483 (February 3,
2010), 75 FR 6753 (February 10, 2010) (SR-ISE-2009-106).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Under current Rule 502(h), only Exchange-Traded Fund Shares, or
ETFs, that are traded on a national securities exchange and are defined
as an ``NMS'' stock under Rule 600 of Regulation NMS, and that (i)
represent interests in registered investment companies (or series
thereof) organized as open-end management investment companies, unit
investment trusts or similar entities that hold portfolios of
securities and/or financial instruments, including, but not limited to,
stock index futures contracts, options on futures, options on
securities and indices, equity caps, collars and floors, swap
agreements, forward contracts, repurchase agreements and reverse
repurchase agreements (the ``Financial Instruments''), and money
[[Page 14647]]
market instruments, including, but not limited to, U.S. government
securities and repurchase agreements (the ``Money Market Instruments'')
comprising or otherwise based on or representing investments in broad-
based indexes or portfolios of securities and/or Financial Instruments
and Money Market Instruments (or that hold securities in one or more
other registered investment companies that themselves hold such
portfolios of securities and/or Financial Instruments and Money Market
Instruments) or (ii) represent interests in a trust that holds a
specified non-U.S. currency or currencies deposited with the trust when
aggregated in some specified minimum number may be surrendered to the
trust by the beneficial owner to receive the specified non-U.S.
currency or currencies and pays the beneficial owner interest and other
distributions on the deposited non-U.S. currency or currencies, if any,
declared and paid by the trust (``Funds'') or (iii) represent commodity
pool interests principally engaged, directly or indirectly, in holding
and/or managing portfolios or baskets of securities, commodity futures
contracts, options on commodity futures contracts, swaps, forward
contracts and/or options on physical commodities and/or non-U.S.
currency (``Commodity Pool ETFs'') or (iv) represent interests in the
SPDR[reg] Gold Trust, the iShares COMEX Gold Trust, the iShares Silver
Trust, the ETFS Gold Trust or the ETFS Silver Trust or (v) represents
an interest in a registered investment company (``Investment Company'')
organized as an open-end management company or similar entity, that
invests in a portfolio of securities selected by the Investment
Company's investment adviser consistent with the Investment Company's
investment objectives and policies, which is issued in a specified
aggregate minimum number in return for a deposit of a specified
portfolio of securities and/or a cash amount with a value equal to the
next determined net asset value (``NAV''), and when aggregated in the
same specified minimum number, may be redeemed at a holder's request,
which holder will be paid a specified portfolio of securities and/or
cash with a value equal to the next determined NAV (``Managed Fund
Share'') are eligible as underlying securities for options traded on
the Exchange.\6\ This rule change proposes to expand the types of ETFs
that may be approved for options trading on the Exchange to include the
ETFS Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum Trust.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\6\ See ISE Rule 502(h).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Apart from allowing the ETFS Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum
Trust to be an underlying for options traded on the Exchange as
described above, the listing standards for ETFs will remain unchanged
from those that apply under current Exchange rules. ETFs on which
options may be listed and traded must still be listed and traded on a
national securities exchange and must satisfy the other listing
standards set forth in ISE Rule 502(h).
Specifically, in addition to satisfying the aforementioned listing
requirements, ETFs must meet either (1) the criteria and guidelines
under ISE Rules 502(a) and (b) or (2) they must be available for
creation or redemption each business day from or through the issuing
trust, investment company, commodity pool or other entity in cash or in
kind at a price related to net asset value, and the issuer must be
obligated to issue Exchange-Traded Fund Shares in a specified aggregate
number even if some or all of the investment assets and/or cash
required to be deposited have not been received by the issuer, subject
to the condition that the person obligated to deposit the investment
assets has undertaken to deliver them as soon as possible and such
undertaking is secured by the delivery and maintenance of collateral
consisting of cash or cash equivalents satisfactory to the issuer, as
provided in the respective prospectus.
The Exchange states that the current continued listing standards
for options on ETFs will apply to options on the ETFS Palladium Trust
and the ETFS Platinum Trust. Specifically, under ISE Rule 503(h),
options on Exchange-Traded Fund Shares may be subject to the suspension
of opening transactions as follows: (1) Following the initial twelve-
month period beginning upon the commencement of trading of the
Exchange-Traded Fund Shares, there are fewer than 50 record and/or
beneficial holders of the Exchange-Traded Fund Shares for 30 or more
consecutive trading days; (2) the value of the underlying palladium or
underlying platinum is no longer calculated or available; or (3) such
other event occurs or condition exists that in the opinion of the
Exchange makes further dealing on the Exchange inadvisable.
Additionally, the ETFS Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum Trust
shall not be deemed to meet the requirements for continued approval,
and the Exchange shall not open for trading any additional series of
option contracts of the class covering the ETFS Palladium Trust and the
ETFS Platinum Trust, respectively, if the ETFS Palladium Trust and the
ETFS Platinum Trust ceases to be an ``NMS stock'' as provided for in
ISE Rule 503(b)(5) or the ETFS Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum
Trust is halted from trading on its primary market.
The addition of the ETFS Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum
Trust to ISE Rule 502(h) will not have any effect on the rules
pertaining to position and exercise limits \7\ or margin.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\7\ See ISE Rules 412 and 414.
\8\ See ISE Rule 1202.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange represents that its surveillance procedures applicable
to trading in options on the ETFS Palladium Trust and the ETFS Platinum
Trust will be similar to those applicable to all other options on other
ETFs currently traded on the Exchange. Also, the Exchange may obtain
information from the New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (``NYMEX'') (a
member of the Intermarket Surveillance Group) related to any financial
instrument that is based, in whole or in part, upon an interest in or
performance of palladium or platinum.
2. Statutory Basis
The proposed rule change is consistent with Section 6(b) \9\ of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Act''), in general, and furthers
the objectives of Section 6(b)(5) \10\ in particular in that it is
designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to
promote just and equitable principles of trade, to foster cooperation
and coordination with persons engaged in facilitating transactions in
securities, and to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanisms of
a free and open market and a national market system in a manner
consistent with the protection of investors and the public interest. In
particular, the Exchange believes that amending its rules to
accommodate the listing and trading of options on the ETFS Palladium
Trust and the ETFS Platinum Trust will benefit investors by providing
them with valuable risk management tools.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\9\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\10\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The proposed rule change does not impose any burden on competition
that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of
the Act.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others
The Exchange has not solicited, and does not intend to solicit,
comments on
[[Page 14648]]
this proposed rule change. The Exchange has not received any
unsolicited written comments from members or other interested parties.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 35 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may
designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to
be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to
which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will:
(a) By order approve such proposed rule change, or
(b) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule
change should be disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's Internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include
File Number SR-ISE-2010-19 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-ISE-2010-19. This file
number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To
help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File Number SR-ISE-2010-19 and should be
submitted on or before April 16, 2010.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\11\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\11\
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-6677 Filed 3-25-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P