Russell Investment Management Company, et al.;, 23342-23349 [2011-9968]

Agencies

• SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 26, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23342-23349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-9968]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 29655; File No. 812-13669]


Russell Investment Management Company, et al.; Notice of 
Application

April 20, 2011.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice of an application for an order under section 6(c) of the 
Investment Company Act of 1940 (the ``Act'') for an exemption from 
sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d), and 22(e) of the Act and rule 22c-1 
under the Act, under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an 
exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Act, and under 
section 12(d)(1)(J) for an exemption from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and 
12(d)(1)(B) of the Act.

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Summary of Application: Applicants request an order that would permit 
(a) series of certain open-end management investment companies to issue 
shares (``Shares'') redeemable in large aggregations only (``Creation 
Units''); (b) secondary market transactions in Shares to occur at 
negotiated market prices; (c) certain series to pay redemption 
proceeds, under certain circumstances, more than seven days after the 
tender of Shares for redemption; (d) certain affiliated persons of the 
series to deposit securities into, and receive securities from, the 
series in connection with the purchase and redemption of Creation 
Units; and (e) certain registered management investment companies and 
unit investment trusts outside of the same group of investment 
companies as the series to acquire Shares.

Applicants: Russell Investment Management Company (``RIMCo''), Russell 
Exchange Traded Funds Trust (``Trust'', formerly U.S. One Trust), 
Russell Financial Services, Inc. (``RFS'') and ALPS Distributors, Inc. 
(``ALPS'').

Filing Dates: The application was filed on July 2, 2009, and amended on 
August 31, 2009, January 22, 2010, November 15, 2010, March 16, 2011, 
April 14, 2011, and April 20, 2011.

Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the application 
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 May 13, 2011, 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 
who wish to be notified of a hearing may request notification by 
writing to the Commission's Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, 
NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090; Applicants, 1301 Second Avenue, 18th 
Floor, Seattle, WA 98101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laura L. Solomon, Senior Counsel at 
(202) 551-6915, or Jennifer L. Sawin, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-6821 
(Division of Investment Management, Office of Investment Company 
Regulation).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is a summary of the 
application. The complete application may be obtained via the 
Commission's Web site by searching for the file number, or an applicant 
using the Company name box, at https://www.sec.gov/search/search.htm or 
by calling (202) 551-8090.
    Applicants' Representations:
    1. The Trust is organized as a Delaware statutory trust and is 
registered as an open-end management investment company under the Act. 
The Trust initially will offer series described in Exhibit C to the 
application (``Initial Funds'') whose performance will correspond 
generally to the total return of a specified index consisting solely of 
equity and/or fixed income securities (``Underlying Index'' or 
``Index'').
    2. Applicants request that the order apply to the Initial Funds and 
any additional series of the Trust and any other open-end management 
investment companies or series thereof, that may be created in the 
future and that track a specified equity and/or fixed income securities 
Underlying Index (``Future Funds'').\1\ Any Future Fund will be (a) 
advised by RIMCo or an entity controlling, controlled by, or under 
common control with RIMCo (``Adviser''), and (b) comply with the terms 
and conditions of the application. The Initial Funds and Future Funds, 
together, are the ``Funds''.\2\
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    \1\ All entities that currently intend to rely on the order have 
been named as applicants. Any other entity that subsequently relies 
on the order will comply with the terms and conditions of the 
application. A Fund of Funds (as defined below) may rely on the 
order only to invest in Funds and Actively-Managed Funds (as defined 
below) and not in any other registered investment company.
    \2\ Each Fund will comply with the disclosure requirements 
adopted by the Commission in Investment Company Act Release No. 
28584 (Jan. 13, 2009) before offering Shares.
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    3. RIMCo is registered as an investment adviser under the 
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the ``Advisers Act''), and will serve 
as investment adviser to the Initial Funds. Any investment adviser to 
Future Funds will be registered as an investment adviser under the 
Advisers Act. The Adviser is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Frank Russell 
Company d/b/a Russell Investments (``Russell'' or the ``Index 
Provider'') who may provide the Underlying Indexes for certain Funds. 
The Adviser may enter into sub-advisory agreements with one or more 
investment advisers each of which will serve as a sub-adviser to a Fund 
(each, a ``Sub-Adviser''). Each Sub-Adviser will be registered under 
the Advisers Act. RFS, a Washington corporation and a wholly-owned 
subsidiary of the Adviser, is a broker-dealer registered under the 
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ``Exchange Act''). ALPS, a 
Colorado corporation, is a broker-dealer registered under the Exchange 
Act. ALPS is not affiliated with RIMCo or its affiliates. RFS or ALPS 
will serve as the principal underwriter and distributor of the Funds 
(the ``Distributor'').
    4. Each Fund will hold certain equity securities and/or fixed 
income securities (``Portfolio Securities'') selected to correspond 
generally to the performance of a specified equity and/or fixed income 
Underlying Index. Each Initial Fund will track an Underlying Index of 
selected equity securities. The Funds may invest in equity securities 
(``Equity Funds'') and/or fixed income securities (``Fixed Income 
Funds'') traded in the U.S. or non-U.S. markets as well as futures 
contracts, options on such futures contracts, swaps, forward contracts 
or other derivatives, shares of other exchange-traded funds and 
investment companies that invest primarily in short-term fixed income 
securities. Certain of the Underlying Indexes will be comprised solely 
of equity and/or fixed income securities of domestic issuers and non-
domestic issuers meeting the requirements for

[[Page 23343]]

trading in U.S. markets (``Domestic Indexes''). Other Underlying 
Indexes will be comprised solely of foreign equity and/or fixed income 
securities or a combination of domestic and foreign equity and/or fixed 
income securities (``Foreign Indexes''). Funds that track Domestic 
Indexes are referred to as ``Domestic Funds'' and Funds that track 
Foreign Indexes are referred to as ``Foreign Funds.'' The Underlying 
Indexes are based on a proprietary, rules based methodology developed 
by Russell (``Index Composition Methodology''). The Index Composition 
Methodology, including the rules which govern the inclusion and 
weighting of securities in the Underlying Indexes, will be publicly 
available, including on Russell's website (``Web site''). All 
components, weightings, additions and deletions from the Underlying 
Indexes will not only be publicly available, but will also be publicly 
announced prior to any changes being made. While the Index Provider may 
modify the Index Composition Methodology in the future, it does not 
currently intend to do so. Any change to the Index Composition 
Methodology would not take effect until the Index Provider had given 
the public at least 60 days advance notice of the change and had given 
reasonable notice of the change to the Calculation Agent. The 
``Calculation Agent'' is the entity that, pursuant to an agreement with 
Russell, is solely responsible for all Index maintenance, calculation, 
dissemination and reconstitution activities.\3\ The Calculation Agent 
is not, and will not be, an affiliated person, or an affiliated person 
of an affiliated person, of the Funds, the Adviser, any Sub-Adviser, 
the Distributor or any promoter of the Funds. The Indexes will be 
reconstituted on a periodic basis at least annually and no more 
frequently than monthly.
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    \3\ The Calculation Agent will determine the number, type and 
weight of securities that comprise each Index and will perform or 
cause to be performed all other calculations that are necessary to 
determine the proper make-up of each Index. The Calculation Agent 
will not disclose any information concerning the identity of 
companies that meet the selection criteria to the Adviser, any Sub-
Adviser, the Funds or any other affiliated entities prior to the 
publication of such information on the Web site. Certain employees 
of the Index Provider and its affiliates who have responsibility for 
the Underlying Indexes and Index Composition Methodology, as well as 
those employees of the Index Provider and its affiliates appointed 
to assist such employees in the performance of their duties (``Index 
Personnel'') will monitor the results produced by the Calculation 
Agent on a periodic basis.
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    5. Applicants state that the Index Personnel will not have any 
responsibility for the management of the Funds. In addition, applicants 
have adopted policies and procedures (``Firewalls'') that, among other 
things, are designed to prevent the Adviser, or any affiliated person 
of the Adviser of a Fund, from having any advantage over other market 
participants with respect to prior knowledge of companies that may be 
added to or deleted from the Index or from the portfolios of any Funds 
that track the Underlying Indexes. Among other things, the Firewalls 
prohibit anyone, including the Index Personnel from disseminating non-
public information about the Indexes, including potential changes to 
the Index Composition Methodology, to, among others, the employees of 
the Adviser and any Sub-Adviser responsible for managing the Funds or 
any Client Account (as defined below). A Client Account is any account, 
including any open-end registered investment company, separately 
managed account for institutional investors, privately offered fund 
that is not deemed to be an investment company in reliance on section 
3(c)(1), 3(c)(7) or 3(c)(11) of the Act, or business development 
company that is a client of the Sub-Adviser. The Index Provider, the 
Adviser and any Sub-Adviser have or will have adopted policies, 
including Firewalls that prohibit personnel responsible for the 
management of the Funds and/or any Client Accounts from sharing any 
non-public information about the management of the Funds and any Client 
Account with the Index Personnel and Calculation Agent. Further, the 
Adviser and any Sub-Adviser have adopted and implemented, pursuant to 
rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act, written policies and procedures 
designed to prevent violations of the Advisers Act and the rules under 
the Advisers Act. The Adviser, any Sub-Adviser and Distributor also 
have adopted or will adopt a Code of Ethics as required under rule 17j-
1 under the Act, which contains provisions reasonably necessary to 
prevent Access Persons (as defined in rule 17j-1) from engaging in any 
conduct prohibited in rule 17j-1. In addition, the Adviser and any Sub-
Adviser has adopted or will adopt policies and procedures to detect and 
prevent insider trading as required under section 204A of the Advisers 
Act, which are reasonably designed taking into account the nature of 
their business, to prevent the misuse in violation of the Advisers Act, 
Exchange Act, or rules and regulations under the Advisers Act and 
Exchange Act, of material non-public information.
    6. Applicants assert that certain potential conflicts of interest 
discussed in the application do not exist where the index creator is 
not an affiliated person, or an affiliated person of an affiliated 
person, of an exchange-traded fund or its investment adviser or any 
sub-adviser. Applicants assert that the representations and 
undertakings designed to prevent such potential conflicts of interest 
that relate to the transparency of the methodology for those Underlying 
Indexes, and the establishment of certain policies and procedures to 
limit communication between Index Personnel and employees of the 
Adviser and any Sub-Adviser shall not apply to an ``Unaffiliated Index 
Fund''.\4\
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    \4\ An ``Unaffiliated Index Fund'' refers to an open-end 
management investment company for which the Adviser serves as 
investment adviser, which will operate, function and trade as an 
exchange-traded fund in substantially the same manner as the Initial 
Funds, and where 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 Fund, the Adviser, the Distributor, 
promoter or any Sub-Adviser to a Fund.
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    7. The investment objective of each Fund will be to provide 
investment results that closely correspond to the total return of its 
Underlying Index.\5\ The value of the Underlying Index will be 
disseminated once each ``Business Day,'' which is defined as any day 
that a Fund is required to be open under section 22(e) of the Act, at 
the end of the Business Day. A Fund will utilize either a replication 
or representative sampling strategy to track its Underlying Index. A 
Fund using a replication strategy will invest in substantially all of 
the Component Securities in its Underlying Index in the same 
approximate proportions as in the Underlying Index. A Fund using a 
representative sampling strategy will attempt to match the risk and 
return characteristics of a Fund's

[[Page 23344]]

portfolio to the risk and return characteristics of its Underlying 
Index. Applicants state that use of the representative sampling 
strategy may prevent a Fund from tracking the performance of its 
Underlying Index with the same degree of accuracy as would a Fund that 
invests in every Component Security of the Underlying Index. Applicants 
expect that each Fund will have a tracking error relative to the 
performance of its Underlying Index of less than 5%.
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    \5\ Applicants represent that each Fund will invest at least 80% 
of its assets (exclusive of collateral held from securities lending) 
in the component securities that comprise its Underlying Index 
(``Component Securities'') or, in the case of Fixed Income Funds, in 
the Component Securities of its respective Underlying Index and TBAs 
(as defined below) representing Component Securities, and in the 
case of Foreign Funds, in Component Securities and Depositary 
Receipts representing such Component Securities. Depositary receipts 
include American Depositary Receipts (``ADRs'') and Global 
Depositary Receipts (``GDRs''). A Fund will not invest in any 
Depositary Receipts that the Adviser or any Sub-Adviser deems to be 
illiquid or for which pricing information is not readily available. 
No affiliated persons of Applicants will serve as the depositary for 
any Depositary Receipts held by a Fund. Each Fund also may invest up 
to 20% of its assets in certain index futures, options, options on 
index futures, swap contracts or other derivatives, as related to 
its respective Underlying Index and its Component Securities, cash, 
cash equivalents, other investment companies, and securities that 
are not included in its Underlying Index but which the Adviser 
believes will help the Fund track its Underlying Index.
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    8. Creation Units are expected to consist of 50,000 Shares and to 
have an initial price in the range of $1,000,000 to $30,000,000. All 
orders to purchase Creation Units must be placed with the Distributor 
by or through a party that has entered into an agreement with the 
Distributor (``Authorized Participant''). The Distributor will be 
responsible for transmitting the orders to the Funds. An Authorized 
Participant must be either (a) a broker-dealer or other participant in 
the continuous net settlement system of the National Securities 
Clearing Corporation (``NSCC''), a clearing agency registered with the 
Commission, or (b) a participant in the Depository Trust Company 
(``DTC'', and such participant, ``DTC Participant''). Shares of the 
Fund generally will be sold in Creation Units in exchange for an in-
kind deposit by the purchaser of a portfolio of securities designated 
by the Adviser to correspond generally to the total return of the 
relevant Underlying Index (the ``Deposit Securities''), together with 
the deposit of a specified cash payment (``Balancing Amount'' and 
collectively with the Deposit Securities, ``Portfolio Deposit''). The 
Balancing Amount is an amount equal to the difference between (a) the 
net asset value (``NAV'') (per Creation Unit) of a Fund and (b) the 
total aggregate market value (per Creation Unit) of the Deposit 
Securities.\6\ Each Fund may permit a purchaser of Creation Units to 
substitute cash in lieu of depositing some or all of the Deposit 
Securities if the method would reduce the Fund's transaction costs or 
enhance the Fund's operating efficiency. To preserve maximum efficiency 
and flexibility, a Fund reserves the right to accept and deliver 
Creation Units on a cash basis.
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    \6\ Each Fund will sell and redeem Creation Units only on a 
Business Day. The Fund will make available on each Business Day, 
prior to the opening of trading on the listing Exchange, a list of 
the names and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security 
to be included in the Portfolio Deposit for each Fund. Any national 
securities exchange (as defined in section 2(a)(26) of the Act) 
(``Exchange'') on which Shares are listed will disseminate, every 15 
seconds during its regular trading hours, through the facilities of 
the Consolidated Tape Association, an amount per individual Share 
representing the sum of the estimated Balancing Amount and the 
current value of the Deposit Securities.
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    9. An investor acquiring or redeeming a Creation Unit from a Fund 
will be charged a fee (``Transaction Fee'') to prevent the dilution of 
the interests of the remaining shareholders resulting from costs in 
connection with the purchase or redemption of Creation Units.\7\ The 
Distributor also will be responsible for delivering the Fund's 
prospectus to those persons acquiring Shares in Creation Units and for 
maintaining records of both the orders placed with it and the 
confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. In addition, the 
Distributor will maintain a record of the instructions given to the 
applicable Fund to implement the delivery of its Shares.
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    \7\ Where a Fund permits a purchaser to substitute cash in lieu 
of depositing a portion of the requisite Deposit Securities, the 
purchaser may be assessed a higher Transaction Fee to cover the cost 
of purchasing such Deposit Securities.
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    10. Purchasers of Shares in Creation Units may hold such Shares or 
may sell such Shares into the secondary market. Shares will be listed 
and traded on an Exchange. It is expected that one or more member firms 
of an Exchange will be designated to act as a market maker (each, a 
``Market Maker'') and maintain a market for Shares trading on the 
Exchange. Prices of Shares trading on an Exchange will be based on the 
current bid/offer market. Shares sold in the secondary market will be 
subject to customary brokerage commissions and charges.
    11. Applicants expect that purchasers of Creation Units will 
include institutional investors and arbitrageurs (which could include 
institutional investors). Exchange specialists also may purchase 
Creation Units for use in market-making activities. Applicants expect 
that secondary market purchasers of Shares will include both 
institutional investors and retail investors.\8\ Applicants expect that 
the price at which Shares trade will be disciplined by arbitrage 
opportunities created by the option to continually purchase or redeem 
Creation Units at their NAV, which should ensure that Shares will not 
trade at a material discount or premium in relation to their NAV.
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    \8\ Shares will be registered in book-entry form only. DTC or 
its nominee will be the registered owner of all outstanding Shares. 
DTC or DTC Participants will maintain records reflecting beneficial 
owners of Shares.
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    12. Shares will not be individually redeemable, and owners of 
Shares may acquire those Shares from the Fund, or tender such Shares 
for redemption to the Fund, in Creation Units only. To redeem, an 
investor will have to accumulate enough Shares to constitute a Creation 
Unit. Redemption orders must be placed by or through an Authorized 
Participant. An investor redeeming a Creation Unit generally will 
receive (a) Portfolio Securities designated to be delivered for 
redemptions (``Redemption Securities'') on the date that the request 
for redemption is submitted and (b) a ``Cash Redemption Payment,'' 
consisting of an amount calculated in the same manner as the Balancing 
Amount, although the actual amount of the Cash Redemption Payment may 
differ if the Redemption Securities are not identical to the Deposit 
Securities on that day. An investor may receive the cash equivalent of 
a Redemption Security in certain circumstances, such as if the investor 
is restrained from effecting transactions in the security by regulation 
or policy.\9\ A redeeming investor may pay a Transaction Fee, 
calculated in the same manner as a Transaction Fee payable in 
connection with purchases of Creation Units.
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    \9\ Applicants state that a cash-in-lieu amount will replace any 
``to-be-announced'' (``TBA'') transaction that is listed as a 
Deposit Security or Redemption Security of any Fund. A TBA 
transaction is a method of trading mortgage-backed securities where 
the buyer and seller agree upon general trade parameters such as 
agency, settlement date, par amount and price. The actual pools 
delivered generally are determined two days prior to the settlement 
date. The amount of substituted cash in the case of TBA transactions 
will be equivalent to the value of the TBA transaction listed as a 
Deposit Security or a Redemption Security.
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    13. Applicants state that in accepting Deposit Securities and 
satisfying redemptions with Redemption Securities, the relevant Funds 
will comply with the federal securities laws, including that the 
Deposit Securities and Redemption Securities are sold in transactions 
that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 
(``Securities Act'').\10\ The specified Deposit Securities and 
Redemption Securities either (a) will correspond pro rata to the 
Portfolio Securities of a Fund, or (b) will not correspond pro rata to 
the Portfolio Securities, provided that the Deposit Securities and 
Redemption Securities (i) consist of the same representative sample of 
Portfolio Securities designed to generate performance that is highly 
correlated to the performance of the Portfolio Securities, (ii) consist 
only of securities that are already included among the existing 
Portfolio Securities, and (iii) are

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the same for all Authorized Participants on a given Business Day.\11\
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    \10\ In accepting Deposit Securities and satisfying redemptions 
with Redemption Securities that are restricted securities eligible 
for resale pursuant to rule 144A under the Securities Act, the 
relevant Funds will comply with the conditions of rule 144A.
    \11\ In either case, a basket of Deposit Securities and a basket 
of Redemption Securities (and a true pro rata slice of the Portfolio 
Securities) may differ solely to the extent necessary (a) because it 
is impossible to break up bonds beyond certain minimum sizes needed 
for transfer and settlement, (b) because, in the case of equity 
securities, rounding is necessary to eliminate fractional shares or 
lots that are not tradeable round lots, or (c) for temporary 
periods, to effect changes in the Portfolio Securities as a result 
of the rebalancing of an Underlying Index. A tradeable round lot for 
an equity security will be the standard unit of trading in that 
particular type of security in its primary market.
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    14. Neither the Trust nor any individual Fund will be marketed or 
otherwise held out as a traditional open-end investment company or a 
mutual fund. Instead, each Fund will be marketed as an ``ETF,'' an 
``investment company,'' a ``fund,'' or a ``trust.'' All marketing 
materials that describe the features or method of obtaining, buying or 
selling Creation Units or Shares traded on an Exchange, or refer to 
redeemability, will prominently disclose that Shares are not 
individually redeemable and that the owners of Shares may purchase or 
redeem Shares from the Fund in Creation Units only. The same approach 
will be followed in investor educational materials issued or circulated 
in connection with the Shares. The Funds will provide copies of their 
annual and semi-annual shareholder reports to DTC Participants for 
distribution to shareholders.
    Applicants' Legal Analysis:
    1. Applicants request an order under section 6(c) of the Act for an 
exemption from sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d), and 22(e) of the Act 
and rule 22c-1 under the Act, under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act 
for an exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Act, and 
under section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act for an exemption from sections 
12(d)(1)(A) and 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act.
    2. Section 6(c) of the Act provides that the Commission may exempt 
any person, security or transaction, or any class of persons, 
securities or transactions, from any provision of the Act, if and to 
the extent that such exemption is necessary or appropriate in the 
public interest and consistent with the protection of investors and the 
purposes fairly intended by the policy and provisions of the Act. 
Section 17(b) of the Act authorizes the Commission to exempt a proposed 
transaction from section 17(a) of the Act if evidence establishes that 
the terms of the transaction, including the consideration to be paid or 
received, are reasonable and fair and do not involve overreaching on 
the part of any person concerned, and the proposed transaction is 
consistent with the policies of the registered investment company and 
the general provisions of the Act. Section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act 
provides that the Commission may exempt any person, security, or 
transaction, or any class or classes of persons, securities or 
transactions, from any provisions of section 12(d)(1) if the exemption 
is consistent with the public interest and the protection of investors.

Sections 5(a)(1) and 2(a)(32) of the Act

    3. Section 5(a)(1) of the Act defines an ``open-end company'' as a 
management investment company that is offering for sale or has 
outstanding any redeemable security of which it is the issuer. Section 
2(a)(32) of the Act defines a redeemable security as any security, 
other than short-term paper, under the terms of which the owner, upon 
its presentation to the issuer, is entitled to receive approximately 
his proportionate share of the issuer's current net assets, or the cash 
equivalent. Because Shares will not be individually redeemable, 
applicants request an order that would permit the Funds to register as 
open-end management investment companies and issue Shares that are 
redeemable in Creation Units only. Applicants state that investors may 
purchase Shares in Creation Units and redeem Creation Units from each 
Fund. Applicants state that because Creation Units may always be 
purchased and redeemed at NAV, the market price of the Shares should 
not vary substantially from their NAV.

Section 22(d) of the Act and Rule 22c-1 Under the Act

    4. Section 22(d) of the Act, among other things, prohibits a dealer 
from selling a redeemable security, which is currently being offered to 
the public by or through a principal underwriter, except at a current 
public offering price described in the prospectus. Rule 22c-1 under the 
Act generally requires that a dealer selling, redeeming or repurchasing 
a redeemable security do so only at a price based on its NAV. 
Applicants state that secondary market trading in Shares will take 
place at negotiated prices, not at a current offering price described 
in a Fund's prospectus, and not at a price based on NAV. Thus, 
purchases and sales of Shares in the secondary market will not comply 
with section 22(d) of the Act and rule 22c-1 under the Act. Applicants 
request an exemption under section 6(c) from these provisions.
    5. Applicants assert that the concerns sought to be addressed by 
section 22(d) of the Act and rule 22c-1 under the Act with respect to 
pricing are equally satisfied by the proposed method of pricing Shares. 
Applicants maintain that while there is little legislative history 
regarding section 22(d), its provisions, as well as those of rule 22c-
1, appear to have been designed to (a) prevent dilution caused by 
certain riskless trading schemes by principal underwriters and contract 
dealers, (b) prevent unjust discrimination or preferential treatment 
among buyers, and (c) ensure an orderly distribution of investment 
company shares by eliminating price competition from dealers offering 
shares at less than the published sales price and repurchasing shares 
at more than the published redemption price.
    6. Applicants believe that none of these purposes will be thwarted 
by permitting Shares to trade in the secondary market at negotiated 
prices. Applicants state that (a) secondary market trading in Shares 
does not involve a Fund as a party and will not result in dilution of 
an investment in Shares, and (b) to the extent different prices exist 
during a given trading day, or from day to day, such variances occur as 
a result of third party market forces, such as supply and demand. 
Therefore, applicants assert that secondary market transactions in 
Shares will not lead to discrimination or preferential treatment among 
purchasers. Finally, applicants contend that the proposed distribution 
system will be orderly because competitive forces will ensure that the 
difference between the market price of Shares and their NAV remains 
narrow.

Section 22(e)

    7. Section 22(e) of the Act generally prohibits a registered 
investment company from suspending the right of redemption or 
postponing the date of payment of redemption proceeds for more than 
seven days after the tender of a security for redemption. Applicants 
observe that the settlement of redemptions of Creation Units of the 
Foreign Funds is contingent not only on the settlement cycle of the 
U.S. securities markets, but also on the delivery cycles present in 
local markets for the foreign securities in which those Funds invest. 
Applicants have been advised that, under certain circumstances, the 
delivery cycles for transferring Portfolio Securities to redeeming 
investors, coupled with local market holiday schedules, will require a 
delivery process of up to 14 calendar days. Applicants therefore 
request relief from section 22(e) in order to provide for payment or 
satisfaction of redemptions within the maximum number of calendar days 
required for such payment or satisfaction in the principal local 
markets where

[[Page 23346]]

transactions in the Portfolio Securities of each Foreign Fund 
customarily clear and settle, but in all cases no later than 14 
calendar days following the tender of a Creation Unit.\12\ With respect 
to Future Funds that are Foreign Funds, applicants seek the same relief 
from section 22(e) only to the extent that circumstances exist similar 
to those described in the application.
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    \12\ Applicants acknowledge that no relief obtained from the 
requirements of section 22(e) will affect any obligations applicants 
may have under rule 15c6-1 under the Exchange Act. Rule 15c6-1 
requires that most securities transactions be settled within three 
business days of the trade.
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    8. Applicants submit that section 22(e) was designed to prevent 
unreasonable, undisclosed and unforeseen delays in the actual payment 
of redemption proceeds. Applicants state that allowing redemption 
payments for Creation Units of a Fund to be made within the number of 
days indicated above up to a maximum of 14 calendar days would not be 
inconsistent with the spirit and intent of section 22(e). Applicants 
state that the Statement of Additional Information (``SAI'') will 
disclose those local holidays (over the period of at least one year 
following the date of the SAI), if any, that are expected to prevent 
the delivery of redemption proceeds in seven calendar days, and the 
maximum number of days, up to a maximum of 14 calendar days, needed to 
deliver the proceeds for each affected Foreign Fund. Applicants are not 
seeking relief from section 22(e) with respect to Foreign Funds that do 
not effect creations and redemptions of Creation Units in-kind.

Section 12(d)(1)

    9. Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act, in relevant part, prohibits a 
registered investment company from acquiring securities of an 
investment company if such securities represent more than 3% of the 
total outstanding voting stock of the acquired company, more than 5% of 
the total assets of the acquiring company, or, together with the 
securities of any other investment companies, more than 10% of the 
total assets of the acquiring company. Section 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act 
prohibits a registered open-end investment company, its principal 
underwriter and any other broker-dealer from selling the investment 
company's shares to another investment company if the sale will cause 
the acquiring company to own more than 3% of the acquired company's 
voting stock, or if the sale will cause more than 10% of the acquired 
company's voting stock to be owned by investment companies generally.
    10. Applicants request an exemption to permit management investment 
companies (``Investing Management Companies'') and unit investment 
trusts (``Investing Trusts'') registered under the Act that are not 
sponsored or advised by the Adviser or any entity controlling, 
controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser and are not 
part of the same ``group of investment companies,'' as defined in 
section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act, as the Funds or Actively-Managed 
Funds \13\ (collectively, ``Fund of Funds'') to acquire Shares or 
shares of an Actively-Managed Fund beyond the limits of section 
12(d)(1)(A). In addition, applicants seek relief to permit a Fund or 
Actively-Managed Fund and any principal underwriter for the Fund or 
Actively-Managed Fund, and any broker-dealer that is registered under 
the Exchange Act (``Broker'') to sell Shares or shares, respectively, 
to Fund of Funds in excess of the limits of section 12(d)(1)(B).
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    \13\ The term ``Actively-Managed Funds'' as used in the 
application refers to exchange-traded funds that utilize active 
management investment strategies, are advised by an Adviser and in 
the same ``group of investment companies'' within the meaning of 
section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act, as the Funds.
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    11. Each Investing Management Company will be advised by an 
investment adviser within the meaning of section 2(a)(20)(A) of the Act 
(the ``Fund of Funds Adviser'') and may be sub-advised by one or more 
investment advisers within the meaning of section 2(a)(20)(B) of the 
Act (each a ``Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser''). Any investment adviser to a 
Fund of Funds will be registered under the Advisers Act. Each Investing 
Trust will be sponsored by a sponsor (``Sponsor'').
    12. Applicants submit that the proposed conditions to the requested 
relief adequately address the concerns underlying the limits in section 
12(d)(1)(A) and (B), which include concerns about undue influence by a 
fund of funds over underlying funds, excessive layering of fees and 
overly complex fund structures. Applicants believe that the requested 
exemption is consistent with the public interest and the protection of 
investors.
    13. Applicants believe that neither the Fund of Funds nor a Fund of 
Funds Affiliate would be able to exert undue influence over the Funds 
or Actively-Managed Funds.\14\ To limit the control that a Funds of 
Funds may have over a Fund or Actively-Managed Fund, applicants propose 
a condition prohibiting a Fund of Funds Adviser or a Sponsor, any 
person controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the 
Fund of Funds Adviser or Sponsor, and any investment company or issuer 
that would be an investment company but for section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) 
of the Act that is advised or sponsored by the Fund of Funds Adviser or 
Sponsor, or any person controlling, controlled by, or under common 
control with the Fund of Funds Adviser or Sponsor (``Fund of Funds' 
Advisory Group'') from controlling (individually or in the aggregate) a 
Fund or Actively-Managed Fund within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of 
the Act. The same prohibition would apply to any Fund of Funds Sub-
Adviser, any person controlling, controlled by or under common control 
with the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, and any investment company or 
issuer that would be an investment company but for section 3(c)(1) or 
3(c)(7) of the Act (or portion of such investment company or issuer) 
advised or sponsored by the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser or any person 
controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Fund of 
Funds Sub-Adviser (``Fund of Funds' Sub-Advisory Group''). Applicants 
propose other conditions to limit the potential for undue influence 
over the Funds or Actively-Managed Funds, including that no Fund of 
Funds or Fund of Funds Affiliate (except to the extent it is acting in 
its capacity as an investment adviser to a Fund or Actively-Managed 
Fund) will cause a Fund or Actively-Managed Fund to purchase a security 
in an offering of securities during the existence of an underwriting or 
selling syndicate of which a principal underwriter is an Underwriting 
Affiliate (``Affiliated Underwriting''). An ``Underwriting Affiliate'' 
is a principal underwriter in any underwriting or selling syndicate 
that is an officer, director, member of an advisory board, Fund of 
Funds Adviser, Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, Sponsor, or employee of the 
Fund of Funds, or a person of which any such officer, director, member 
of an advisory board, Fund of Funds Adviser, Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, 
Sponsor, or employee is an affiliated person (except that any person 
whose relationship to the Fund or Actively-Managed Fund is covered by

[[Page 23347]]

section 10(f) of the Act is not an Underwriting Affiliate).
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    \14\ A ``Fund of Funds Affiliate'' is any Fund of Funds Adviser, 
Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, Sponsor, promoter, or principal 
underwriter of a Fund of Funds, and any person controlling, 
controlled by, or under common control with any of those entities. A 
``Fund Affiliate'' is the investment adviser, promoter, or principal 
underwriter of a Fund or Actively-Managed Fund and any person 
controlling, controlled by or under common control with any of those 
entities.
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    14. Applicants assert that the proposed conditions address any 
concerns regarding excessive layering of fees. The board of directors 
or trustees of any Investing Management Company, including a majority 
of the directors or trustees who are not ``interested persons'' within 
the meaning of section 2(a)(19) of the Act, will find that the advisory 
fees charged to the Investing Management Company are based on services 
provided that will be in addition to, rather than duplicative of, 
services provided under the advisory contract(s) of any Fund or 
Actively-Managed Fund in which the Investing Management Company may 
invest. In addition, except as provided in condition B.6, a Fund of 
Funds Adviser or a trustee (``Trustee'') or Sponsor of an Investing 
Trust will, as applicable, waive fees otherwise payable to it by the 
Fund of Funds in an amount at least equal to any compensation 
(including fees received pursuant to any plan adopted by a Fund or 
Actively-Managed Fund under rule 12b-1 under the Act) received by the 
Fund of Funds Adviser, Trustee or Sponsor or an affiliated person of 
the Fund of Funds Adviser, Trustee or Sponsor, from a Fund or Actively-
Managed Fund in connection with the investment by the Fund of Funds in 
the Fund or Actively-Managed Fund. Applicants state that any sales 
charges or service fees charged with respect to shares of a Fund of 
Funds will not exceed the limits applicable to a fund of funds set 
forth in NASD Conduct Rule 2830.\15\
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    \15\ Any references to NASD Conduct Rule 2830 include any 
successor or replacement rule to NASD Conduct Rule 2830 that may be 
adopted by FINRA.
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    15. Applicants submit that the proposed arrangement will not create 
an overly complex fund structure. Applicants note that no Fund or 
Actively-Managed Fund may acquire securities of any investment company 
or company relying on section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act in excess 
of the limits contained in section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act, except to 
the extent permitted by exemptive relief from the Commission permitting 
the Fund or Actively-Managed Fund to purchase shares of other 
investment companies for short-term cash management purposes. To ensure 
that Funds of Funds comply with the terms and conditions of the 
requested relief from section 12(d)(1), any Fund of Funds that intends 
to invest in a Fund or Actively-Managed Fund in reliance on the 
requested order will enter into an agreement (``FOF Participation 
Agreement'') between the Fund or Actively-Managed Fund and the Fund of 
Funds requiring the Fund of Funds to adhere to the terms and conditions 
of the requested order. The FOF Participation Agreement also will 
include an acknowledgement from the Fund of Funds that it may rely on 
the requested order only to invest in a Fund or an Actively-Managed 
Fund and not in any other investment company.
    16. Applicants also note that a Fund or an Actively-Managed Fund 
may choose to reject a direct purchase of Shares in Creation Units by a 
Fund of Funds. To the extent that a Fund of Funds purchases Shares or 
shares of an Actively-Managed Fund in the secondary market, a Fund or 
Actively-Managed Fund would still retain its ability to reject initial 
purchases of Shares or shares, as the case may be, made in reliance on 
the requested order by declining to enter into the FOF Participation 
Agreement prior to any investment by a Fund of Funds in excess of the 
limits of section 12(d)(1)(A).

Sections 17(a)(1) and (2) of the Act

    17. Section 17(a) of the Act generally prohibits an affiliated 
person of a registered investment company, or an affiliated person of 
such a person (``Second-Tier Affiliate''), from selling any security to 
or acquiring any security from the company. Section 2(a)(3) of the Act 
defines ``affiliated person'' to include (a) any person directly or 
indirectly owning, controlling or holding with power to vote 5% or more 
of the outstanding voting securities of the other person, (b) any 
person 5% or more of whose outstanding voting securities are directly 
or indirectly owned, controlled or held with the power to vote by the 
other person, and (c) any person directly or indirectly controlling, 
controlled by or under common control with the other person. Section 
2(a)(9) of the Act provides that a control relationship will be 
presumed where one person owns more than 25% of another person's voting 
securities. The Funds may be deemed to be controlled by the Adviser or 
an entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the 
Adviser and hence affiliated persons of each other. In addition, the 
Funds may be deemed to be under common control with any other 
registered investment company (or series thereof) advised by the 
Adviser or an entity controlling, controlled by or under common control 
with the Adviser (an ``Affiliated Fund'').
    18. Applicants request an exemption from section 17(a) of the Act 
pursuant to sections 17(b) and 6(c) of the Act to permit persons to 
effectuate in-kind purchases and redemptions with a Fund when they are 
affiliated persons of the Fund or Second-Tier Affiliates solely by 
virtue of one or more of the following: (a) Holding 5% or more, or in 
excess of 25%, of the outstanding Shares of one or more Funds; (b) 
having an affiliation with a person with an ownership interest 
described in (a); or (c) holding 5% or more, or more than 25%, of the 
shares of one or more Affiliated Funds.
    19. Applicants assert that no useful purpose would be served by 
prohibiting these types of affiliated persons from acquiring or 
redeeming Creation Units through ``in-kind'' transactions. The deposit 
procedures for both in kind purchases and in-kind redemptions of 
Creation Units will be the same for all purchases and redemptions. 
Deposit Securities and Redemption Securities will be valued in the same 
manner as Portfolio Securities. Portfolio Securities, Deposit 
Securities, Redemption Securities, and Cash Redemption Payments (except 
for any permitted cash-in-lieu amounts) will be the same regardless of 
the identity of the purchaser or redeemer, except for the previously 
mentioned temporary periods where the Redemption and Creation Units 
differ to reflect changes in the Underlying Index. Therefore, 
applicants state that in-kind purchases and redemptions will afford no 
opportunity for the specified affiliated persons, or Second-Tier 
Affiliates, of a Fund to effect a transaction detrimental to other 
holders of Shares. Applicants also believe that in-kind purchases and 
redemptions will not result in self-dealing or overreaching of the 
Fund.
    20. Applicants also seek relief from section 17(a) to permit a Fund 
or Actively-Managed Fund that is an affiliated person, or affiliated 
person of an affiliated person of a Fund of Funds to sell its Shares, 
or shares in the case of an Actively-Managed Fund, to and redeem its 
Shares, or shares, from a Fund of Funds, and to engage in the 
accompanying in-kind transactions with the Fund of Funds.\16\ 
Applicants state that the terms of the transactions are fair and 
reasonable and do not involve

[[Page 23348]]

overreaching. Applicants note that any consideration paid by a Fund of 
Funds for the purchase or redemption of Shares directly from a Fund, or 
of shares directly from an Actively-Managed Fund, will be based on the 
NAV of the Fund or Actively-Managed Fund.\17\ Applicants believe that 
any proposed transactions directly between the Funds or Actively-
Managed Funds and Fund of Funds will be consistent with the policies of 
each Fund of Funds. Any investment by a Fund of Funds in Shares of 
Funds or shares of Actively-Managed Funds will be accomplished in 
accordance with the investment restrictions of any such Fund of Funds 
and will be consistent with the investment policies set forth in the 
Fund of Fund's registration statement. The FOF Participation Agreement 
will require any Fund of Funds that purchases Creation Units directly 
from a Fund or Actively-Managed Fund to represent that the purchase of 
Creation Units from a Fund or Actively-Managed Fund by a Fund of Funds 
will be accomplished in compliance with the investment restrictions of 
the Fund of Funds and will be consistent with the investment policies 
set forth in the Fund of Fund's registration statement.
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    \16\ To the extent that purchases and sales of Shares of a Fund 
occur in the secondary market (and not through principal 
transactions directly between a Fund of Funds and a Fund or 
Actively-Managed Fund), relief from section 17(a) would not be 
necessary. However, the requested relief would apply to in-kind 
transactions directly between Funds or Actively-Managed Funds and 
Funds of Funds. Applicants are not seeking relief from section 17(a) 
for, and the requested relief will not apply to, transactions where 
a Fund or Actively-Managed Fund could be deemed an affiliated 
person, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, of a Fund 
of Funds because an investment adviser to the Fund or Actively-
Managed Fund is also an investment adviser to the Fund of Funds.
    \17\ Applicants acknowledge that receipt of compensation by (a) 
an affiliated person of a Fund of Funds, or an affiliated person of 
such person, for the purchase by the Fund of Funds of Shares or 
shares of an Actively-Managed Fund, or (b) an affiliated person of a 
Fund or an Actively-Managed Fund, or an affiliated person of such 
person, for the sale by the Fund of its Shares, or Actively-Managed 
Fund of its shares, to a Fund of Funds may be prohibited by section 
17(e)(1) of the Act. The FOF Participation Agreement also will 
include this acknowledgment.
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    Applicants' Conditions:
    Applicants agree that any order of the Commission granting the 
requested relief will be subject to the following conditions:

A. Exchange Traded Fund Relief

    1. As long as a Fund operates in reliance on the requested order, 
the Shares of such Fund will be listed on an Exchange.
    2. No Fund will be advertised or marketed as an open-end investment 
company or a mutual fund. Any advertising material that describes the 
purchase or sale of Creation Units or refers to redeemability will 
prominently disclose that Shares are not individually redeemable and 
that owners of Shares may acquire those Shares from the Fund and tender 
those Shares for redemption to the Fund in Creation Units only.
    3. The Web site for each Fund, which is and will be publicly 
accessible at no charge, will contain the prior Business Day's NAV and 
the market closing price or the midpoint of the bid/ask spread at the 
time of the calculation of such NAV (``Bid/Ask Price''), and a 
calculation of the premium or discount of the market closing price or 
Bid/Ask Price in relation to the NAV, on a per Share basis, for each 
Fund.
    4. The requested relief to permit ETF operations will expire on the 
effective date of any Commission rule under the Act that provides 
relief permitting the operation of index-based exchange traded funds.

B. Section 12(d)(1) Relief

    1. The members of a Fund of Funds' Advisory Group will not control 
(individually or in the aggregate) any Fund or Actively-Managed Fund 
within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act. The members of a Fund 
of Funds' Sub-Advisory Group will not control (individually or in the 
aggregate) any Fund or Actively-Managed Fund within the meaning of 
section 2(a)(9) of the Act. If, as a result of a decrease in the 
outstanding voting securities of a Fund or Actively-Managed Fund, a 
Fund of Funds' Advisory Group or a Fund of Funds' Sub-Advisory Group, 
each in the aggregate, becomes a holder of more than 25% of the 
outstanding voting securities of a Fund or Actively-Managed Fund, it 
will vote its Shares of the Fund or Actively-Managed Fund, as the case 
may be, in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of such 
shares. This condition does not apply to a Fund of Funds' Sub-Advisory 
Group with respect to a Fund or Actively-Managed Fund for which the 
Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser or a person controlling, controlled by or 
under common control with the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser acts as the 
investment adviser within the meaning of section 2(a)(20)(A) of the 
Act.
    2. No Fund of Funds or Fund of Funds Affiliate will cause any 
existing or potential investment by the Fund of Funds in a Fund or an 
Actively-Managed Fund to influence the terms of any services or 
transactions between the Fund of Funds or a Fund of Funds Affiliate and 
the Fund or its Fund Affiliate or the Actively-Managed Fund or its Fund 
Affiliate, as the case may be.
    3. The board of directors or trustees of an Investing Management 
Company, including a majority of the non-interested directors or 
trustees, will adopt procedures reasonably designed to ensure that the 
Fund of Funds Adviser and any Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser are conducting 
the investment program of the Investing Management Company without 
taking into account any consideration received by the Investing 
Management Company or a Fund of Funds Affiliate from a Fund or its Fund 
Affiliate or an Actively-Managed Fund or its Fund Affiliate, as the 
case may be, in connection with any services or transactions.
    4. No Fund of Funds or Fund of Funds Affiliate (except to the 
extent it is acting in its capacity as an investment adviser to a Fund 
or an Actively-Managed Fund) will cause a Fund or an Actively-Managed 
Fund to purchase a security in an Affiliated Underwriting.
    5. Before investing in a Fund or an Actively-Managed Fund in excess 
of the limits in section 12(d)(1)(A), the Fund of Funds and the Fund or 
Actively-Managed Fund, as the case may be, will execute a FOF 
Participation Agreement stating, without limitation, that their boards 
of directors or trustees and their investment advisers, or Trustee and 
Sponsor, as applicable, understand the terms and conditions of the 
order, and agree to fulfill their responsibilities under the order. At 
the time of its investment in Shares of a Fund or shares of an 
Actively-Managed Fund in excess of the limit in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i), 
a Fund of Funds will notify the Fund or the Actively-Managed Fund of 
the investment. At such time, the Fund of Funds will also transmit to 
the Fund or the Actively-Managed Fund, as the case may be, a list of 
the names of each Fund of Funds Affiliate and Underwriting Affiliate. 
The Fund of Funds will notify the Fund or the Actively-Managed Fund of 
any changes to the list of the names as soon as reasonably practicable 
after a change occurs. The Fund or the Actively-Managed Fund and the 
Fund of Funds will maintain and preserve a copy of the order, the FOF 
Participation Agreement, and the list with any updated information for 
the duration of the investment and for a period of not less than six 
years thereafter, the first two years in an easily accessible place.
    6. The Fund of Funds Adviser, Trustee or Sponsor, as applicable, 
will waive fees otherwise payable to it by the Fund of Funds in an 
amount at least equal to any compensation (including fees received 
pursuant to any plan adopted by a Fund or an Actively-Managed Fund 
under rule 12b-1 under the Act) received from a Fund or an Actively-
Managed Fund by the Fund of Funds Adviser, Trustee or Sponsor, or an 
affiliated person of the Fund of Funds Adviser, Trustee or Sponsor, 
other than any advisory fees paid to the Fund of Funds Adviser, Trustee 
or Sponsor, or its affiliated person by the Fund or the Actively-
Managed Fund, in connection with the investment by the Fund of Funds in 
the Fund or Actively-Managed Fund. Any Fund of Funds

[[Page 23349]]

Sub-Adviser will waive fees otherwise payable to the Fund of Funds Sub-
Adviser, directly or indirectly, by the Investing Management Company in 
an amount at least equal to any compensation received from a Fund or an 
Actively-Managed Fund by the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, or an 
affiliated person of the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, other than any 
advisory fees paid to the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser or its affiliated 
person by the Fund or the Actively-Managed Fund, as the case may be, in 
connection with the investment by the Investing Management Company in 
the Fund or Actively-Managed Fund, as the case may be, made at the 
direction of the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser. In the event that the Fund 
of Funds Sub-Adviser waives fees, the benefit of the waiver will be 
passed through to the Investing Management Company.
    7. Any sales charges and/or service fees charged with respect to 
shares of a Fund of Funds will not exceed the limits applicable to a 
fund of funds as set forth in NASD Conduct Rule 2830.
    8. Once an investment by a Fund of Funds in the securities of a 
Fund or an Actively-Managed Fund exceeds the limit in section 
12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, the board of trustees of the Fund or 
Actively-Managed Fund (``Board''), including a majority of directors or 
trustees who are not ``interested persons'' within the meaning of 
section 2(a)(19) of the Act (``non-interested Board members''), will 
determine that any consideration paid by the Fund or the Actively-
Managed Fund to the Fund of Funds or a Fund of Funds Affiliate in 
connection with any services or transactions: (i) Is fair and 
reasonable in relation to the nature and quality of the services and 
benefits received by the Fund or the Actively-Managed Fund; (ii) is 
within the range of consideration that the Fund or the Actively-Managed 
Fund would be required to pay to another unaffiliated entity in 
connection with the same services or transactions; and (iii) does not 
involve overreaching on the part of any person concerned. This 
condition does not apply with respect to any services or transactions 
between a Fund or an Actively-Managed Fund, as the case may be, and its 
investment adviser(s), or any person controlling, controlled by or 
under common control with such investment adviser(s).
    9. The Board of a Fund and of an Actively-Managed Fund, including a 
majority of the non-interested Board members, will adopt procedures 
reasonably designed to monitor any purchases of securities by the Fund 
or the Actively-Managed Fund, as the case may be, in an Affiliated 
Underwriting, once an investment by a Fund of Funds in the securities 
of the Fund or the Actively-Managed Fund exceeds the limit of section 
12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, including any purchases made directly from 
an Underwriting Affiliate. The Board will review these purchases 
periodically, but no less frequently than annually, to determine 
whether the purchases were influenced by the investment by the Fund of 
Funds in the Fund or the Actively-Managed Fund. The Board will 
consider, among other things: (i) Whether the purchases were consistent 
with the investment objectives and policies of the Fund or the 
Actively-Managed Fund, as the case may be; (ii) how the performance of 
securities purchased in an Affiliated Underwriting compares to the 
performance of comparable securities purchased during a comparable 
period of time in underwritings other than Affiliated Underwritings or 
to a benchmark such as a comparable market index; and (iii) whether the 
amount of securities purchased by the Fund or the Actively-Managed 
Fund, as the case may be, in Affiliated Underwritings and the amount 
purchased directly from an Underwriting Affiliate have changed 
significantly from prior years. The Board will take any appropriate 
actions based on its review, including, if appropriate, the institution 
of procedures designed to ensure that purchases of securities in 
Affiliated Underwritings are in the best interest of shareholders.
    10. Each Fund and each Actively-Managed Fund will maintain and 
preserve permanently in an easily accessible place a written copy of 
the procedures described in the preceding condition, and any 
modifications to such procedures, and will maintain and preserve for a 
period of not less than six years from the end of the fiscal year in 
which any purchase in an Affiliated Underwriting occurred, the first 
two years in an easily accessible place, a written record of each 
purchase of securities in Affiliated Underwritings once an investment 
by a Fund of Funds in the securities of the Fund or the Actively-
Managed Fund, as the case may be, exceeds the limit of section 
12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, setting forth from whom the securities were 
acquired, the identity of the underwriting syndicate's members, the 
terms of the purchase, and the information or materials upon which the 
Board's determinations were made.
    11. Before approving any advisory contract under section 15 of the 
Act, the board of directors or trustees of each Investing Management 
Company including a majority of the non-interested directors or 
trustees, will find that the advisory fees charged under such contract 
are based on services provided that will be in addition to, rather than 
duplicative of, the services provided under the advisory contract(s) of 
any Fund or any Actively-Managed Fund in which the Investing Management 
Company may invest. These findings and their basis will be fully 
recorded in the minute books of the appropriate Investing Management 
Company.
    12. No Fund or Actively-Managed Fund will acquire securities of an 
investment company or company relying on section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of 
the Act in excess of the limits contained in section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 
Act, except to the extent permitted by exemptive relief from the 
Commission permitting the Fund or Actively-Managed Fund, as the case 
may be, to purchase shares of other investment companies for short-term 
cash management purposes.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Cathy H. Ahn,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2011-9968 Filed 4-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P