USAA Asset Management Company, et al.; Notice of Application, 4763-4771 [2014-01663]

Download as PDF tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices classified information pursuant to standards promulgated under E.O. 12968, as amended; certain investigations for fitness for employment in the excepted service or as a contract employee, pursuant to investigative requirements prescribed by employing and contracting agencies; and investigations for identity credentials for long-term physical and logical access to Federally-controlled facilities and information systems, pursuant to standards promulgated under the Federal Information Security Management Act. The INV forms 40 and 44, in particular, facilitate OPM’s access to criminal history record information under 5 U.S.C. 9101. The content of the INV forms is also designed to meet notice requirements for personnel investigations specified by 5 CFR 736.102(c). These notice requirements apply to any ‘‘investigation . . . to determine the suitability, eligibility, or qualifications of individuals for Federal employment, for work on Federal contracts, or for access to classified information or restricted areas.’’ None of the forms are used for any purpose other than a personnel background investigation, as described above. The completed forms are maintained by OPM subject to the protections of the Privacy Act of 1974, as amended. Procedurally, the subject of a personnel background investigation discloses the identity of relevant sources, such as supervisors, coworkers, neighbors, friends, current or former spouses, instructors, relatives, or schools attended, on the standard form (SF) 85, Questionnaire for Non-Sensitive Positions; the SF 85P, Questionnaire for Public Trust Positions; or the SF 86, Questionnaire for National Security Positions. After OPM receives a completed SF 85, SF 85P, or SF 86, the INV forms are distributed in accordance with investigative requirements, to the provided source contacts through an automated mailing operation. The INV 40 is used to collect records from a Federal or State record repository or a credit bureau. The INV 44 is used to collect law enforcement data from a criminal justice agency. The INV 41, 42, and 43 are sent to employment references, associates, and schools attended. The INV 41, 42, and 43 forms disclose that the source’s name was provided by the subject to assist in completing a background investigation to help determine the subject’s suitability for employment or security clearance, and request that the source complete the form with information to help in this determination. Generally VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:05 Jan 28, 2014 Jkt 232001 the subject of the investigation will identify these employment references, associates, and schools on his or her SF 85, SF 85P, or SF 86 questionnaire. However, information omitted on the questionnaire may be provided in a follow-up contact between the subject and an investigator. As indicated by the instructional guidance contained on the INV41, 42, and 43, the forms are not to be sent to employment references, associates, and schools that have not been identified by the subject of the investigation. Approximately 339,888 INV 40 inquiries are sent to federal and nonfederal agencies annually. The INV 40 takes approximately five minutes to complete. The estimated annual burden is 28,324 hours. Approximately 1,910,463 INV 41 inquiries are sent to previous and present employers and supervisors. The INV 41 takes approximately five minutes to complete. The estimated annual burden is 159,205 hours. Approximately 1,636,379 INV 42 inquiries are sent to individuals annually. The INV 42 takes approximately five minutes to complete. The estimated annual burden is 136,365 hours. Approximately 411,444 INV 43 inquiries are sent to educational institutions annually. The INV 43 takes approximately five minutes to complete. The estimated annual burden is 34,287 hours. Approximately 1,341,526 INV 44 inquiries are sent to law enforcement agencies annually. The INV 44 takes approximately five minutes to complete. The estimated annual burden is 111,794 hours. The total number of respondents for the INV 40, INV 41, INV 42, INV 43, and INV 44 is 5,639,700 and the total estimated burden is 469,975 hours. OPM proposes modifications to the INV 40, INV 41, INV 42, INV 43 and INV 44. To ensure the collection of distinct information regarding alcohol and/or drugs abuse, response options found on the INV 41, Question 5 and INV 42, Question 7 for ‘abuse of alcohol and/or drugs’ were amended to provide two separate response options, for ‘abuse of alcohol’ and ‘abuse of drugs’. The ‘Financial integrity’ option was amended to ‘finances’ to ensure clarity of information requested. The INV 41, Question 2, option c, ‘discharged because of company cutback in workforce or change in skill need’ was amended to ‘separated because of company cutback in workforce or change in skill needs’; option e, ‘discharged for unfavorable employment or conduct’ was amended to ‘fired for unfavorable employment or conduct’; and option f, ‘resigned after informed of possible discharge’ was amended to PO 00000 Frm 00109 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 4763 ‘resigned after informed of possible firing’ which aligns verbiage with the standard form questionnaires used to conduct background investigations for public trust and national security positions. The INV 43 title ‘Investigative Request for Educational Registrar and Dean of Students Record Data’ was amended to ‘Investigative Request for Educational Record Data’ to collect any information available from the educational institution beyond the previously noted Registrar or Dean of Students Record. The second page of the INV 40, INV 43 and INV 44 were amended to include ‘print name’. This change will enhance information collected and align with the collections established on the INV 41 and INV 42. The INV 40, INV 41, INV 43 and INV 44 the ‘your title’ section was amended to ‘your title/organization’ to also enhance information collected. OMB previously approved the OPM proposal to modify INV forms 40, 41, and 42 to provide instruction to respondents to indicate requests of confidentiality of his or her identity, and to call an office at OPM to receive approval of the request before completing the form. The purpose of this change is to more clearly establish the granting of confidentiality as permitted by the Privacy Act of 1974 and OPM’s implementing regulations. Changes were not made to the forms at the time of the approval but will be a part of changes implemented with this renewal. Katherine Archuleta, Director, U.S. Office of Personnel Management. [FR Doc. 2014–01874 Filed 1–28–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6325–53–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Investment Company Act Release No. 30891; 812–14140] USAA Asset Management Company, et al.; Notice of Application January 23, 2014. Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’). ACTION: Notice of an application for an order under section 6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (‘‘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 (a)(2) of the Act, and under section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act for an exemption AGENCY: E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM 29JAN1 4764 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) of the Act. Applicants: USAA Asset Management Company (‘‘USAA AMC’’), USAA Investment Management Company (‘‘USAA IMC’’), and USAA ETF Trust (the ‘‘Trust’’). SUMMARY: Summary of Application: Applicants request an order that permits: (a) Actively-managed 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 from 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. DATES: Filing Dates: The application was filed on March 28, 2013, and amended on September 19, 2013, and January 17, 2014. Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the requested relief will be issued unless the Commission orders a hearing. Interested persons may request a hearing by writing to the Commission’s Secretary and serving applicants with a copy of the request, personally or by mail. Hearing requests should be received by the Commission by 5:30 p.m. on February 18, 2014, 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: Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. Applicants: 9800 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, TX 78288. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven I. Amchan, Senior Counsel, at (202) 551–6826 or Mary Kay Frech, Branch Chief, at (202) 551–6821 (Division of Investment Management, Chief Counsel’s Office). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is a summary of the VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:05 Jan 28, 2014 Jkt 232001 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 will be registered as an open-end management investment company under the Act and is a statutory trust organized under the laws of Delaware. The Trust anticipates offering 14 initial series (the ‘‘Initial Funds’’) with distinct investment objectives and strategies, as described in the application. 2. USAA AMC, a Delaware corporation with its principal office in San Antonio, Texas, is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (‘‘Advisers Act’’) and will serve as investment adviser to the Initial Funds. The Advisor (as defined below) may in the future retain one or more subadvisers (each a ‘‘Subadvisor’’) to manage the portfolios of the Funds (as defined below). Any Subadvisor will be registered under the Advisers Act or not subject to such registration. One or more registered broker-dealers under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Exchange Act,’’ and such persons registered under the Exchange Act, ‘‘Brokers’’), which may be an affiliate of the Advisor and/or Subadvisors, will act as the distributor and principal underwriter of the Funds (each a ‘‘Distributor’’).1 USAA IMC, an affiliate of USAA AMC, will act as the Distributor for the Initial Funds. 3. Applicants request that the order apply to the Initial Funds and any future series of the Trust as well as other open-end management companies that are exchange-traded funds (‘‘ETFs’’) and that utilize active management investment strategies (‘‘Future Funds’’). Any Future Fund will (a) be advised by USAA AMC or an entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with USAA AMC (each, an ‘‘Advisor’’), and (b) comply with the terms and conditions of the application.2 The Initial Funds and Future Funds together are the ‘‘Funds.’’ Each Fund will consist of a portfolio of securities (including fixed income and/or equity securities) 1 Applicants request that the order also apply to future Distributors that comply with the terms and conditions of the application. 2 Any Advisor to a Future Fund will be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act. All entities that currently intend to rely on the order are named as applicants. Any other entity that relies on the order in the future will comply with the terms and conditions of the application. PO 00000 Frm 00110 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 and/or currencies, other assets, and other positions traded in U.S. and/or non-U.S. markets (‘‘Portfolio Positions’’).3 Funds may invest in ‘‘Depositary Receipts.’’ 4 Each Fund will operate as an actively managed ETF. 4. Applicants also request that any exemption under section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) apply to: (i) any Fund that is currently or subsequently part of the same ‘‘group of investment companies’’ as the Initial Funds within the meaning of section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act; (ii) any principal underwriter for the Fund; (iii) any Brokers selling Shares of a Fund to an Investing Fund (as defined below); and (iv) each management investment company or unit investment trust registered under the Act that is not part of the same ‘‘group of investment companies’’ as the Funds within the meaning of section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act and that enters into a FOF Participation Agreement (as defined below) with a Fund (such management investment companies, ‘‘Investing Management Companies,’’ such unit investment trusts, ‘‘Investing Trusts,’’ and Investing Management Companies and Investing Trusts together, ‘‘Investing Funds’’). Investing Funds do not include the Funds.5 5. Applicants anticipate that a Creation Unit will consist of at least 25,000 Shares and that the trading price of a Share will range from $10 to $200. All orders to purchase Creation Units must be placed with the Distributor by or through a party that has entered into a participant agreement with the Distributor and the transfer agent of the Fund (‘‘Authorized Participant’’) with respect to the creation and redemption of Creation Units. An Authorized Participant is either: (a) a Broker or other participant in the Continuous Net Settlement System of the National Securities Clearing Corporation 3 If a Fund invests in derivatives, then (a) the board of trustees (‘‘Board’’) of the Fund will periodically review and approve the Fund’s use of derivatives and how the Advisor assesses and manages risk with respect to the Fund’s use of derivatives, and (b) the Fund’s disclosure of its use of derivatives in its offering documents and periodic reports will be consistent with relevant Commission and staff guidance. 4 Depositary Receipts are typically issued by a financial institution, a ‘‘depositary’’, and evidence ownership in a security or pool of securities that have been deposited with the depositary. A Fund will not invest in any Depositary Receipts that the Advisor or Subadvisor deems to be illiquid or for which pricing information is not readily available. No affiliated persons of applicants, any Future Fund, the Advisor, or any Subadvisor will serve as the depositary bank for any Depositary Receipts held by a Fund. 5 An Investing Fund may rely on the order only to invest in Funds and not in any other registered investment company. E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM 29JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES (‘‘NSCC’’), a clearing agency registered with the Commission and affiliated with the Depository Trust Company (‘‘DTC’’), or (b) a participant in the DTC (such participant, ‘‘DTC Participant’’). 6. In order to keep costs low and permit each Fund to be as fully invested as possible, Shares will be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units and generally on an in-kind basis. Except where the purchase or redemption will include cash under the limited circumstances specified below, purchasers will be required to purchase Creation Units by making an in-kind deposit of specified instruments (‘‘Deposit Instruments’’), and shareholders redeeming their Shares will receive an in-kind transfer of specified instruments (‘‘Redemption Instruments’’).6 On any given Business Day 7 the names and quantities of the instruments that constitute the Deposit Instruments and the names and quantities of the instruments that constitute the Redemption Instruments will be identical, and these instruments may be referred to, in the case of either a purchase or redemption, as the ‘‘Creation Basket.’’ In addition, the Creation Basket will correspond pro rata to the positions in a Fund’s portfolio (including cash positions),8 except: (a) In the case of bonds, for minor differences when it is impossible to break up bonds beyond certain minimum sizes needed for transfer and settlement; (b) for minor differences when rounding is necessary to eliminate fractional shares or lots that are not tradeable round lots; 9 or (c) TBA Transactions,10 short positions and other positions that cannot be transferred in kind 11 will be excluded 6 The Funds must comply with the federal securities laws in accepting Deposit Instruments and satisfying redemptions with Redemption Instruments, including that the Deposit Instruments and Redemption Instruments are sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (‘‘Securities Act’’). In accepting Deposit Instruments and satisfying redemptions with Redemption Instruments that are restricted securities eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act, the Funds will comply with the conditions of Rule 144A. 7 Each Fund will sell and redeem Creation Units on any day the Fund is open for business, including as required by section 22(e) of the Act (each, a ‘‘Business Day’’). 8 The portfolio used for this purpose will be the same portfolio used to calculate the Fund’s net asset value (‘‘NAV’’) for that Business Day. 9 A tradeable round lot for a security will be the standard unit of trading in that particular type of security in its primary market. 10 A TBA Transaction is a method of trading mortgage-backed securities. In a TBA Transaction, the buyer and seller agree on general trade parameters such as agency, settlement date, par amount and price. 11 This includes instruments that can be transferred in kind only with the consent of the VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:05 Jan 28, 2014 Jkt 232001 4765 from the Creation Basket.12 If there is a difference between the NAV attributable to a Creation Unit and the aggregate market value of the Creation Basket exchanged for the Creation Unit, the party conveying instruments with the lower value will also pay to the other an amount in cash equal to that difference (the ‘‘Balancing Amount’’). 7. Purchases and redemptions of Creation Units may be made in whole or in part on a cash basis, rather than in kind, solely under the following circumstances: (a) To the extent there is a Balancing Amount, as described above; (b) if, on a given Business Day, a Fund announces before the open of trading that all purchases, all redemptions or all purchases and redemptions on that day will be made entirely in cash; (c) if, upon receiving a purchase or redemption order from an Authorized Participant, a Fund determines to require the purchase or redemption, as applicable, to be made entirely in cash; (d) if, on a given Business Day, a Fund requires all Authorized Participants purchasing or redeeming Shares on that day to deposit or receive (as applicable) cash in lieu of some or all of the Deposit Instruments or Redemption Instruments, respectively, solely because: (i) Such instruments are not eligible for transfer through either the NSCC or DTC; or (ii) in the case of Funds holding non-U.S. investments, such instruments are not eligible for trading due to local trading restrictions, local restrictions on securities transfers or other similar circumstances; or (e) if a Fund permits an Authorized Participant to deposit or receive (as applicable) cash in lieu of some or all of the Deposit Instruments or Redemption Instruments, respectively, solely because: (i) Such instruments are, in the case of the purchase of a Creation Unit, not available in sufficient quantity; (ii) such instruments are not eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor on whose behalf the Authorized Participant is acting; or (iii) a holder of Shares of a Fund holding non-U.S. investments would be subject to unfavorable income tax treatment if the holder receives redemption proceeds in kind.13 8. Each Business Day, before the open of trading on a national securities exchange, as defined in section 2(a)(26) of the Act (‘‘Stock Exchange’’), on which Shares are listed, each Fund will cause to be published through the NSCC the names and quantities of the instruments comprising the Creation Basket, as well as the estimated Balancing Amount (if any), for that day. The published Creation Basket will apply until a new Creation Basket is announced on the following Business Day, and there will be no intra-day changes to the Creation Basket except to correct errors in the published Creation Basket. The Stock Exchange will disseminate every 15 seconds throughout the trading day through the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association an amount representing, on a per Share basis, the sum of the current value of the Portfolio Positions that were publicly disclosed prior to the commencement of trading in Shares on the Stock Exchange. 9. A Fund may recoup the settlement costs charged by NSCC and DTC by imposing a transaction fee on investors purchasing or redeeming Creation Units (the ‘‘Transaction Fee’’). The Transaction Fee will be borne only by purchasers and redeemers of Creation Units and will be limited to amounts that have been determined appropriate by the Advisor to defray the transaction expenses that will be incurred by a Fund when an investor purchases or redeems Creation Units.14 All orders to purchase Creation Units will be placed with the Distributor by or through an Authorized Participant and the Distributor will transmit all purchase orders to the relevant Fund. The Distributor will be responsible for delivering a prospectus (‘‘Prospectus’’) to those persons purchasing Creation Units and for maintaining records of both the orders placed with it and the confirmations of acceptance furnished by it. 10. Shares will be listed and traded at negotiated prices on a Stock Exchange and traded in the secondary market. Applicants expect that Stock Exchange specialists (‘‘Specialists’’) or market makers (‘‘Market Makers’’) will be assigned to Shares. The price of Shares trading on the Stock Exchange will be based on a current bid/offer in the secondary market. Transactions involving the purchases and sales of original counterparty to the extent the Fund does not intend to seek such consents. 12 Because these instruments will be excluded from the Creation Basket, their value will be reflected in the determination of the Balancing Amount (defined below). 13 A ‘‘custom order’’ is any purchase or redemption of Shares made in whole or in part on a cash basis in reliance on clause (e)(i) or (e)(ii). 14 Where a Fund permits an in-kind purchaser to deposit cash in lieu of depositing one or more Deposit Instruments, the purchaser may be assessed a higher Transaction Fee to offset the cost to the Fund of buying those particular Deposit Instruments. In all cases, the Transaction Fee will be limited in accordance with the requirements of the Commission applicable to open-end management investment companies offering redeemable securities. PO 00000 Frm 00111 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM 29JAN1 4766 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES Shares on the Stock Exchange will be subject to customary brokerage commissions and charges. 11. Applicants expect that purchasers of Creation Units will include institutional investors and arbitrageurs. Specialists or Market Makers, acting in their unique role to provide a fair and orderly secondary market for Shares, also may purchase Creation Units for use in their own market making activities.15 Applicants expect that secondary market purchasers of Shares will include both institutional and retail investors.16 Applicants expect that arbitrage opportunities created by the ability to continually purchase or redeem Creation Units at their NAV per Share should ensure that the Shares will not trade at a material discount or premium in relation to their NAV. 12. Shares will not be individually redeemable and owners of Shares may acquire those Shares from a Fund (other than pursuant to the Distribution Reinvestment Program as described below), or tender such shares for redemption to the Fund, in Creation Units only. To redeem, an investor must accumulate enough Shares to constitute a Creation Unit. Redemption requests must be placed by or through an Authorized Participant. 13. Applicants will also give investors the option to purchase additional individual Shares through a ‘‘Distribution Reinvestment Program.’’ The Trust will make the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service available for use by the beneficial owners of Shares (‘‘Beneficial Owners’’) through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their cash dividends.17 DTC Participants 15 If Shares are listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (‘‘Nasdaq’’) or a similar electronic Stock Exchange (including NYSE Arca), one or more member firms of that Stock Exchange will act as a Market Maker and maintain a market for Shares trading on that Stock Exchange. On Nasdaq, no particular Market Maker would be contractually obligated to make a market in Shares. However, the listing requirements on Nasdaq, for example, stipulate that at least two Market Makers must be registered in Shares to maintain a listing. In addition, on Nasdaq and NYSE Arca, registered Market Makers are required to make a continuous two-sided market or subject themselves to regulatory sanctions. No Market Maker or Specialist will be an affiliated person or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, of the Funds, except within the meaning of section 2(a)(3)(A) or (C) of the Act due solely to ownership of Shares, as described below. 16 Shares will be registered in book-entry form only. DTC or its nominee will be the record or registered owner of all outstanding Shares. Beneficial ownership of Shares will be shown on the records of DTC or DTC Participants. 17 Some DTC Participants may not elect to utilize the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service. Beneficial Owners will be encouraged to contact their broker to ascertain the availability of the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service through such broker. The VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:05 Jan 28, 2014 Jkt 232001 whose customers participate in the program will have the distributions of their customers automatically reinvested in additional whole Shares issued by the applicable Fund at NAV per Share. Shares will be issued at NAV under the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service regardless of whether the Shares are trading in the secondary market at a premium or discount to NAV as of the time NAV is calculated. Thus, Shares may be purchased through the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service at prices that are higher (or lower) than the contemporaneous secondary market trading price. Applicants state that the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service differs from dividend reinvestment services offered by broker-dealers in two ways. First, in dividend reinvestment programs typically offered by brokerdealers, the additional shares are purchased in the secondary market at current market prices at a date and time determined by the broker-dealer at its discretion. Shares purchased through the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service are purchased directly from the fund on the date of the distribution at the NAV per share on such date. Second, in dividend reinvestment programs typically offered by broker-dealers, shareholders are typically charged a brokerage or other fee in connection with the secondary market purchase of shares. Applicants state that brokers providing the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service to their customers will determine whether to charge Beneficial Owners a fee for this service, but that brokers typically do not charge customers such fees. 14. Applicants state that the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service will be operated by DTC in exactly the same way it runs such service for other openend management investment companies. The initial decision to participate in the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service is made by the DTC Participant. Once a DTC Participant elects to participate in the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service, it offers its customers the option to participate. Beneficial Owners will have to make an affirmative election to participate by completing an election notice. Before electing to participate, Beneficial Owners will receive Prospectus will make clear to Beneficial Owners that the Distribution Reinvestment Program is optional and that its availability is determined by their broker, at its own discretion. Broker-dealers are not required to utilize the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service, and may instead offer a dividend reinvestment program under which Shares are purchased in the secondary market at current market prices or no dividend reinvestment program at all. PO 00000 Frm 00112 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 disclosure describing the terms of the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service and the consequences of participation. This disclosure will include a clear and concise explanation that under the Distribution Reinvestment Program, Shares will be issued at NAV, which could result in such Shares being acquired at a price higher or lower than that at which they could be sold in the secondary market on the day they are issued (this will also be clearly disclosed in the Prospectus). 15. Neither the Trust nor any Fund will be marketed or otherwise held out as a ‘‘mutual fund.’’ Instead, each Fund will be marketed as an ‘‘activelymanaged exchange-traded fund.’’ In any advertising material where features of obtaining, buying or selling Creation Units or Shares are described, or where there is reference to redeemability, there will be an appropriate statement to the effect that Shares are not individually redeemable. 16. The Funds’ Web site, which will be publicly available prior to the public offering of Shares, will include a Prospectus and additional quantitative information updated on a daily basis, including, on a per Share basis for each Fund, the prior Business Day’s NAV and the market closing price or mid-point 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 against such NAV. On each Business Day, before commencement of trading in Shares on the Stock Exchange, the Fund will disclose on its Web site the identities and quantities of the Portfolio Positions held by the Fund that will form the basis for the Fund’s calculation of NAV at the end of the Business Day.18 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 (B) of the Act. 2. Section 6(c) of the Act provides that the Commission may exempt any person, security or transaction, or any 18 Applicants note that under accounting procedures followed by the Funds, trades made on the prior Business Day will be booked and reflected in NAV on the current Business Day. Accordingly, each Fund will be able to disclose at the beginning of the Business Day the portfolio that will form the basis for its NAV calculation at the end of such Business Day. E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM 29JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices class of persons, securities or transactions, from any provisions 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 provision of section 12(d)(1) if the exemption is consistent with the public interest and the protection of investors. tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 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 holder, upon its presentation to the issuer, is entitled to receive approximately a 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 each Fund to redeem Shares in Creation Units only. Applicants state that investors may purchase Shares from each Fund only in Creation Units (or through a Distribution Reinvestment Program) and redeem Shares from each Fund only in Creation Units. Applicants further state that because the market price of Creation Units will be disciplined by arbitrage opportunities, investors should be able to sell Shares in the secondary market at prices that do not vary materially 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 that 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 VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:05 Jan 28, 2014 Jkt 232001 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 the 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 risklesstrading schemes by principal underwriters and contract dealers, (b) prevent unjust discrimination or preferential treatment among buyers resulting from sales at different prices, and (c) ensure an orderly distribution system of investment company shares by eliminating price competition from brokers 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 the Funds as parties and cannot 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 arbitrage activity should ensure that the difference between the market price of Shares and their NAV remains immaterial. Section 22(e) of the Act 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 PO 00000 Frm 00113 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 4767 observe that settlement of redemptions of Creation Units of Funds holding nonU.S. investments is contingent not only on the settlement cycle of the U.S. securities markets but also on the delivery cycles present in foreign markets in which those Funds invest. Applicants are aware that, under certain circumstances, the delivery cycles for transferring Portfolio Positions 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 payment or satisfaction of redemptions within the maximum number of calendar days required for such payment or satisfaction in the principal local markets where transactions in the Portfolio Positions of each Fund holding non-U.S. investments customarily clear and settle, but in all cases no later than 14 calendar days following the tender of a Creation Unit.19 8. Applicants state that section 22(e) was designed to prevent unreasonable, undisclosed and unforeseen delays in the actual payment of redemption proceeds. Applicants assert that the requested relief will not lead to the problems that section 22(e) was designed to prevent. Applicants state that allowing redemption payments for Creation Units of a Fund to be made within a maximum of 14 calendar days would not be inconsistent with the spirit and intent of section 22(e). Applicants state each Fund holding non-U.S. investments’ 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 needed to deliver the proceeds for each affected Fund holding non-U.S. investments. Applicants are not seeking relief from section 22(e) with respect to Funds holding non-U.S. investments that do not effect redemptions in-kind. Section 12(d)(1) of the Act 9. Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act prohibits a registered investment company from acquiring shares of an investment company if the 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, 19 Applicants acknowledge that no relief obtained from the requirements of section 22(e) will affect any obligations that it may otherwise 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 date. E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM 29JAN1 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 4768 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices 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, or any other broker or dealer from selling its 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 relief to permit Investing Funds to acquire Shares in excess of the limits in section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act and to permit the Funds, their principal underwriters and any Broker to sell Shares to Investing Funds in excess of the limits in section 12(d)(l)(B) of the Act. Applicants submit that the proposed conditions to the requested relief address the concerns underlying the limits in section 12(d)(1), which include concerns about undue influence, excessive layering of fees and overly complex structures. 11. Applicants submit that their proposed conditions address any concerns regarding the potential for undue influence. To limit the control that an Investing Fund may have over a Fund, applicants propose a condition prohibiting the adviser of an Investing Management Company (‘‘Investing Fund Advisor’’), sponsor of an Investing Trust (‘‘Sponsor’’), any person controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Investing Fund Advisor or Sponsor, and any investment company or issuer that would be an investment company but for sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act that is advised or sponsored by the Investing Fund Advisor, the Sponsor, or any person controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Investing Fund Advisor or Sponsor (‘‘Investing Fund’s Advisory Group’’) from controlling (individually or in the aggregate) a Fund within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act. The same prohibition would apply to any subadviser to an Investing Management Company (‘‘Investing Fund SubAdvisor’’), any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, and any investment company or issuer that would be an investment company but for sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act (or portion of such investment company or issuer) advised or sponsored by the Investing Fund SubAdvisor or any person controlling, controlled by or under common control VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:05 Jan 28, 2014 Jkt 232001 with the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor (‘‘Investing Fund’s Sub-Advisory Group’’). 12. Applicants propose a condition to ensure that no Investing Fund or Investing Fund Affiliate 20 (except to the extent it is acting in its capacity as an investment adviser to a Fund) will cause a 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, Investing Fund Advisor, Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, employee or Sponsor of the Investing Fund, or a person of which any such officer, director, member of an advisory board, Investing Fund Advisor, Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, employee or Sponsor is an affiliated person (except any person whose relationship to the Fund is covered by section 10(f) of the Act is not an Underwriting Affiliate). 13. Applicants propose several conditions to address the potential for layering of fees. Applicants note that 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 (‘‘disinterested directors or trustees’’), will be required to find that the advisory fees charged under the contract are based on services provided that will be in addition to, rather than duplicative of, services provided under the advisory contract of any Fund in which the Investing Management Company may invest. Applicants also state that any sales charges and/or service fees charged with respect to shares of an Investing Fund will not exceed the limits applicable to a fund of funds as set forth in NASD Conduct Rule 2830.21 14. Applicants submit that the proposed arrangement will not create an overly complex fund structure. Applicants note that a Fund will be prohibited from acquiring securities of 20 An ‘‘Investing Fund Affiliate’’ is any Investing Fund Advisor, Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, Sponsor, promoter and principal underwriter of an Investing Fund, and any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with any of these entities. ‘‘Fund Affiliate’’ is an investment adviser, promoter, or principal underwriter of a Fund or any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with any of these entities. 21 Any reference to NASD Conduct Rule 2830 includes any successor or replacement rule that may be adopted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. PO 00000 Frm 00114 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 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 that the Fund (a) receives securities of another investment company as a dividend or as a result of a plan of reorganization of a company (other than a plan devised for the purpose of evading section 12(d)(1) of the Act), or (b) acquires securities of another investment company pursuant to exemptive relief from the Commission permitting the Fund to (i) acquire shares of other investment companies for short-term cash management purposes or (ii) engage in interfund borrowing and lending transactions. 15. To ensure that an Investing Fund is aware of the terms and conditions of the requested order, the Investing Funds must enter into an agreement with the respective Funds (‘‘FOF Participation Agreement’’). The FOF Participation Agreement will include an acknowledgement from the Investing Fund that it may rely on the order only to invest in a Fund and not in any other investment company. Sections 17(a)(1) and (2) of the Act 16. 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 purchasing any security from the company. Section 2(a)(3) of the Act defines ‘‘affiliated person’’ to include 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 and any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with, the other person. Section 2(a)(9) of the Act defines ‘‘control’’ as the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a company and provides that a control relationship will be presumed where one person owns more than 25% of another person’s voting securities. Each Fund may be deemed to be controlled by an Advisor 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 an Advisor (an ‘‘Affiliated Fund’’). 17. Applicants request an exemption under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act from sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Act to permit in-kind purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by persons that are affiliated persons or second tier affiliates of the Funds solely E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM 29JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 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.22 Applicants also request an exemption in order to permit a Fund to sell its Shares to and redeem its Shares from, and engage in any inkind transactions that would accompany such sales and redemptions with, certain Investing Funds of which the Funds are affiliated persons or second-tier affiliates.23 18. Applicants assert that no useful purpose would be served by prohibiting such affiliated persons from making inkind purchases or in-kind redemptions of Shares of a Fund in Creation Units. The Deposit Instruments and Redemption Instruments available for a Fund will be the same for all purchasers and redeemers, respectively, and will correspond pro rata to the Fund’s Portfolio Positions, except as described above. The deposit procedures for inkind purchases of Creation Units and the redemption procedures for in-kind redemptions will be the same for all purchases and redemptions. Deposit Instruments and Redemption Instruments will be valued in the same manner as those Portfolio Positions currently held by the relevant Funds, and the valuation of the Deposit Instruments and Redemption Instruments will be made in the same manner, regardless of the identity of the purchaser or redeemer. Applicants do not believe that in-kind purchases and redemptions will result in abusive selfdealing or overreaching of the Fund. 19. Applicants also submit that the sale of Shares to and redemption of Shares from an Investing Fund meets the standards for relief under sections 17(b) and 6(c) of the Act. The FOF Participation Agreement will require any Investing Fund that purchases Creation Units directly from a Fund to represent that the purchase of Creation 22 Applicants are not seeking relief from section 17(a) for, and the requested relief will not apply to, transactions where a Fund could be deemed an affiliated person, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, of an Investing Fund because an investment adviser to the Funds is also an investment adviser to an Investing Fund. 23 To the extent that purchases and sales of Shares occur in the secondary market and not through principal transactions directly between an Investing Fund and a Fund, relief from section 17(a) would not be necessary. However, the requested relief would apply to direct sales of Shares in Creation Units by a Fund to an Investing Fund and redemptions of those Shares. The requested relief is also intended to cover any in-kind transactions that would accompany such sales and redemptions. VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:05 Jan 28, 2014 Jkt 232001 Units from a Fund by an Investing Fund will be accomplished in compliance with the investment restrictions of the Investing Fund and will be consistent with the investment policies set forth in the Investing Fund’s registration statement. Applicants note that any consideration paid for the purchase or redemption of Shares directly from a Fund will be based on the NAV of the Fund in accordance with policies and procedures set forth in the Fund’s registration statement.24 Applicants also state that the proposed transactions are consistent with the general purposes of the Act and appropriate in the public interest. Distribution Reinvestment Relief 20. Applicants also seek an order to permit the Funds to operate the Distribution Reinvestment Program. Applicants state that the Distribution Reinvestment Program is reasonable and fair because it is voluntary and each Beneficial Owner will have in advance accurate and explicit information that makes clear the terms of the Distribution Reinvestment Program and the consequences of participation. The Distribution Reinvestment Program does not involve any overreaching on the part of any person concerned because it operates the same for each Beneficial Owner who elects to participate, and is structured in the public interest because it is designed to give those Beneficial Owners who elect to participate a convenient and efficient method to reinvest distributions without paying a brokerage commission. In addition, although brokers providing the Distribution Reinvestment Program could charge a fee, applicants represent that typically brokers do not charge for this service. 21. Applicants do not believe that the issuance of Shares under the Distribution Reinvestment Program will have a material effect on the overall operation of the Funds, including on the efficiency of the arbitrage mechanism inherent in ETFs. In addition, applicants do not believe that providing Beneficial Owners with an added optional benefit (the ability to reinvest in Shares at NAV) will change the Beneficial Owners’ expectations about the Funds or the fact that individual Shares trade at secondary market prices. 24 Applicants acknowledge that the receipt of compensation by (a) an affiliated person of an Investing Fund, or an affiliated person of such person, for the purchase by the Investing Fund of Shares of the Fund or (b) an affiliated person of a Fund, or an affiliated person of such person, for the sale by the Fund of its Shares to an Investing Fund, may be prohibited by section 17(e)(1) of the Act. The FOF Participation Agreement also will include this acknowledgment. PO 00000 Frm 00115 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 4769 Applicants believe that Beneficial Owners (other than Authorized Participants) generally expect to buy and sell individual Shares only through secondary market transactions at market prices and that such owners will not be confused by the Distribution Reinvestment Program. Therefore, applicants believe that the Distribution Reinvestment Program meets the standards for relief under section 6(c) of the Act. Applicants’ Conditions Applicants agree that any order of the Commission granting the requested relief will be subject to the following conditions: A. ETF Relief 1. As long as the Funds operate in reliance on the requested order, the Shares of the Funds will be listed on a Stock Exchange. 2. Neither the Trust nor any Fund will be advertised or marketed as an openend 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 the Shares are not individually redeemable and that owners of the Shares may acquire those Shares from the Fund (other than pursuant to the Distribution Reinvestment Program) and tender those Shares for redemption to the Fund in Creation Units only. 3. The Web site for the Funds, which is and will be publicly accessible at no charge, will contain, on a per Share basis, for each Fund the prior Business Day’s NAV and the market closing price or Bid/Ask Price, and a calculation of the premium or discount of the market closing price or Bid/Ask Price against such NAV. 4. On each Business Day, before commencement of trading in Shares on the Stock Exchange, the Fund will disclose on its Web site the identities and quantities of the Portfolio Positions held by the Fund that will form the basis for the Fund’s calculation of NAV at the end of the Business Day. 5. The Advisor or any Subadvisor, directly or indirectly, will not cause any Authorized Participant (or any investor on whose behalf an Authorized Participant may transact with the Fund) to acquire any Deposit Instrument for the Fund through a transaction in which the Fund could not engage directly. 6. 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 actively-managed exchange-traded funds. E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM 29JAN1 tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES 4770 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices B. 12(d)(1) Relief 1. The members of the Investing Fund’s Advisory Group will not control (individually or in the aggregate) a Fund within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act. The members of the Investing Fund’s Sub-Advisory Group will not control (individually or in the aggregate) a 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, the Investing Fund’s Advisory Group or the Investing Fund’s Sub-Advisory Group, each in the aggregate, becomes a holder of more than 25 percent of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund, it will vote its Shares of the Fund in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of the Fund’s Shares. This condition does not apply to the Investing Fund’s Sub-Advisory Group with respect to a Fund for which the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor or a person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor acts as the investment adviser within the meaning of section 2(a)(20)(A) of the Act. 2. No Investing Fund or Investing Fund Affiliate will cause any existing or potential investment by the Investing Fund in a Fund to influence the terms of any services or transactions between the Investing Fund or an Investing Fund Affiliate and the Fund or a Fund Affiliate. 3. The board of directors or trustees of an Investing Management Company, including a majority of the disinterested directors or trustees, will adopt procedures reasonably designed to ensure that the Investing Fund Advisor and any Investing Fund Sub-Advisor are conducting the investment program of the Investing Management Company without taking into account any consideration received by the Investing Management Company or an Investing Fund Affiliate from a Fund or a Fund Affiliate in connection with any services or transactions. 4. Once an investment by an Investing Fund in the Shares of a Fund exceeds the limit in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, the Board of a Fund, including a majority of the disinterested directors or trustees, will determine that any consideration paid by the Fund to the Investing Fund or an Investing Fund 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; (ii) is within the range of consideration that the Fund would be required to pay to another unaffiliated entity in connection with the same VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:05 Jan 28, 2014 Jkt 232001 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 and its investment advisor(s), or any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with such investment advisor(s). 5. The Investing Fund Advisor, or Trustee or Sponsor, as applicable, will waive fees otherwise payable to it by the Investing Fund in an amount at least equal to any compensation (including fees received pursuant to any plan adopted by a Fund under rule 12b-1 under the Act) received from a Fund by the Investing Fund Advisor, or Trustee or Sponsor, or an affiliated person of the Investing Fund Advisor, or Trustee or Sponsor, other than any advisory fees paid to the Investing Fund Advisor, or Trustee, or Sponsor, or its affiliated person by the Fund, in connection with the investment by the Investing Fund in the Fund. Any Investing Fund SubAdvisor will waive fees otherwise payable to the Investing Fund SubAdvisor, directly or indirectly, by the Investing Management Company in an amount at least equal to any compensation received from a Fund by the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, or an affiliated person of the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, other than any advisory fees paid to the Investing Fund SubAdvisor or its affiliated person by the Fund, in connection with the investment by the Investing Management Company in the Fund made at the direction of the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor. In the event that the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor waives fees, the benefit of the waiver will be passed through to the Investing Management Company. 6. No Investing Fund or Investing Fund Affiliate (except to the extent it is acting in its capacity as an investment advisor to a Fund) will cause a Fund to purchase a security in an Affiliated Underwriting. 7. The Board of a Fund, including a majority of the disinterested directors or trustees, will adopt procedures reasonably designed to monitor any purchases of securities by the Fund in an Affiliated Underwriting, once an investment by an Investing Fund in the securities of the 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 Investing Fund in the Fund. The Board will consider, among PO 00000 Frm 00116 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 other things: (i) whether the purchases were consistent with the investment objectives and policies of the Fund; (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 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 of the Fund. 8. Each 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 an Investing Fund in the securities of the Fund 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. 9. Before investing in a Fund in excess of the limits in section 12(d)(1)(A), an Investing Fund will execute a FOF Participation Agreement with the Fund stating that their respective boards of directors or trustees and their investment advisors, 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 in excess of the limit in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i), an Investing Fund will notify the Fund of the investment. At such time, the Investing Fund will also transmit to the Fund a list of the names of each Investing Fund Affiliate and Underwriting Affiliate. The Investing Fund will notify the Fund of any changes to the list as soon as reasonably practicable after a change occurs. The E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM 29JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 2014 / Notices Fund and the Investing Fund 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. 10. 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 disinterested 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 in which the Investing Management Company may invest. These findings and their basis will be recorded fully in the minute books of the appropriate Investing Management Company. 11. Any sales charges and/or service fees charged with respect to shares of an Investing Fund will not exceed the limits applicable to a fund of funds as set forth in NASD Conduct Rule 2830. 12. No Fund relying on the section 12(d)(1) relief will 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 that the Fund (a) receives securities of another investment company as a dividend or as a result of a plan of reorganization of a company (other than a plan devised for the purpose of evading section 12(d)(1) of the Act), or (b) acquires securities of another investment company pursuant to exemptive relief from the Commission permitting the Fund to (i) acquire shares of other investment companies for short-term cash management purposes or (ii) engage in interfund borrowing and lending transactions. For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, under delegated authority. Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary. tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES [FR Doc. 2014–01663 Filed 1–28–14; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P VerDate Mar<15>2010 16:05 Jan 28, 2014 Jkt 232001 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–71375; File Nos. SR–BATS– 2013–059; SR–BYX–2013–039] Self-Regulatory Organizations; BATS Exchange, Inc.; BATS–Y Exchange, Inc.; Order Granting Approval of Proposed Rule Change in Connection With the Proposed Business Combination Involving BATS Global Markets, Inc. and Direct Edge Holdings LLC January 23, 2014. I. Introduction On November 25, 2013, BATS Exchange, Inc. (‘‘BATS’’) and BATS–Y Exchange, Inc. (‘‘BYX’’ and, together with BATS, the ‘‘BATS Exchanges’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1)§ 1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’),2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3 proposed rule changes in connection with the proposed business combination (‘‘Combination’’) of their parent company, BATS Global Markets, Inc., and Direct Edge Holdings LLC (‘‘DE Holdings’’), the indirect parent company of EDGX Exchange, Inc. (‘‘EDGX’’) and EDGA Exchange, Inc. (‘‘EDGA’’ and, together with EDGX, the ‘‘DE Exchanges’’) (the BATS Exchanges and the DE Exchanges are the ‘‘Exchanges’’).4 The proposed rule changes were published for comment in the Federal Register on December 12, 2013.5 The Commission received no comments on the proposal. The Commission has reviewed carefully the proposed rule changes and finds that the proposed rule changes are consistent with the requirements of the Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange.6 In particular, the Commission finds that the proposed rule changes are consistent with Sections 6(b)(1) and (3) of the Act,7 1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). U.S.C. 78a. 3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 4 The DE Exchanges submitted corresponding proposed rule changes relating to the Combination. See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 71046 (December 11, 2013), 78 FR 76416 (December 17, 2013) (SR–EDGA–2013–34) and 71045 (December 11, 2013) 78 FR 76480 (December 17, 2013) (SR– EDGX–2013–43). 5 See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 71023 (December 6, 2013), 78 FR 75607 (SR–BATS–2013– 059) and 71024 (December 6, 2013), 78 FR 75585 (SR–BYX–2013–039) (‘‘Notices’’). 6 In approving the proposed rule changes, the Commission has considered their impact on efficiency, competition and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C. 78c(f). 7 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(1) and (b)(3). 2 15 PO 00000 Frm 00117 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 4771 which, among other things, requires a national securities exchange to be so organized and have the capacity to be able to carry out the purposes of the Act, and to enforce compliance by its members and persons associated with its members with the provisions of the Act, the rules and regulations thereunder, and the rules of the exchange, and assure the fair representation of its members in the selection of its directors and administration of its affairs, and provide that one or more directors shall be representative of issuers and investors and not be associated with a member of the exchange, broker, or dealer. The Commission also finds that the proposal is consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Act,8 which requires that the rules of the exchange be designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and a national market system, and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest. II. Discussion A. Corporate Structure 1. Current Structure BATS Global Markets, Inc., a Delaware corporation, owns 100 percent of the equity interests of each BATS Exchange. BATS Global Markets, Inc. also owns 100 percent of the equity interest in BATS Trading, Inc., a Delaware corporation (‘‘BATS Trading’’), that is a broker-dealer registered with the Commission that provides routing services outbound from and, in certain instances inbound to, each of the BATS Exchanges. Currently, BATS Global Markets, Inc. is beneficially owned primarily by a consortium of several unaffiliated firms, including Members 9 or affiliates of Members of the BATS Exchanges. No firm beneficially owns 20 percent or greater of BATS Global Markets, Inc., and the only firms beneficially owning ten percent or greater of BATS Global Markets, Inc. are: (1) GETCO Investments, LLC, an affiliate of KCG Holdings, Inc., (2) BGM Holding, L.P., a holding company itself owned by entities affiliated with the Spectrum Equity Investors and TA Associates Management private investment funds, and (3) Strategic Investments I, Inc., an 8 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). respect to each of the BATS Exchanges, the term ‘‘Member’’ is defined in Rule 1.5(n) of the BATS Exchanges’ Rules as ‘‘any registered broker or dealer that has been admitted to membership in the Exchange.’’ 9 With E:\FR\FM\29JAN1.SGM 29JAN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4763-4771]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01663]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 30891; 812-14140]


USAA Asset Management Company, et al.; Notice of Application

January 23, 2014.
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 (``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 (a)(2) of the Act, and under section 12(d)(1)(J) 
of the Act for an exemption

[[Page 4764]]

from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) of the Act.

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    Applicants: USAA Asset Management Company (``USAA AMC''), USAA 
Investment Management Company (``USAA IMC''), and USAA ETF Trust (the 
``Trust'').
SUMMARY: Summary of Application: Applicants request an order that 
permits: (a) Actively-managed 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 from 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.

DATES: Filing Dates: The application was filed on March 28, 2013, and 
amended on September 19, 2013, and January 17, 2014.
    Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the requested 
relief will be issued unless the Commission orders a hearing. 
Interested persons may request a hearing by writing to the Commission's 
Secretary and serving applicants with a copy of the request, personally 
or by mail. Hearing requests should be received by the Commission by 
5:30 p.m. on February 18, 2014, 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: Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange 
Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090. Applicants: 
9800 Fredericksburg Road, San Antonio, TX 78288.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven I. Amchan, Senior Counsel, at 
(202) 551-6826 or Mary Kay Frech, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-6821 
(Division of Investment Management, Chief Counsel's Office).

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 will be registered as an open-end management 
investment company under the Act and is a statutory trust organized 
under the laws of Delaware. The Trust anticipates offering 14 initial 
series (the ``Initial Funds'') with distinct investment objectives and 
strategies, as described in the application.
    2. USAA AMC, a Delaware corporation with its principal office in 
San Antonio, Texas, is registered as an investment adviser under the 
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (``Advisers Act'') and will serve as 
investment adviser to the Initial Funds. The Advisor (as defined below) 
may in the future retain one or more sub-advisers (each a 
``Subadvisor'') to manage the portfolios of the Funds (as defined 
below). Any Subadvisor will be registered under the Advisers Act or not 
subject to such registration. One or more registered broker-dealers 
under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act,'' and such 
persons registered under the Exchange Act, ``Brokers''), which may be 
an affiliate of the Advisor and/or Subadvisors, will act as the 
distributor and principal underwriter of the Funds (each a 
``Distributor'').\1\ USAA IMC, an affiliate of USAA AMC, will act as 
the Distributor for the Initial Funds.
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    \1\ Applicants request that the order also apply to future 
Distributors that comply with the terms and conditions of the 
application.
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    3. Applicants request that the order apply to the Initial Funds and 
any future series of the Trust as well as other open-end management 
companies that are exchange-traded funds (``ETFs'') and that utilize 
active management investment strategies (``Future Funds''). Any Future 
Fund will (a) be advised by USAA AMC or an entity controlling, 
controlled by, or under common control with USAA AMC (each, an 
``Advisor''), and (b) comply with the terms and conditions of the 
application.\2\ The Initial Funds and Future Funds together are the 
``Funds.'' Each Fund will consist of a portfolio of securities 
(including fixed income and/or equity securities) and/or currencies, 
other assets, and other positions traded in U.S. and/or non-U.S. 
markets (``Portfolio Positions'').\3\ Funds may invest in ``Depositary 
Receipts.'' \4\ Each Fund will operate as an actively managed ETF.
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    \2\ Any Advisor to a Future Fund will be registered as an 
investment adviser under the Advisers Act. All entities that 
currently intend to rely on the order are named as applicants. Any 
other entity that relies on the order in the future will comply with 
the terms and conditions of the application.
    \3\ If a Fund invests in derivatives, then (a) the board of 
trustees (``Board'') of the Fund will periodically review and 
approve the Fund's use of derivatives and how the Advisor assesses 
and manages risk with respect to the Fund's use of derivatives, and 
(b) the Fund's disclosure of its use of derivatives in its offering 
documents and periodic reports will be consistent with relevant 
Commission and staff guidance.
    \4\ Depositary Receipts are typically issued by a financial 
institution, a ``depositary'', and evidence ownership in a security 
or pool of securities that have been deposited with the depositary. 
A Fund will not invest in any Depositary Receipts that the Advisor 
or Subadvisor deems to be illiquid or for which pricing information 
is not readily available. No affiliated persons of applicants, any 
Future Fund, the Advisor, or any Subadvisor will serve as the 
depositary bank for any Depositary Receipts held by a Fund.
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    4. Applicants also request that any exemption under section 
12(d)(1)(J) of the Act from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) apply to: (i) 
any Fund that is currently or subsequently part of the same ``group of 
investment companies'' as the Initial Funds within the meaning of 
section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act; (ii) any principal underwriter for 
the Fund; (iii) any Brokers selling Shares of a Fund to an Investing 
Fund (as defined below); and (iv) each management investment company or 
unit investment trust registered under the Act that is not part of the 
same ``group of investment companies'' as the Funds within the meaning 
of section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act and that enters into a FOF 
Participation Agreement (as defined below) with a Fund (such management 
investment companies, ``Investing Management Companies,'' such unit 
investment trusts, ``Investing Trusts,'' and Investing Management 
Companies and Investing Trusts together, ``Investing Funds''). 
Investing Funds do not include the Funds.\5\
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    \5\ An Investing Fund may rely on the order only to invest in 
Funds and not in any other registered investment company.
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    5. Applicants anticipate that a Creation Unit will consist of at 
least 25,000 Shares and that the trading price of a Share will range 
from $10 to $200. All orders to purchase Creation Units must be placed 
with the Distributor by or through a party that has entered into a 
participant agreement with the Distributor and the transfer agent of 
the Fund (``Authorized Participant'') with respect to the creation and 
redemption of Creation Units. An Authorized Participant is either: (a) 
a Broker or other participant in the Continuous Net Settlement System 
of the National Securities Clearing Corporation

[[Page 4765]]

(``NSCC''), a clearing agency registered with the Commission and 
affiliated with the Depository Trust Company (``DTC''), or (b) a 
participant in the DTC (such participant, ``DTC Participant'').
    6. In order to keep costs low and permit each Fund to be as fully 
invested as possible, Shares will be purchased and redeemed in Creation 
Units and generally on an in-kind basis. Except where the purchase or 
redemption will include cash under the limited circumstances specified 
below, purchasers will be required to purchase Creation Units by making 
an in-kind deposit of specified instruments (``Deposit Instruments''), 
and shareholders redeeming their Shares will receive an in-kind 
transfer of specified instruments (``Redemption Instruments'').\6\ On 
any given Business Day \7\ the names and quantities of the instruments 
that constitute the Deposit Instruments and the names and quantities of 
the instruments that constitute the Redemption Instruments will be 
identical, and these instruments may be referred to, in the case of 
either a purchase or redemption, as the ``Creation Basket.'' In 
addition, the Creation Basket will correspond pro rata to the positions 
in a Fund's portfolio (including cash positions),\8\ except: (a) In the 
case of bonds, for minor differences when it is impossible to break up 
bonds beyond certain minimum sizes needed for transfer and settlement; 
(b) for minor differences when rounding is necessary to eliminate 
fractional shares or lots that are not tradeable round lots; \9\ or (c) 
TBA Transactions,\10\ short positions and other positions that cannot 
be transferred in kind \11\ will be excluded from the Creation 
Basket.\12\ If there is a difference between the NAV attributable to a 
Creation Unit and the aggregate market value of the Creation Basket 
exchanged for the Creation Unit, the party conveying instruments with 
the lower value will also pay to the other an amount in cash equal to 
that difference (the ``Balancing Amount'').
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    \6\ The Funds must comply with the federal securities laws in 
accepting Deposit Instruments and satisfying redemptions with 
Redemption Instruments, including that the Deposit Instruments and 
Redemption Instruments are sold in transactions that would be exempt 
from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (``Securities 
Act''). In accepting Deposit Instruments and satisfying redemptions 
with Redemption Instruments that are restricted securities eligible 
for resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act, the Funds 
will comply with the conditions of Rule 144A.
    \7\ Each Fund will sell and redeem Creation Units on any day the 
Fund is open for business, including as required by section 22(e) of 
the Act (each, a ``Business Day'').
    \8\ The portfolio used for this purpose will be the same 
portfolio used to calculate the Fund's net asset value (``NAV'') for 
that Business Day.
    \9\ A tradeable round lot for a security will be the standard 
unit of trading in that particular type of security in its primary 
market.
    \10\ A TBA Transaction is a method of trading mortgage-backed 
securities. In a TBA Transaction, the buyer and seller agree on 
general trade parameters such as agency, settlement date, par amount 
and price.
    \11\ This includes instruments that can be transferred in kind 
only with the consent of the original counterparty to the extent the 
Fund does not intend to seek such consents.
    \12\ Because these instruments will be excluded from the 
Creation Basket, their value will be reflected in the determination 
of the Balancing Amount (defined below).
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    7. Purchases and redemptions of Creation Units may be made in whole 
or in part on a cash basis, rather than in kind, solely under the 
following circumstances: (a) To the extent there is a Balancing Amount, 
as described above; (b) if, on a given Business Day, a Fund announces 
before the open of trading that all purchases, all redemptions or all 
purchases and redemptions on that day will be made entirely in cash; 
(c) if, upon receiving a purchase or redemption order from an 
Authorized Participant, a Fund determines to require the purchase or 
redemption, as applicable, to be made entirely in cash; (d) if, on a 
given Business Day, a Fund requires all Authorized Participants 
purchasing or redeeming Shares on that day to deposit or receive (as 
applicable) cash in lieu of some or all of the Deposit Instruments or 
Redemption Instruments, respectively, solely because: (i) Such 
instruments are not eligible for transfer through either the NSCC or 
DTC; or (ii) in the case of Funds holding non-U.S. investments, such 
instruments are not eligible for trading due to local trading 
restrictions, local restrictions on securities transfers or other 
similar circumstances; or (e) if a Fund permits an Authorized 
Participant to deposit or receive (as applicable) cash in lieu of some 
or all of the Deposit Instruments or Redemption Instruments, 
respectively, solely because: (i) Such instruments are, in the case of 
the purchase of a Creation Unit, not available in sufficient quantity; 
(ii) such instruments are not eligible for trading by an Authorized 
Participant or the investor on whose behalf the Authorized Participant 
is acting; or (iii) a holder of Shares of a Fund holding non-U.S. 
investments would be subject to unfavorable income tax treatment if the 
holder receives redemption proceeds in kind.\13\
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    \13\ A ``custom order'' is any purchase or redemption of Shares 
made in whole or in part on a cash basis in reliance on clause 
(e)(i) or (e)(ii).
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    8. Each Business Day, before the open of trading on a national 
securities exchange, as defined in section 2(a)(26) of the Act (``Stock 
Exchange''), on which Shares are listed, each Fund will cause to be 
published through the NSCC the names and quantities of the instruments 
comprising the Creation Basket, as well as the estimated Balancing 
Amount (if any), for that day. The published Creation Basket will apply 
until a new Creation Basket is announced on the following Business Day, 
and there will be no intra-day changes to the Creation Basket except to 
correct errors in the published Creation Basket. The Stock Exchange 
will disseminate every 15 seconds throughout the trading day through 
the facilities of the Consolidated Tape Association an amount 
representing, on a per Share basis, the sum of the current value of the 
Portfolio Positions that were publicly disclosed prior to the 
commencement of trading in Shares on the Stock Exchange.
    9. A Fund may recoup the settlement costs charged by NSCC and DTC 
by imposing a transaction fee on investors purchasing or redeeming 
Creation Units (the ``Transaction Fee''). The Transaction Fee will be 
borne only by purchasers and redeemers of Creation Units and will be 
limited to amounts that have been determined appropriate by the Advisor 
to defray the transaction expenses that will be incurred by a Fund when 
an investor purchases or redeems Creation Units.\14\ All orders to 
purchase Creation Units will be placed with the Distributor by or 
through an Authorized Participant and the Distributor will transmit all 
purchase orders to the relevant Fund. The Distributor will be 
responsible for delivering a prospectus (``Prospectus'') to those 
persons purchasing Creation Units and for maintaining records of both 
the orders placed with it and the confirmations of acceptance furnished 
by it.
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    \14\ Where a Fund permits an in-kind purchaser to deposit cash 
in lieu of depositing one or more Deposit Instruments, the purchaser 
may be assessed a higher Transaction Fee to offset the cost to the 
Fund of buying those particular Deposit Instruments. In all cases, 
the Transaction Fee will be limited in accordance with the 
requirements of the Commission applicable to open-end management 
investment companies offering redeemable securities.
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    10. Shares will be listed and traded at negotiated prices on a 
Stock Exchange and traded in the secondary market. Applicants expect 
that Stock Exchange specialists (``Specialists'') or market makers 
(``Market Makers'') will be assigned to Shares. The price of Shares 
trading on the Stock Exchange will be based on a current bid/offer in 
the secondary market. Transactions involving the purchases and sales of

[[Page 4766]]

Shares on the Stock Exchange will be subject to customary brokerage 
commissions and charges.
    11. Applicants expect that purchasers of Creation Units will 
include institutional investors and arbitrageurs. Specialists or Market 
Makers, acting in their unique role to provide a fair and orderly 
secondary market for Shares, also may purchase Creation Units for use 
in their own market making activities.\15\ Applicants expect that 
secondary market purchasers of Shares will include both institutional 
and retail investors.\16\ Applicants expect that arbitrage 
opportunities created by the ability to continually purchase or redeem 
Creation Units at their NAV per Share should ensure that the Shares 
will not trade at a material discount or premium in relation to their 
NAV.
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    \15\ If Shares are listed on The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC 
(``Nasdaq'') or a similar electronic Stock Exchange (including NYSE 
Arca), one or more member firms of that Stock Exchange will act as a 
Market Maker and maintain a market for Shares trading on that Stock 
Exchange. On Nasdaq, no particular Market Maker would be 
contractually obligated to make a market in Shares. However, the 
listing requirements on Nasdaq, for example, stipulate that at least 
two Market Makers must be registered in Shares to maintain a 
listing. In addition, on Nasdaq and NYSE Arca, registered Market 
Makers are required to make a continuous two-sided market or subject 
themselves to regulatory sanctions. No Market Maker or Specialist 
will be an affiliated person or an affiliated person of an 
affiliated person, of the Funds, except within the meaning of 
section 2(a)(3)(A) or (C) of the Act due solely to ownership of 
Shares, as described below.
    \16\ Shares will be registered in book-entry form only. DTC or 
its nominee will be the record or registered owner of all 
outstanding Shares. Beneficial ownership of Shares will be shown on 
the records of DTC or DTC Participants.
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    12. Shares will not be individually redeemable and owners of Shares 
may acquire those Shares from a Fund (other than pursuant to the 
Distribution Reinvestment Program as described below), or tender such 
shares for redemption to the Fund, in Creation Units only. To redeem, 
an investor must accumulate enough Shares to constitute a Creation 
Unit. Redemption requests must be placed by or through an Authorized 
Participant.
    13. Applicants will also give investors the option to purchase 
additional individual Shares through a ``Distribution Reinvestment 
Program.'' The Trust will make the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service 
available for use by the beneficial owners of Shares (``Beneficial 
Owners'') through DTC Participants for reinvestment of their cash 
dividends.\17\ DTC Participants whose customers participate in the 
program will have the distributions of their customers automatically 
reinvested in additional whole Shares issued by the applicable Fund at 
NAV per Share. Shares will be issued at NAV under the DTC Dividend 
Reinvestment Service regardless of whether the Shares are trading in 
the secondary market at a premium or discount to NAV as of the time NAV 
is calculated. Thus, Shares may be purchased through the DTC Dividend 
Reinvestment Service at prices that are higher (or lower) than the 
contemporaneous secondary market trading price. Applicants state that 
the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service differs from dividend 
reinvestment services offered by broker-dealers in two ways. First, in 
dividend reinvestment programs typically offered by broker-dealers, the 
additional shares are purchased in the secondary market at current 
market prices at a date and time determined by the broker-dealer at its 
discretion. Shares purchased through the DTC Dividend Reinvestment 
Service are purchased directly from the fund on the date of the 
distribution at the NAV per share on such date. Second, in dividend 
reinvestment programs typically offered by broker-dealers, shareholders 
are typically charged a brokerage or other fee in connection with the 
secondary market purchase of shares. Applicants state that brokers 
providing the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service to their customers will 
determine whether to charge Beneficial Owners a fee for this service, 
but that brokers typically do not charge customers such fees.
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    \17\ Some DTC Participants may not elect to utilize the DTC 
Dividend Reinvestment Service. Beneficial Owners will be encouraged 
to contact their broker to ascertain the availability of the DTC 
Dividend Reinvestment Service through such broker. The Prospectus 
will make clear to Beneficial Owners that the Distribution 
Reinvestment Program is optional and that its availability is 
determined by their broker, at its own discretion. Broker-dealers 
are not required to utilize the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service, 
and may instead offer a dividend reinvestment program under which 
Shares are purchased in the secondary market at current market 
prices or no dividend reinvestment program at all.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    14. Applicants state that the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service 
will be operated by DTC in exactly the same way it runs such service 
for other open-end management investment companies. The initial 
decision to participate in the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service is 
made by the DTC Participant. Once a DTC Participant elects to 
participate in the DTC Dividend Reinvestment Service, it offers its 
customers the option to participate. Beneficial Owners will have to 
make an affirmative election to participate by completing an election 
notice. Before electing to participate, Beneficial Owners will receive 
disclosure describing the terms of the DTC Dividend Reinvestment 
Service and the consequences of participation. This disclosure will 
include a clear and concise explanation that under the Distribution 
Reinvestment Program, Shares will be issued at NAV, which could result 
in such Shares being acquired at a price higher or lower than that at 
which they could be sold in the secondary market on the day they are 
issued (this will also be clearly disclosed in the Prospectus).
    15. Neither the Trust nor any Fund will be marketed or otherwise 
held out as a ``mutual fund.'' Instead, each Fund will be marketed as 
an ``actively-managed exchange-traded fund.'' In any advertising 
material where features of obtaining, buying or selling Creation Units 
or Shares are described, or where there is reference to redeemability, 
there will be an appropriate statement to the effect that Shares are 
not individually redeemable.
    16. The Funds' Web site, which will be publicly available prior to 
the public offering of Shares, will include a Prospectus and additional 
quantitative information updated on a daily basis, including, on a per 
Share basis for each Fund, the prior Business Day's NAV and the market 
closing price or mid-point 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 
against such NAV. On each Business Day, before commencement of trading 
in Shares on the Stock Exchange, the Fund will disclose on its Web site 
the identities and quantities of the Portfolio Positions held by the 
Fund that will form the basis for the Fund's calculation of NAV at the 
end of the Business Day.\18\
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    \18\ Applicants note that under accounting procedures followed 
by the Funds, trades made on the prior Business Day will be booked 
and reflected in NAV on the current Business Day. Accordingly, each 
Fund will be able to disclose at the beginning of the Business Day 
the portfolio that will form the basis for its NAV calculation at 
the end of such Business Day.
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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 (B) of the Act.
    2. Section 6(c) of the Act provides that the Commission may exempt 
any person, security or transaction, or any

[[Page 4767]]

class of persons, securities or transactions, from any provisions 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 provision 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 holder, upon 
its presentation to the issuer, is entitled to receive approximately a 
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 each Fund to redeem 
Shares in Creation Units only. Applicants state that investors may 
purchase Shares from each Fund only in Creation Units (or through a 
Distribution Reinvestment Program) and redeem Shares from each Fund 
only in Creation Units. Applicants further state that because the 
market price of Creation Units will be disciplined by arbitrage 
opportunities, investors should be able to sell Shares in the secondary 
market at prices that do not vary materially 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 that 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 the 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 resulting from sales at different prices, and (c) ensure 
an orderly distribution system of investment company shares by 
eliminating price competition from brokers 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 the Funds as parties and cannot 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 arbitrage activity should ensure that 
the difference between the market price of Shares and their NAV remains 
immaterial.

Section 22(e) of the Act

    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 settlement of redemptions of Creation Units of Funds 
holding non-U.S. investments is contingent not only on the settlement 
cycle of the U.S. securities markets but also on the delivery cycles 
present in foreign markets in which those Funds invest. Applicants are 
aware that, under certain circumstances, the delivery cycles for 
transferring Portfolio Positions 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 payment or satisfaction of redemptions within 
the maximum number of calendar days required for such payment or 
satisfaction in the principal local markets where transactions in the 
Portfolio Positions of each Fund holding non-U.S. investments 
customarily clear and settle, but in all cases no later than 14 
calendar days following the tender of a Creation Unit.\19\
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    \19\ Applicants acknowledge that no relief obtained from the 
requirements of section 22(e) will affect any obligations that it 
may otherwise 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 date.
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    8. Applicants state that section 22(e) was designed to prevent 
unreasonable, undisclosed and unforeseen delays in the actual payment 
of redemption proceeds. Applicants assert that the requested relief 
will not lead to the problems that section 22(e) was designed to 
prevent. Applicants state that allowing redemption payments for 
Creation Units of a Fund to be made within a maximum of 14 calendar 
days would not be inconsistent with the spirit and intent of section 
22(e). Applicants state each Fund holding non-U.S. investments' 
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 needed to deliver the proceeds for each affected Fund holding non-
U.S. investments. Applicants are not seeking relief from section 22(e) 
with respect to Funds holding non-U.S. investments that do not effect 
redemptions in-kind.

Section 12(d)(1) of the Act

    9. Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act prohibits a registered investment 
company from acquiring shares of an investment company if the 
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,

[[Page 4768]]

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, or any other broker or dealer from 
selling its 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 relief to permit Investing Funds to acquire 
Shares in excess of the limits in section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act and to 
permit the Funds, their principal underwriters and any Broker to sell 
Shares to Investing Funds in excess of the limits in section 
12(d)(l)(B) of the Act. Applicants submit that the proposed conditions 
to the requested relief address the concerns underlying the limits in 
section 12(d)(1), which include concerns about undue influence, 
excessive layering of fees and overly complex structures.
    11. Applicants submit that their proposed conditions address any 
concerns regarding the potential for undue influence. To limit the 
control that an Investing Fund may have over a Fund, applicants propose 
a condition prohibiting the adviser of an Investing Management Company 
(``Investing Fund Advisor''), sponsor of an Investing Trust 
(``Sponsor''), any person controlling, controlled by, or under common 
control with the Investing Fund Advisor or Sponsor, and any investment 
company or issuer that would be an investment company but for sections 
3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act that is advised or sponsored by the 
Investing Fund Advisor, the Sponsor, or any person controlling, 
controlled by, or under common control with the Investing Fund Advisor 
or Sponsor (``Investing Fund's Advisory Group'') from controlling 
(individually or in the aggregate) a Fund within the meaning of section 
2(a)(9) of the Act. The same prohibition would apply to any sub-adviser 
to an Investing Management Company (``Investing Fund Sub-Advisor''), 
any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the 
Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, and any investment company or issuer that 
would be an investment company but for sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of 
the Act (or portion of such investment company or issuer) advised or 
sponsored by the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor or any person controlling, 
controlled by or under common control with the Investing Fund Sub-
Advisor (``Investing Fund's Sub-Advisory Group'').
    12. Applicants propose a condition to ensure that no Investing Fund 
or Investing Fund Affiliate \20\ (except to the extent it is acting in 
its capacity as an investment adviser to a Fund) will cause a 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, Investing Fund Advisor, Investing Fund Sub-
Advisor, employee or Sponsor of the Investing Fund, or a person of 
which any such officer, director, member of an advisory board, 
Investing Fund Advisor, Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, employee or Sponsor 
is an affiliated person (except any person whose relationship to the 
Fund is covered by section 10(f) of the Act is not an Underwriting 
Affiliate).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \20\ An ``Investing Fund Affiliate'' is any Investing Fund 
Advisor, Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, Sponsor, promoter and principal 
underwriter of an Investing Fund, and any person controlling, 
controlled by or under common control with any of these entities. 
``Fund Affiliate'' is an investment adviser, promoter, or principal 
underwriter of a Fund or any person controlling, controlled by or 
under common control with any of these entities.
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    13. Applicants propose several conditions to address the potential 
for layering of fees. Applicants note that 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 (``disinterested directors or 
trustees''), will be required to find that the advisory fees charged 
under the contract are based on services provided that will be in 
addition to, rather than duplicative of, services provided under the 
advisory contract of any Fund in which the Investing Management Company 
may invest. Applicants also state that any sales charges and/or service 
fees charged with respect to shares of an Investing Fund will not 
exceed the limits applicable to a fund of funds as set forth in NASD 
Conduct Rule 2830.\21\
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    \21\ Any reference to NASD Conduct Rule 2830 includes any 
successor or replacement rule that may be adopted by the Financial 
Industry Regulatory Authority.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    14. Applicants submit that the proposed arrangement will not create 
an overly complex fund structure. Applicants note that a Fund will be 
prohibited from acquiring 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 that the Fund (a) receives securities of another investment 
company as a dividend or as a result of a plan of reorganization of a 
company (other than a plan devised for the purpose of evading section 
12(d)(1) of the Act), or (b) acquires securities of another investment 
company pursuant to exemptive relief from the Commission permitting the 
Fund to (i) acquire shares of other investment companies for short-term 
cash management purposes or (ii) engage in interfund borrowing and 
lending transactions.
    15. To ensure that an Investing Fund is aware of the terms and 
conditions of the requested order, the Investing Funds must enter into 
an agreement with the respective Funds (``FOF Participation 
Agreement''). The FOF Participation Agreement will include an 
acknowledgement from the Investing Fund that it may rely on the order 
only to invest in a Fund and not in any other investment company.

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

    16. 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 purchasing any security from the company. Section 2(a)(3) of the Act 
defines ``affiliated person'' to include 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 and any 
person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under 
common control with, the other person. Section 2(a)(9) of the Act 
defines ``control'' as the power to exercise a controlling influence 
over the management or policies of a company and provides that a 
control relationship will be presumed where one person owns more than 
25% of another person's voting securities. Each Fund may be deemed to 
be controlled by an Advisor 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 
an Advisor (an ``Affiliated Fund'').
    17. Applicants request an exemption under sections 6(c) and 17(b) 
of the Act from sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Act to permit in-
kind purchases and redemptions of Creation Units by persons that are 
affiliated persons or second tier affiliates of the Funds solely

[[Page 4769]]

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.\22\ Applicants also request an 
exemption in order to permit a Fund to sell its Shares to and redeem 
its Shares from, and engage in any in-kind transactions that would 
accompany such sales and redemptions with, certain Investing Funds of 
which the Funds are affiliated persons or second-tier affiliates.\23\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ Applicants are not seeking relief from section 17(a) for, 
and the requested relief will not apply to, transactions where a 
Fund could be deemed an affiliated person, or an affiliated person 
of an affiliated person, of an Investing Fund because an investment 
adviser to the Funds is also an investment adviser to an Investing 
Fund.
    \23\ To the extent that purchases and sales of Shares occur in 
the secondary market and not through principal transactions directly 
between an Investing Fund and a Fund, relief from section 17(a) 
would not be necessary. However, the requested relief would apply to 
direct sales of Shares in Creation Units by a Fund to an Investing 
Fund and redemptions of those Shares. The requested relief is also 
intended to cover any in-kind transactions that would accompany such 
sales and redemptions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    18. Applicants assert that no useful purpose would be served by 
prohibiting such affiliated persons from making in-kind purchases or 
in-kind redemptions of Shares of a Fund in Creation Units. The Deposit 
Instruments and Redemption Instruments available for a Fund will be the 
same for all purchasers and redeemers, respectively, and will 
correspond pro rata to the Fund's Portfolio Positions, except as 
described above. The deposit procedures for in-kind purchases of 
Creation Units and the redemption procedures for in-kind redemptions 
will be the same for all purchases and redemptions. Deposit Instruments 
and Redemption Instruments will be valued in the same manner as those 
Portfolio Positions currently held by the relevant Funds, and the 
valuation of the Deposit Instruments and Redemption Instruments will be 
made in the same manner, regardless of the identity of the purchaser or 
redeemer. Applicants do not believe that in-kind purchases and 
redemptions will result in abusive self-dealing or overreaching of the 
Fund.
    19. Applicants also submit that the sale of Shares to and 
redemption of Shares from an Investing Fund meets the standards for 
relief under sections 17(b) and 6(c) of the Act. The FOF Participation 
Agreement will require any Investing Fund that purchases Creation Units 
directly from a Fund to represent that the purchase of Creation Units 
from a Fund by an Investing Fund will be accomplished in compliance 
with the investment restrictions of the Investing Fund and will be 
consistent with the investment policies set forth in the Investing 
Fund's registration statement. Applicants note that any consideration 
paid for the purchase or redemption of Shares directly from a Fund will 
be based on the NAV of the Fund in accordance with policies and 
procedures set forth in the Fund's registration statement.\24\ 
Applicants also state that the proposed transactions are consistent 
with the general purposes of the Act and appropriate in the public 
interest.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ Applicants acknowledge that the receipt of compensation by 
(a) an affiliated person of an Investing Fund, or an affiliated 
person of such person, for the purchase by the Investing Fund of 
Shares of the Fund or (b) an affiliated person of a Fund, or an 
affiliated person of such person, for the sale by the Fund of its 
Shares to an Investing Fund, may be prohibited by section 17(e)(1) 
of the Act. The FOF Participation Agreement also will include this 
acknowledgment.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Distribution Reinvestment Relief

    20. Applicants also seek an order to permit the Funds to operate 
the Distribution Reinvestment Program. Applicants state that the 
Distribution Reinvestment Program is reasonable and fair because it is 
voluntary and each Beneficial Owner will have in advance accurate and 
explicit information that makes clear the terms of the Distribution 
Reinvestment Program and the consequences of participation. The 
Distribution Reinvestment Program does not involve any overreaching on 
the part of any person concerned because it operates the same for each 
Beneficial Owner who elects to participate, and is structured in the 
public interest because it is designed to give those Beneficial Owners 
who elect to participate a convenient and efficient method to reinvest 
distributions without paying a brokerage commission. In addition, 
although brokers providing the Distribution Reinvestment Program could 
charge a fee, applicants represent that typically brokers do not charge 
for this service.
    21. Applicants do not believe that the issuance of Shares under the 
Distribution Reinvestment Program will have a material effect on the 
overall operation of the Funds, including on the efficiency of the 
arbitrage mechanism inherent in ETFs. In addition, applicants do not 
believe that providing Beneficial Owners with an added optional benefit 
(the ability to reinvest in Shares at NAV) will change the Beneficial 
Owners' expectations about the Funds or the fact that individual Shares 
trade at secondary market prices. Applicants believe that Beneficial 
Owners (other than Authorized Participants) generally expect to buy and 
sell individual Shares only through secondary market transactions at 
market prices and that such owners will not be confused by the 
Distribution Reinvestment Program. Therefore, applicants believe that 
the Distribution Reinvestment Program meets the standards for relief 
under section 6(c) of the Act.

Applicants' Conditions

    Applicants agree that any order of the Commission granting the 
requested relief will be subject to the following conditions:

A. ETF Relief

    1. As long as the Funds operate in reliance on the requested order, 
the Shares of the Funds will be listed on a Stock Exchange.
    2. Neither the Trust nor any 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 the Shares are 
not individually redeemable and that owners of the Shares may acquire 
those Shares from the Fund (other than pursuant to the Distribution 
Reinvestment Program) and tender those Shares for redemption to the 
Fund in Creation Units only.
    3. The Web site for the Funds, which is and will be publicly 
accessible at no charge, will contain, on a per Share basis, for each 
Fund the prior Business Day's NAV and the market closing price or Bid/
Ask Price, and a calculation of the premium or discount of the market 
closing price or Bid/Ask Price against such NAV.
    4. On each Business Day, before commencement of trading in Shares 
on the Stock Exchange, the Fund will disclose on its Web site the 
identities and quantities of the Portfolio Positions held by the Fund 
that will form the basis for the Fund's calculation of NAV at the end 
of the Business Day.
    5. The Advisor or any Subadvisor, directly or indirectly, will not 
cause any Authorized Participant (or any investor on whose behalf an 
Authorized Participant may transact with the Fund) to acquire any 
Deposit Instrument for the Fund through a transaction in which the Fund 
could not engage directly.
    6. 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 actively-managed exchange-traded 
funds.

[[Page 4770]]

B. 12(d)(1) Relief

    1. The members of the Investing Fund's Advisory Group will not 
control (individually or in the aggregate) a Fund within the meaning of 
section 2(a)(9) of the Act. The members of the Investing Fund's Sub-
Advisory Group will not control (individually or in the aggregate) a 
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, the 
Investing Fund's Advisory Group or the Investing Fund's Sub-Advisory 
Group, each in the aggregate, becomes a holder of more than 25 percent 
of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund, it will vote its Shares 
of the Fund in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of 
the Fund's Shares. This condition does not apply to the Investing 
Fund's Sub-Advisory Group with respect to a Fund for which the 
Investing Fund Sub-Advisor or a person controlling, controlled by or 
under common control with the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor acts as the 
investment adviser within the meaning of section 2(a)(20)(A) of the 
Act.
    2. No Investing Fund or Investing Fund Affiliate will cause any 
existing or potential investment by the Investing Fund in a Fund to 
influence the terms of any services or transactions between the 
Investing Fund or an Investing Fund Affiliate and the Fund or a Fund 
Affiliate.
    3. The board of directors or trustees of an Investing Management 
Company, including a majority of the disinterested directors or 
trustees, will adopt procedures reasonably designed to ensure that the 
Investing Fund Advisor and any Investing Fund Sub-Advisor are 
conducting the investment program of the Investing Management Company 
without taking into account any consideration received by the Investing 
Management Company or an Investing Fund Affiliate from a Fund or a Fund 
Affiliate in connection with any services or transactions.
    4. Once an investment by an Investing Fund in the Shares of a Fund 
exceeds the limit in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, the Board of a 
Fund, including a majority of the disinterested directors or trustees, 
will determine that any consideration paid by the Fund to the Investing 
Fund or an Investing Fund 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; (ii) is 
within the range of consideration that the 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 and its investment advisor(s), 
or any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with 
such investment advisor(s).
    5. The Investing Fund Advisor, or Trustee or Sponsor, as 
applicable, will waive fees otherwise payable to it by the Investing 
Fund in an amount at least equal to any compensation (including fees 
received pursuant to any plan adopted by a Fund under rule 12b-1 under 
the Act) received from a Fund by the Investing Fund Advisor, or Trustee 
or Sponsor, or an affiliated person of the Investing Fund Advisor, or 
Trustee or Sponsor, other than any advisory fees paid to the Investing 
Fund Advisor, or Trustee, or Sponsor, or its affiliated person by the 
Fund, in connection with the investment by the Investing Fund in the 
Fund. Any Investing Fund Sub-Advisor will waive fees otherwise payable 
to the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, directly or indirectly, by the 
Investing Management Company in an amount at least equal to any 
compensation received from a Fund by the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, or 
an affiliated person of the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor, other than any 
advisory fees paid to the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor or its affiliated 
person by the Fund, in connection with the investment by the Investing 
Management Company in the Fund made at the direction of the Investing 
Fund Sub-Advisor. In the event that the Investing Fund Sub-Advisor 
waives fees, the benefit of the waiver will be passed through to the 
Investing Management Company.
    6. No Investing Fund or Investing Fund Affiliate (except to the 
extent it is acting in its capacity as an investment advisor to a Fund) 
will cause a Fund to purchase a security in an Affiliated Underwriting.
    7. The Board of a Fund, including a majority of the disinterested 
directors or trustees, will adopt procedures reasonably designed to 
monitor any purchases of securities by the Fund in an Affiliated 
Underwriting, once an investment by an Investing Fund in the securities 
of the 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 Investing Fund in the Fund. The 
Board will consider, among other things: (i) whether the purchases were 
consistent with the investment objectives and policies of the Fund; 
(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 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 of the Fund.
    8. Each 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 an Investing Fund in the securities 
of the Fund 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.
    9. Before investing in a Fund in excess of the limits in section 
12(d)(1)(A), an Investing Fund will execute a FOF Participation 
Agreement with the Fund stating that their respective boards of 
directors or trustees and their investment advisors, 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 in excess of the limit 
in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i), an Investing Fund will notify the Fund of 
the investment. At such time, the Investing Fund will also transmit to 
the Fund a list of the names of each Investing Fund Affiliate and 
Underwriting Affiliate. The Investing Fund will notify the Fund of any 
changes to the list as soon as reasonably practicable after a change 
occurs. The

[[Page 4771]]

Fund and the Investing Fund 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.
    10. 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 disinterested 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 in which the Investing Management Company may invest. These 
findings and their basis will be recorded fully in the minute books of 
the appropriate Investing Management Company.
    11. Any sales charges and/or service fees charged with respect to 
shares of an Investing Fund will not exceed the limits applicable to a 
fund of funds as set forth in NASD Conduct Rule 2830.
    12. No Fund relying on the section 12(d)(1) relief will 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 that the Fund (a) 
receives securities of another investment company as a dividend or as a 
result of a plan of reorganization of a company (other than a plan 
devised for the purpose of evading section 12(d)(1) of the Act), or (b) 
acquires securities of another investment company pursuant to exemptive 
relief from the Commission permitting the Fund to (i) acquire shares of 
other investment companies for short-term cash management purposes or 
(ii) engage in interfund borrowing and lending transactions.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-01663 Filed 1-28-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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