Self-Regulatory Organizations; Bats BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Amendment No. 5 To Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendments Nos. 1, 3, and 4 thereto, To Amend Rule 14.11(i) To Adopt Generic Listing Standards for Managed Fund Shares, 38247-38257 [2016-13825]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 113 / Monday, June 13, 2016 / Notices
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.12
Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
[FR Doc. 2016–13822 Filed 6–10–16; 8:45 am]
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rule-comments@
sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–
Phlx–2016–63 on the subject line.
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furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
If the Commission takes such action, the
Commission shall institute proceedings
to determine whether the proposed rule
should be approved or disapproved.
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Bats
BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of
Amendment No. 5 To Proposed Rule
Change, as Modified by Amendments
Nos. 1, 3, and 4 thereto, To Amend
Rule 14.11(i) To Adopt Generic Listing
Standards for Managed Fund Shares
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–Phlx–2016–63. This file
number should be included on the
subject line if email is used. To help the
Commission process and review your
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed rule
change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549 on official
business days between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change;
the Commission does not edit personal
identifying information from
submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make
available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR–Phlx–
2016–63, and should be submitted on or
before July 5, 2016.
June 7, 2016.
12 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
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BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–78005; File No. SR–BATS–
2015–100]
I. Introduction
On November 18, 2015, BATS
Exchange, Inc. (now known as Bats BZX
Exchange, Inc., ‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BZX’’) 1
filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant
to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule
19b–4 thereunder,3 a proposed rule
change to amend Rule 14.11(i) by,
among other things, adopting generic
listing standards for Managed Fund
Shares. The proposed rule change was
published for comment in the Federal
Register on November 25, 2015.4 On
January 4, 2016, the Commission
designated a longer period within which
to approve the proposed rule change,
disapprove the proposed rule change, or
institute proceedings to determine
whether to disapprove the proposed
rule change.5 On February 9, 2016, the
Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to the
proposed rule change,6 which replaced
1 In March 2016, BATS changed its name from
‘‘BATS Exchange, Inc.’’ to ‘‘Bats BZX Exchange,
Inc.’’ See Securities Act Release No. 77307 (Mar. 7,
2016), 81 FR 12996 (Mar. 11, 2016) (SR–BATS–
2016–25) (publishing notice of the name change to
Bats BZX Exchange, Inc.).
2 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
3 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
4 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 76478
(Nov. 19, 2015), 80 FR 73841 (‘‘Notice’’).
5 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 76820,
81 FR 989 (Jan. 8, 2016). The Commission
designated February 23, 2016 as the date by which
the Commission shall either approve or disapprove,
or institute proceedings to determine whether to
disapprove, the proposed rule change. See id.
6 Amendment No. 1: (1) Clarifies the proposed
treatment of convertible securities under the
proposed generic listing criteria; (2) modifies the
proposed criterion regarding American Depositary
Receipts (‘‘ADRs’’) to provide that no more than
10% of the equity weight of the portfolio shall
consist of non-exchange traded (rather than
unsponsored) ADRs; (3) modifies the proposed
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38247
the originally filed proposed rule
change in its entirety.7 On February 11,
2016, the Exchange both filed and
withdrew Amendment No. 2 to the
proposed rule change. On February 11,
2016, the Exchange filed Amendment
No. 3 to the proposed rule change.8 On
February 17, 2016, the Exchange filed
Amendment No. 4 to the proposed rule
change.9 On February 22, 2016, the
Commission issued notice of filing of
Amendment Nos. 1, 3, and 4 to the
proposed rule change and instituted
proceedings under Section 19(b)(2)(B) of
the Act 10 to determine whether to
approve or disapprove the proposed
rule change, as modified by Amendment
Nos. 1, 3, and 4 thereto.11 In the Order
portfolio limit on listed derivatives to require that
at least 90% of the weight of such holdings invested
in futures, exchange-traded options, and listed
swaps shall, on both an initial and continuing basis,
consist of futures, options, and swaps for which the
Exchange may obtain information via the
Intermarket Surveillance Group (‘‘ISG’’) from other
members or affiliates of the ISG or for which the
principal market is a market with which the
Exchange has a comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement (‘‘CSSA’’); (4) provides that a portfolio’s
investments in listed and over-the-counter
derivatives will be calculated for purposes the
proposed limits on such holdings as the total
absolute notional value of the derivatives; (5) makes
certain other conforming and clarifying changes.
The amendments to the proposed rule change are
available at: https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-bats2015-100/bats2015100.shtml.
7 See Amendment No. 1, supra note 6, at 4.
8 Amendment No. 3 deletes from the proposal the
following two sentences: (1) ‘‘Such limitation will
not apply to listed swaps because swaps are listed
on swap execution facilities (‘‘SEFs’’), the majority
of which are not members of ISG.’’ and (2) ‘‘Such
limitation would not apply to listed swaps because
swaps are listed on SEFs, the majority of which are
not members of ISG.’’ Amendment No. 3 also
corrects an erroneous statement in Item 11 to
indicate that an Exhibit 4 was included in
Amendment No. 1.
9 Amendment No. 4 deletes from the proposal the
following sentence: ‘‘Thus, if the limitation applied
to swaps, there would effectively be a cap of 10%
of the portfolio invested in listed swaps.’’
Amendment No. 4 also amends two representations
as follows (added language in brackets): The
Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, will
communicate as needed regarding trading in
Managed Fund Shares [and their underlying
components] with other markets that are members
of the ISG, including all U.S. securities exchanges
and futures exchanges on which the components
are traded[, or with which the Exchange has in
place a CSSA.] In addition, the Exchange or
FINRA[,] on behalf of the Exchange[,] may obtain
information regarding trading in Managed Fund
Shares [and their underlying components] from
other markets that are members of the ISG,
including all U.S. securities exchanges and futures
exchanges on which the components are traded, or
with which the Exchange has in place a CSSA.’’
10 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
11 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 77202,
81 FR 9889 (Feb. 26, 2016) (‘‘Order Instituting
Proceedings’’). Specifically, the Commission
instituted proceedings to allow for additional
analysis of the proposed rule change’s consistency
with Section 6(b)(5) of the Act, which requires,
among other things, that the rules of a national
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Instituting Proceedings, the Commission
solicited comments to specified matters
related to the proposal.12 On May 20,
2016, the Commission designated a
longer period for Commission action on
the proposed rule change.13 The
Commission has not received any
comments on the proposed rule change,
as modified by Amendment Nos. 1, 3,
and 4 thereto.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Act 14 and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,15
notice is hereby given that, on June 3,
2016, the Exchange filed Amendment
No. 5 to the proposed rule change,16
which replaced the originally filed
proposed rule change in its entirety. The
proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 5 thereto, is as
described in Items II and III below,
which Items have been prepared by the
Exchange. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
securities exchange be ‘‘designed to prevent
fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to
promote just and equitable principles of trade,’’ and
‘‘to protect investors and the public interest.’’ See
id., 81 FR at 9897.
12 See id.
13 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 77871,
81 FR 33567 (May 26, 2016) (designating July 22,
2016 as the date by which the Commission must
either approve or disapprove the proposed rule
change).
14 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
15 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
16 Amendment No. 5: (1) Clarifies the context of
‘‘system failures’’ in the definition of Normal
Market Conditions; (2) clarifies the scope of
‘‘equity’’ securities to also include U.S. Component
Stocks, Non-U.S. Component Stocks, Derivative
Securities Products, and Linked Securities listed
pursuant to equivalent rules of another national
securities exchange; (3) clarifies the exclusion of
U.S. Department of Treasury securities and
government-sponsored entity securities from the
minimum diversification requirements applicable
to fixed income securities; (4) provides that the
calculation for complying with the percentage
limitations with respect to listed derivatives and
OTC derivatives (as defined herein) will be based
on aggregate gross notional values of the
derivatives; (5) provides additional minimum
diversification requirements with respect to listed
derivatives, to be calculated based on aggregate
gross notional values, including gross notional
exposures; (6) clarifies that, to the extent that listed
or OTC derivatives (as defined herein) are used to
gain exposure to individual equities and/or fixed
income securities, or to indexes of equities and/or
indexes of fixed income securities, the aggregate
gross notional value of such exposure is required
to meet the criteria set forth in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)
and (ii) (including gross notional exposures),
respectively; (7) provides examples on how the
percentage limitations applicable to listed and OTC
derivatives (as defined herein) would be calculated;
and (8) confirms that (a) an issuer would be
required to represent to the Exchange that it will
advise the Exchange of any failure by a series of
Managed Fund Shares to comply with the
continued listing requirements, and, pursuant to its
obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of the Act, the
Exchange will surveil for compliance with the
continued listing requirements, and (b) if the series
of Managed Fund Shares is not in compliance with
the applicable listing requirements, the Exchange
will commence delisting procedures.
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comments on the proposed rule change,
as modified by Amendment No. 5
thereto, from interested persons.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange is proposing a rule
change to adopt generic listing
standards for shares listed under BZX
Rule 14.11(i) (‘‘Managed Fund Shares’’).
The text of the proposed rule change
is available at the Exchange’s Web site
at www.batstrading.com, at the
principal office of the Exchange, and at
the Commission’s Public Reference
Room.
III. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for
the proposed rule change and discussed
any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of these
statements may be examined at the
places specified in Item V below. The
Exchange has prepared summaries, set
forth in Sections A, B, and C below, of
the most significant parts of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
1. Purpose
This Amendment No. 5 to SR–BATS–
2015–100 amends and replaces in its
entirety Amendment No. 1 to the
proposal (and subsequent amendments
thereto), which was filed on February
10, 2016, which amended and replaced
in its entirety the proposal as originally
submitted on November 15, 2015. The
Exchange submits this Amendment No.
5 in order to clarify certain points about
the proposal, to describe more
accurately how investments in
derivative securities will be treated, and
provide an example of how portfolio
exposure will be calculated.
The Exchange proposes to amend
Rule 14.11(i) to adopt generic listing
standards for Managed Fund Shares.
Under the Exchange’s current rules, a
proposed rule change must be filed with
the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’)
for the listing and trading of each new
series of Managed Fund Shares. The
Exchange believes that it is appropriate
to codify certain rules within Rule
14.11(i) that would generally eliminate
the need for such proposed rule
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changes, which would create greater
efficiency and promote uniform
standards in the listing process. Prior to
listing pursuant to proposed amended
Rule 14.11(i), an issuer would be
required to represent to the Exchange
that it will advise the Exchange of any
failure by a series of Managed Fund
Shares to comply with the continued
listing requirements, and, pursuant to
its obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of
the Exchange Act, the Exchange will
surveil for compliance with the
continued listing requirements. If the
Fund is not in compliance with the
applicable listing requirements, the
Exchange will commence delisting
procedures under Exchange Rule 14.12.
Background
Rule 14.11(i) sets forth certain rules
related to the listing and trading of
Managed Fund Shares.17 Under Rule
14.11(i)(3)(A), the term ‘‘Managed Fund
Share’’ means a security that:
(a) Represents an interest in a
registered investment company
(‘‘Investment Company’’) organized as
an open-end management investment
company or similar entity, that invests
in a portfolio of securities selected by
the Investment Company’s investment
adviser (hereafter ‘‘Adviser’’) consistent
with the Investment Company’s
investment objectives and policies;
(b) is issued in a specified aggregate
minimum number in return for a
deposit of a specified portfolio of
securities and/or a cash amount with a
value equal to the next determined net
asset value; and
(c) when aggregated in the same
specified minimum number, may be
redeemed at a holder’s request, which
holder will be paid a specified portfolio
of securities and/or cash with a value
equal to the next determined net asset
value.
Effectively, Managed Fund Shares are
securities issued by an activelymanaged open-end Investment
Company (i.e., an exchange-traded fund
(‘‘ETF’’) that is actively managed).
Because Managed Fund Shares are
actively-managed, they do not seek to
replicate the performance of a specified
passive index of securities. Instead, they
17 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 65225
(August 30, 2011), 76 FR 55148 (September 6, 2011)
(SR–BATS–2011–018) (Order Approving Proposed
Rule Change to Adopt Rules for the Qualification,
Listing and Delisting of Companies on the
Exchange) (the ‘‘Approval Order’’). The Approval
Order approved the rules permitting the listing of
both Tier I and Tier II securities on the Exchange
and the requirements associated therewith, which
includes the listing and trading of Index Fund
Shares and Managed Fund Shares, trading hours
and halts, and listing fees originally applicable to
Managed Fund Shares.
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generally use an active investment
strategy to seek to meet their investment
objectives. In contrast, an open-end
Investment Company that issues Index
Fund Shares, listed and traded on the
Exchange pursuant to Rule 14.11(c),
seeks to provide investment results that
generally correspond to the price and
yield performance of a specific foreign
or domestic stock index, fixed income
securities index, or combination thereof.
All Managed Fund Shares listed
pursuant to Rule 14.11(i) are included
within the definition of ‘‘security’’ or
‘‘securities’’ as such terms are used in
the Rules of the Exchange and, as such,
are subject to the full panoply of
Exchange rules and procedures that
currently govern the trading of
securities on the Exchange.18
In addition, Rule 14.11(i) currently
provides for the criteria that Managed
Fund Shares must satisfy for initial and
continued listing on the Exchange,
including, for example, that a minimum
number of Managed Fund Shares are
required to be outstanding at the time of
commencement of trading on the
Exchange. However, the current process
for listing and trading new series of
Managed Fund Shares on the Exchange
requires that the Exchange submit a
proposed rule change with the
Commission. In this regard, Rule
14.11(i)(2)(A) specifies that the
Exchange will file separate proposals
under Section 19(b) of the Act
(hereafter, a ‘‘proposed rule change’’)
before the listing of Managed Fund
Shares, which, in conjunction with the
proposal to create generic listing
standards for Managed Fund Shares, the
Exchange is proposing to delete.
Proposed Changes to Rule 14.11(i)
The Exchange is proposing to amend
Rule 14.11(i) to specify that the
Exchange may approve Managed Fund
Shares for listing pursuant to SEC Rule
19b–4(e) under the Act, which pertains
to derivative securities products (‘‘SEC
Rule 19b–4(e)’’).19 SEC Rule 19b–4(e)(1)
provides that the listing and trading of
a new derivative securities product by a
self-regulatory organization (‘‘SRO’’) is
not deemed a proposed rule change,
pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of Rule
19b–4,20 if the Commission has
18 See
Rule 14.11(i)(2).
CFR 240.19b–4(e). As provided under SEC
Rule 19b–4(e), the term ‘‘new derivative securities
product’’ means any type of option, warrant, hybrid
securities product or any other security, other than
a single equity option or a security futures product,
whose value is based, in whole or in part, upon the
performance of, or interest in, an underlying
instrument.
20 17 CFR 240.19b–4(c)(1). As provided under
SEC Rule 19b–4(c)(1), a stated policy, practice, or
interpretation of the SRO shall be deemed to be a
approved, pursuant to section 19(b) of
the Act, the SRO’s trading rules,
procedures and listing standards for the
product class that would include the
new derivative securities product and
the SRO has a surveillance program for
the product class. This is the current
method pursuant to which ‘‘passive’’
ETFs are listed under Rule 14.11.
The Exchange would also specify
within Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C) that
components of Managed Fund Shares
listed pursuant to SEC Rule 19b–4(e)
must satisfy the requirements of Rule
14.11(i) on an initial and continued
basis, which includes certain specific
criteria that the Exchange is proposing
to include within Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C), as
described in greater detail below. As
proposed, the Exchange would continue
to file separate proposed rule changes
before the listing and trading of
Managed Fund Shares with components
that do not satisfy the additional criteria
described below or components other
than those specified below. For
example, if the components of a
Managed Fund Share exceeded one of
the applicable thresholds, the Exchange
would file a separate proposed rule
change before listing and trading such
Managed Fund Share. Similarly, if the
components of a Managed Fund Share
included a security or asset that is not
specified below, the Exchange would
file a separate proposed rule change.
The Exchange would also amend the
definition of the term ‘‘Disclosed
Portfolio’’ under Rule 14.11(i)(3)(B) in
order to require that the Web site for
each series of Managed Fund Shares
listed on the Exchange disclose the
following information regarding the
Disclosed Portfolio, to the extent
applicable: Ticker symbol, CUSIP or
other identifier, a description of the
holding, identity of the asset upon
which the derivative is based, the strike
price for any options, the quantity of
each security or other asset held as
measured by select metrics, maturity
date, coupon rate, effective date, market
value and percentage weight of the
holding in the portfolio.21
The Exchange would also add to Rule
14.11(i)(4)(A) by specifying that all
Managed Fund Shares must have a
stated investment objective, which must
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19 17
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proposed rule change unless it is reasonably and
fairly implied by an existing rule of the SRO.
21 Proposed rule changes for previously-listed
series of Managed Fund Shares have similarly
included disclosure requirements with respect to
each portfolio holding, as applicable to the type of
holding. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release
No. 72666 (July 3, 2014), 79 FR 44224 (July 30,
2014) (SR–NYSEArca–2013–122) (the ‘‘PIMCO
Total Return Use of Derivatives Approval’’).
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38249
be adhered to under normal market
conditions.22
Finally, the Exchange would also
amend the continued listing
requirement in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B) by
changing the requirement that an
Intraday Indicative Value for Managed
Fund Shares be widely disseminated by
one or more major market data vendors
at least every 15 seconds during the
time when the Managed Fund Shares
trade on the Exchange to a requirement
that an Intraday Indicative Value be
widely disseminated by one or more
major market data vendors at least every
15 seconds during Regular Trading
Hours, as defined in Exchange Rule
1.5(w).
Proposed Managed Fund Share Portfolio
Standards
The Exchange is proposing standards
that would pertain to Managed Fund
Shares to qualify for listing and trading
pursuant to SEC Rule 19b–4(e). These
standards would be grouped according
to security or asset type. The Exchange
notes that the standards proposed for a
Managed Fund Share portfolio that
holds equity securities, Derivative
Securities Products, and Linked
Securities are based in large part on the
existing equity security standards
applicable to Index Fund Shares in
Exchange Rule 14.11(c)(3). The
standards proposed for a Managed Fund
Share portfolio that holds fixed income
securities are based in large part on the
existing fixed income security standards
applicable to Index Fund Shares in Rule
14.11(c)(4). Many of the standards
proposed for other types of holdings in
a Managed Fund Share portfolio are
based on previous proposed rule
changes for specific series of Managed
Fund Shares.23
22 The Exchange would also add a new defined
term under Rule 14.11(i)(3)(E) to specify that the
term ‘‘normal market conditions’’ includes, but is
not limited to, the absence of trading halts in the
applicable financial markets generally; operational
issues causing dissemination of inaccurate market
information or system failures; or force majeure
type events such as natural or man-made disaster,
act of God, armed conflict, act of terrorism, riot or
labor disruption, or any similar intervening
circumstance.
23 Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 74193
(February 3, 2015), 80 FR 7066 (February 9, 2015)
(SR–BATS–2014–054) (the ‘‘iShares Short Maturity
Municipal Bond Approval’’); 74297 (February 18,
2015), 80 FR 9788 (February 24, 2015) (SR–BATS–
2014–056) (the ‘‘iShares U.S. Fixed Income
Balanced Risk Approval’’); 66321 (February 3,
2012), 77 FR 6850 (February 9, 2012) (SR–
NYSEArca–2011–95) (the ‘‘PIMCO Total Return
Approval’’); the PIMCO Total Return Use of
Derivatives Approval; 69244 (March 27, 2013), 78
FR 19766 (April 2, 2013) (SR–NYSEArca–2013–08)
(the ‘‘SPDR Blackstone/GSO Senior Loan
Approval’’); 68870 (February 8, 2013), 78 FR 11245
(February 15, 2013) (SR–NYSEArca–2012–139) (the
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Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i) would
describe the standards for a Managed
Fund Share portfolio that holds equity
securities, which are defined to be U.S.
Component Stocks,24 Non-U.S.
Component Stocks,25 Derivative
Securities Products,26 and Linked
Securities 27 listed on a national
securities exchange. For Derivative
Securities Products and Linked
Securities, no more than 25% of the
equity weight of the portfolio could
include leveraged and/or inverse
leveraged Derivative Securities Products
or Linked Securities. To the extent that
a portfolio includes convertible
securities, the equity security into
which such security is converted shall
meet the criteria of this Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(i) after converting.
As proposed in Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a), the component
stocks of the equity portion of a
portfolio that are U.S. Component
Stocks shall meet the following criteria
initially and on a continuing basis:
(1) Component stocks (excluding
Derivative Securities Products and
Linked Securities) that in the aggregate
account for at least 90% of the equity
weight of the portfolio (excluding such
‘‘First Trust Preferred Securities and Income
Approval’’); 69591 (May 16, 2013), 78 FR 30372
(May 22, 2013) (SR–NYSEArca–2013–33) (the
‘‘International Bear Approval’’); 61697 (March 12,
2010), 75 FR 13616 (March 22, 2010) (SR–
NYSEArca–2010–04) (the ‘‘WisdomTree Real
Return Approval’’); and 67054 (May 24, 2012), 77
FR 32161 (May 31, 2012) (SR–NYSEArca–2012–25)
(the ‘‘WisdomTree Brazil Bond Approval’’). Certain
standards proposed herein for Managed Fund
Shares are also based on previously proposed rule
changes for specific index-based series of Index
Fund Shares that did not satisfy the standards for
those products on their respective listing exchange
and for which Commission approval was required
prior to listing and trading. See Securities Exchange
Act Release Nos. 67985 (October 4, 2012), 77 FR
61804 (October 11, 2012) (SR–NYSEArca–2012–92);
63881(February 9, 2011), 76 FR 9065 (February 16,
2011) (SR–NYSEArca–2010–120); 63176 (October
25, 2010), 75 FR 66815 (October 29, 2010) (SR–
NYSEArca–2010–94); and 69373 (April 15, 2013),
78 FR 23601 (April 19, 2013) (SR–NYSEArca–2012–
108) (the ‘‘NYSE Arca U.S. Equity Synthetic
Reverse Convertible Index Fund Approval’’).
24 For the purposes of Rule 14.11(i) and this
proposal, the term ‘‘U.S. Component Stocks’’ will
have the same meaning as defined in Rule
14.11(c)(1)(D).
25 For the purposes of Rule 14.11(i) and this
proposal, the term ‘‘Non-U.S. Component Stocks’’
will have the same meaning as defined in Rule
14.11(c)(1)(E).
26 For the purposes of Rule 14.11(i) and this
proposal, the term ‘‘Derivative Securities Products
will have the same meaning as defined in Rule
14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(a) and will include both those
Derivative Securities Products listed on the
Exchange as well as each of the equivalent security
types listed on another national securities
exchange.
27 Linked Securities are securities listed on the
Exchange under Rule 14.11(d) and each of the
equivalent security types listed on another national
securities exchange.
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Derivative Securities Products and
Linked Securities) each must have a
minimum market value of at least $75
million; 28
(2) Component stocks (excluding
Derivative Securities Products and
Linked Securities) that in the aggregate
account for at least 70% of the equity
weight of the portfolio (excluding such
Derivative Securities Products and
Linked Securities) each must have a
minimum monthly trading volume of
250,000 shares, or minimum notional
volume traded per month of
$25,000,000, averaged over the last six
months; 29
(3) The most heavily weighted
component stock (excluding Derivative
Securities Products and Linked
Securities) must not exceed 30% of the
equity weight of the portfolio, and, to
the extent applicable, the five most
heavily weighted component stocks
(excluding Derivative Securities
Products and Linked Securities) must
not exceed 65% of the equity weight of
the portfolio; 30
(4) Where the equity portion of the
portfolio does not include Non-U.S.
Component Stocks, the equity portion of
the portfolio shall include a minimum
of 13 component stocks; provided,
however, that there would be no
minimum number of component stocks
if (a) one or more series of Derivative
Securities Products or Linked Securities
constitute, at least in part, components
underlying a series of Managed Fund
Shares, or (b) one or more series of
Derivative Securities Products or Linked
Securities account for 100% of the
equity weight of the portfolio of a series
of Managed Fund Shares; 31
(5) Except as provided in proposed
Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a), equity
28 The
proposed text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(a),
except for the omission of the reference to ‘‘index,’’
which is not applicable, and the addition of the
reference to Linked Securities.
29 This proposed text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(b),
except for the omission of the reference to ‘‘index,’’
which is not applicable, and the addition of the
reference to Linked Securities.
30 This proposed text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(c),
except for the omission of the reference to ‘‘index,’’
which is not applicable, and the addition of the
reference to Linked Securities.
31 This proposed text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(d),
except for the omission of the reference to ‘‘index,’’
which is not applicable, the addition of the
reference to Linked Securities, the reference to the
equity portion of the portfolio not including NonU.S. Component Stocks, and the reference to the
100% limitation applying to the ‘‘equity weight’’ of
the portfolio—this last difference is included
because the proposed standards in Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C) permit the inclusion of non-equity
securities, whereas Rule 14.11(c)(3) applies only to
equity securities.
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securities in the portfolio must be U.S.
Component Stocks listed on a national
securities exchange and must be NMS
Stocks as defined in Rule 600 of
Regulation NMS; 32 and
(6) American Depositary Receipts
(‘‘ADRs’’) may be exchange traded or
non-exchange traded. However no more
than 10% of the equity weight of the
portfolio shall consist of non-exchange
traded ADRs.
As proposed in Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(b), the component
stocks of the equity portion of a
portfolio that are Non-U.S. Component
Stocks shall meet the following criteria
initially and on a continuing basis:
(1) Non-U.S. Component Stocks each
shall have a minimum market value of
at least $100 million; 33
(2) Non-U.S. Component Stocks each
shall have a minimum global monthly
trading volume of 250,000 shares, or
minimum global notional volume traded
per month of $25,000,000, averaged over
the last six months; 34
(3) The most heavily weighted NonU.S. Component Stock shall not exceed
25% of the equity weight of the
portfolio, and, to the extent applicable,
the five most heavily weighted Non-U.S.
Component Stocks shall not exceed
60% of the equity weight of the
portfolio; 35
(4) Where the equity portion of the
portfolio includes Non-U.S. Component
Stocks, the equity portion of the
portfolio shall include a minimum of 20
component stocks; provided, however,
that there shall be no minimum number
of component stocks if (a) one or more
series of Derivative Securities Products
or Linked Securities constitute, at least
in part, components underlying a series
32 17 CFR 240.600. This proposed text is identical
to the corresponding text of Rule
14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(e), except for the addition of
‘‘equity’’ to make clear that the standard applies to
‘‘equity securities’’ and the omission of the
reference to ‘‘index,’’ which is not applicable.
33 The proposed text is identical to the
corresponding representation from the Non-U.S.
Components Release, as defined in footnote 24,
below. The proposed text is also identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(a),
except for the omission of the reference to ‘‘index,’’
which is not applicable, and that each Non-U.S.
Component Stock must have a minimum market
value of at least $100 million instead of the 70%
required under Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(a).
34 The proposed text is identical to the
corresponding representation from the Non-U.S.
Components Release, as defined in footnote 24,
below. This proposed text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(b),
except for the omission of the reference to ‘‘index,’’
which is not applicable, and the addition of the
reference to Linked Securities.
35 This proposed text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(c),
except for the omission of the reference to ‘‘index,’’
which is not applicable, and the addition of the
reference to Linked Securities.
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of Managed Fund Shares, or (b) one or
more series of Derivative Securities
Products or Linked Securities account
for 100% of the equity weight of the
portfolio of a series of Managed Fund
Shares; 36 and
(5) Each Non-U.S. Component Stock
shall be listed and traded on an
exchange that has last-sale reporting.37
The Exchange notes that, as approved
by the Commission for certain Managed
Fund Shares 38 and also not required
under corresponding Rule
14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii) related to Index Fund
Shares,39 it is not proposing to require
that any of the equity portion of the
equity portfolio composed of Non-U.S.
Component Stocks be listed on markets
that are either a member of the
Intermarket Surveillance Group (‘‘ISG’’)
or a market with which the Exchange
has a comprehensive surveillance
sharing agreement (‘‘CSSA’’).40
However, as further detailed below, the
Exchange or the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’),
on behalf of the Exchange, will
communicate as needed regarding
trading in Managed Fund Shares with
other markets that are members of the
ISG, including all U.S. securities
exchanges and futures exchanges on
which the components are traded.
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii) would
describe the standards for a Managed
Fund Share portfolio that holds fixed
income securities, which are debt
securities 41 that are notes, bonds,
36 This proposed text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(d),
except for the omission of the reference to ‘‘index,’’
which is not applicable, the addition of the
reference to Linked Securities, the reference to the
equity portion of the portfolio including Non-U.S.
Component Stocks, and the reference to the 100%
limitation applying to the ‘‘equity weight’’ of the
portfolio—this last difference is included because
the proposed standards in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C) permit
the inclusion of non-equity securities, whereas Rule
14.11(c)(3) applies only to equity securities.
37 17 CFR 240.600. This proposed text is identical
to the corresponding text of Rule
14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(e), except for the addition of
‘‘equity’’ to make clear that the standard applies to
‘‘equity securities’’ and the omission of the
reference to ‘‘index,’’ which is not applicable.
38 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 75023
(May 21, 2015), 80 FR 30519 (May 28, 2015) (SR–
NYSEArca–2014–100) (the ‘‘Non-U.S. Components
Release’’).
39 Under Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii), index fund
shares with components that include Non-U.S.
Component Stocks can hold a portfolio that is
entirely composed of Non-U.S. Component Stocks
that are listed on markets that are neither members
of ISG, nor with which the Exchange has in place
a CSSA.
40 ISG is comprised of an international group of
exchanges, market centers, and market regulators
that perform front-line market surveillance in their
respective jurisdictions. See https://
www.isgportal.org/home.html.
41 Debt securities include a variety of fixed
income obligations, including, but not limited to,
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debentures or evidence of indebtedness
that include, but are not limited to, U.S.
Department of Treasury securities
(‘‘Treasury Securities’’), governmentsponsored entity securities (‘‘GSE
Securities’’), municipal securities, trust
preferred securities, supranational debt
and debt of a foreign country or a
subdivision thereof, investment grade
and high yield corporate debt, bank
loans, mortgage and asset backed
securities,42 and commercial paper. To
the extent that a portfolio includes
convertible securities, the fixed income
security into which such security is
converted shall meet the criteria of
proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii) after
converting. The components of the fixed
income portion of a portfolio shall meet
the following criteria initially and on a
continuing basis:
(1) Components that in the aggregate
account for at least 75% of the fixed
income weight of the portfolio shall
each have a minimum original principal
amount outstanding of $100 million or
more; 43
(2) No component fixed-income
security (excluding Treasury Securities
and GSE Securities) could represent
more than 30% of the fixed income
weight of the portfolio, and the five
most heavily weighted fixed income
securities in the portfolio (excluding
Treasury Securities and GSE Securities)
shall not in the aggregate account for
more than 65% of the fixed income
weight of the portfolio; 44
(3) An underlying portfolio (excluding
exempted securities) that includes fixed
income securities shall include a
minimum of 13 non-affiliated issuers,
provided, however, that there shall be
no minimum number of non-affiliated
issuers required for fixed income
securities if at least 70% of the weight
of the portfolio consists of equity
securities as described in Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(i); 45
corporate debt securities, government securities,
municipal securities, convertible securities, and
mortgage-backed securities. Debt securities include
investment-grade securities, non-investment-grade
securities, and unrated securities. Debt securities
also include variable and floating rate securities.
42 The Exchange notes that, for purposes of this
proposal, the issuer of asset backed securities will
be considered the issuer of the underlying debt.
43 This proposed text of 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(a)(1) is
based on the corresponding text of
14.11(c)(4)(B)(i)(b).
44 This proposed rule text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(4)(B)(i)(d),
except for the omission of the reference to ‘‘index,’’
which is not applicable, and the exclusion of ‘‘GSE
Securities,’’ which is consistent with the
corresponding text of NYSE Arca, Inc. (‘‘Arca’’)
Commentary .02(a)(4) to Rule 5.2(j)(3).
45 This proposed text is similar to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(4)(B)(i)(e),
except for the omission of the reference to ‘‘index,’’
which is not applicable and the provision that there
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38251
(4) Component securities that in
aggregate account for at least 90% of the
fixed income weight of the portfolio
must be either: (a) From issuers that are
required to file reports pursuant to
Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Act; (b)
from issuers that have a worldwide
market value of its outstanding common
equity held by non-affiliates of $700
million or more; (c) from issuers that
have outstanding securities that are
notes, bonds, debentures, or evidence of
indebtedness having a total remaining
principal amount of at least $1 billion;
(d) exempted securities as defined in
Section 3(a)(12) of the Act; or (e) from
issuers that are a government of a
foreign country or a political
subdivision of a foreign country; and
(5) Non-agency, non-GSE and
privately-issued mortgage-related and
other asset-backed securities
components of a portfolio shall not
account, in the aggregate, for more than
20% of the weight of the fixed income
portion of the portfolio.
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(iii)
describes the standards for a Managed
Fund Share portfolio that holds cash
and cash equivalents.46 Specifically, the
portfolio may hold short-term
instruments with maturities of less than
3 months. There would be no limitation
to the percentage of the portfolio
invested in such holdings. Short-term
instruments would include the
following: 47 (1) U.S. Government
securities, including bills, notes and
bonds differing as to maturity and rates
of interest, which are either issued or
guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by
U.S. Government agencies or
instrumentalities; (2) certificates of
deposit issued against funds deposited
in a bank or savings and loan
association; (3) bankers’ acceptances,
which are short-term credit instruments
used to finance commercial
transactions; (4) repurchase agreements
and reverse repurchase agreements; (5)
bank time deposits, which are monies
kept on deposit with banks or savings
shall be no minimum number of non-affiliated
issuers required for fixed income securities if at
least 70% of the weight of the portfolio consists of
equity securities as described in proposed Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(i).
46 Proposed rule changes for previously-listed
series of Managed Fund Shares have similarly
included the ability for such Managed Fund Share
holdings to include cash and cash equivalents. See,
e.g., iShares U.S. Fixed Income Balanced Risk
Approval at 9789, SPDR Blackstone/GSO Senior
Loan Approval at 19768–69, and First Trust
Preferred Securities and Income Approval at 76150.
47 Proposed rule changes for previously-listed
series of Managed Fund Shares have similarly
specified short-term instruments with respect to
their inclusion in Managed Fund Share holdings.
See, e.g., First Trust Preferred Securities and
Income Approval at 76150–51.
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and loan associations for a stated period
of time at a fixed rate of interest; (6)
commercial paper, which are short-term
unsecured promissory notes; and (7)
money market funds.
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(iv)
describes the standards for a Managed
Fund Share portfolio that holds listed
derivatives, including futures, options
and swaps on commodities, currencies
and financial instruments (e.g., stocks,
fixed income, interest rates, and
volatility) or a basket or index of any of
the foregoing.48 There would be no
limitation to the percentage of the
portfolio invested in such holdings;
provided, however, that, in the
aggregate, at least 90% of the weight of
such holdings invested in futures,
exchange-traded options, and listed
swaps shall, on both an initial and
continuing basis, consist of futures,
options, and swaps for which the
Exchange may obtain information via
the ISG from other members or affiliates
or for which the principal market is a
market with which the Exchange has a
CSSA, calculated using the aggregate
gross notional value of such holdings.49
In addition, the aggregate gross notional
value of listed derivatives based on any
five or fewer underlying reference assets
shall not exceed 65% of the weight of
the portfolio (including gross notional
exposures), and the aggregate gross
notional value of listed derivatives
based on any single underlying
reference asset shall not exceed 30% of
the weight of the portfolio (including
gross notional exposures). The Exchange
notes that, for purposes of calculating
this limitation, a portfolio’s investment
in listed derivatives will be calculated
as the gross notional value of the listed
derivatives.
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(v)
describes the standards for a Managed
Fund Share portfolio that holds over the
counter (‘‘OTC’’) derivatives, including
forwards, options and swaps on
commodities, currencies and financial
instruments (e.g., stocks, fixed income,
interest rates, and volatility) or a basket
or index of any of the foregoing.50
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(v) also
provides that the aggregate gross
notional value of OTC Derivatives shall
not exceed 20% of the weight of the
portfolio (including gross notional
exposures).
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(vi)
provides that, to the extent that listed or
OTC derivatives are used to gain
exposure to individual equities and/or
fixed income securities, or to indexes of
equities and/or fixed income securities,
the aggregate gross notional value of
such exposure shall meet the criteria set
forth in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i) and
14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii) (including gross
Instrument type
Units
notional exposures), respectively. The
Exchange notes that, for purposes of this
proposal, a portfolio’s investment in
OTC derivatives will be calculated as
the gross notional value of the OTC
derivatives.
The Exchange believes that the
proposed standards would continue to
ensure transparency surrounding the
listing process for Managed Fund
Shares. Additionally, the Exchange
believes that the proposed portfolio
standards for listing and trading
Managed Fund Shares, many of which
track existing Exchange rules relating to
Index Fund Shares, are reasonably
designed to promote a fair and orderly
market for such Managed Fund Shares.
These proposed standards would also
work in conjunction with the existing
initial and continued listing criteria
related to surveillance procedures and
trading guidelines.
As an example of how the Exchange
would determine whether a series of
Managed Fund Shares meets these
proposed portfolio exposure
requirements, see the following
examples based on a hypothetical
portfolio. For purposes of these
examples, it will be assumed that the
portfolio meets proposed Rules
14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a)(1), (2), (4), (5), and
(6), 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(b)(1), (2), (4), and
(5), and 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(a), (c), and (d).
Price
($)
Market value
Percent of
portfolio
15,000
10,000
5,000
1,200
1,000
9,000
5,000
5,000
10,000
2,000
5,000
6,400
2,000
12,500
2,000
25
50
100
150
250
25
50
100
75
75
25
50
75
50
50
375,000
500,000
500,000
180,000
250,000
225,000
250,000
500,000
750,000
150,000
125,000
320,000
150,000
625,000
100,000
7.50
10.00
10.00
3.60
5.00
4.50
5.00
10.00
15.00
3.00
2.50
6.40
3.00
12.50
2.00
Total Equity ...............................................................................................
........................
........................
........................
3,680,000
Total Fixed Income ...................................................................................
........................
........................
........................
1,320,000
Total ..........................................................................................................
srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
U.S. Equity 1 ....................................................................................................
U.S. Equity 2 ....................................................................................................
U.S. Equity 3 ....................................................................................................
U.S. Equity 4 ....................................................................................................
U.S. Equity 5 ....................................................................................................
Int’l Equity 1 .....................................................................................................
Int’l Equity 2 .....................................................................................................
Int’l Equity 3 .....................................................................................................
Int’l Equity 4 .....................................................................................................
Int’l Equity 5 .....................................................................................................
Fixed Income 1 ................................................................................................
Fixed Income 2 ................................................................................................
Fixed Income 3 (Private label ABS) ................................................................
TBill 1 (2 months) ............................................................................................
TBill 2 (6 months) ............................................................................................
........................
........................
5,000,000
100.00
48 Proposed rule changes for previously-listed
series of Managed Fund Shares have similarly
included the ability for such Managed Fund Share
holdings to include listed derivatives. See, e.g.,
Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 75 FR 13616
(March 22, 2010) (SR–NYSEArca–2010–04) at
13617; and 67054 (May 24, 2012), 77 FR 32161
(May 31, 2012) (SR–NYSEArca–2012–25) at 32163.
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49 See
supra note 40.
rule changes for previously-listed
series of Managed Fund Shares have similarly
included the ability for such Managed Fund Shares
to include OTC derivatives, specifically OTC downand-in put options, which are not NMS Stocks as
defined in Rule 600 of Regulation NMS and
50 Proposed
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therefore would not satisfy the requirements of Rule
14.11(c)(3)(A)(i) or the analogous rule on another
listing exchange. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 69373 (April 15, 2013), 78 FR 23601
(April 19, 2013) (SR–NYSEArca–2012–108) at
23602.
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In this hypothetical portfolio,
proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a)(3) is
met because the most heavily weighted
single U.S. equity component stock
(both U.S. Equity 2 and U.S. Equity 3)
represents 13.6% of the equity weight of
the portfolio (500,000/3,680,000) and
the five most heavily weighted U.S.
equity component stocks represent 49%
of the equity weight of the portfolio
(1,805,000/3,680,000) and proposed
Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(b)(3) is met
because the most heavily weighted NonU.S. Component Stock composes 20.4%
of the equity weight of the portfolio
(750,000/3,680,000) and the five most
heavily weighted Non-U.S. Component
Stocks compose 51% of the equity
weight of the portfolio (1,875,000/
3,680,000). Proposed Rules
14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(b) and (e) are met
because the most heavily weighted fixed
income security (excluding Treasury
Securities) represents 24.2% of the fixed
income weight of the portfolio (320,000/
1,320,000), the five most heavily
weighted fixed income securities
(excluding Treasury Securities)
represent 45% of the fixed income
weight of the portfolio (595,000/
1,320,000), and the non-agency, nonGSE, and privately-issued mortgagerelated and other asset-backed securities
components represent 11.4% of the
Units of
reference
asset in the
contract(s)
Instrument type
fixed income weight of the portfolio
(150,000/1,320,000). For purposes of
this analysis, both TBill 1 and TBill 2
will be counted as fixed income
securities even though TBill 1 would be
included in the definition of cash and
cash equivalents. There is no portfolio
analysis specific to the cash and cash
equivalents portion of the portfolio
because there are no limitations to the
percentage of the portfolio invested in
instruments that qualify as cash and
cash equivalents.
Suppose that the hypothetical
portfolio laid out above added the
following instruments:
Price or face
value of
reference
asset
Absolute
notional
exposure
Precent of
portfolio
(including
gross notional
exposures)
10,000
5
200
N/A
20
100,000
250
500,000
200,000
500,000
50,000
500,000
3.20
8.00
0.80
8.00
Total Derivative .........................................................................................
Listed Derivative ..............................................................................................
Derivative Equity ..............................................................................................
Derivative FI .....................................................................................................
Derivative Other ...............................................................................................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
1,250,000
750,000
200,000
500,000
550,000
........................
........................
........................
........................
........................
Total Equity ...............................................................................................
........................
........................
3,880,000
........................
Total Fixed Income ...................................................................................
........................
........................
1,820,000
........................
Total ..........................................................................................................
srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Listed Derivative 1 (Option on U.S. Equity 1) .................................................
Listed Derivative 2 (Treasury Futures) ............................................................
Listed Derivative 3 (Commodity Swap) ...........................................................
OTC Derivative 1 (Credit Default Swap) .........................................................
........................
........................
6,250,000
........................
In this hypothetical portfolio,
proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(vi)
provides that the calculations provided
above related to Rules 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)
and (ii) would now need to include the
aggregate gross notional value of Listed
Derivative 1 and Listed Derivative 2,
respectively. As such, the $200,000
absolute notional exposure from Listed
Derivative 1 would be added to the
existing exposure to U.S. Equity 1 and
proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a)(3)
would be met because the most heavily
weighted single U.S. equity component
stock (now U.S. Equity 1) represents
14.8% of the equity weight of the
portfolio (575,000/3,880,000) and the
five most heavily weighted U.S. equity
component stocks represent 51.7% of
the equity weight of the portfolio
(2,005,000/3,880,000). Similarly,
proposed Rule 14.11(4)(C)(i)(b)(3) is met
because the additional $500,000 in
aggregate gross notional exposure to
fixed income securities (in particular,
Treasury Securities) gained through
Listed Derivative 2 is added included in
the calculation such that the most
heavily weighted fixed income security
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(excluding Treasury Securities)
represents 17.6% of the fixed income
weight of the portfolio (320,000/
1,820,000), the five most heavily
weighted fixed income securities
(excluding Treasury Securities)
represent 32.7% of the fixed income
weight of the portfolio (595,000/
1,820,000), and the non-agency, nonGSE, and privately-issued mortgagerelated and other asset-backed securities
components represent 8.2% of the fixed
income weight of the portfolio (150,000/
1,820,000). Proposed Rule
14.11(4)(C)(iv)(a) would be met if both
Listed Derivative 1 and Listed
Derivative 2 are derivatives for which
the Exchange may obtain information
via the ISG, from other members or
affiliates of the ISG or for which the
principal market is a market with which
the Exchange has a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement
[((500,000 + 200,000)/750,000) =
93%>90%]. However, if Listed
Derivative 1 or Listed Derivative 2 did
not meet that requirement, the portfolio
would not meet proposed Rule
14.11(4)(C)(iv)(a) [((500,000 + 50,000)/
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Frm 00127
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
750,000) = 73.3%<90%; ((200,000 +
50,000)/750,000) = 33.3% < 90%].
Proposed Rule 14.11(4)(C)(iv)(b) is met
because the aggregate gross notional
value of listed derivatives is 12% of the
portfolio (750,000/6,250,000), which is
less than both standards in the proposed
rule. Proposed Rule 14.11(4)(C)(v)
would be met because the aggregate
gross notional exposure of OTC
Derivatives is 8% of the weight of the
portfolio (500,000/6,250,000).
In support of this proposal, the
Exchange represents that: (1)
Generically listed Managed Fund Shares
will conform to the initial and
continued listing criteria under Rule
14.11(i)(4)(A) and (B); (2) the Exchange’s
surveillance procedures are adequate to
continue to properly monitor the trading
of the Managed Fund Shares in all
trading sessions and to deter and detect
violations of Exchange rules.
Specifically, the Exchange intends to
utilize its existing surveillance
procedures applicable to derivative
products, which will include Managed
Fund Shares, to monitor trading in the
Managed Fund Shares; (3) prior to the
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commencement of trading of a
particular series of Managed Fund
Shares, the Exchange will inform its
Members in an information circular of
the special characteristics and risks
associated with trading the Managed
Fund Shares, including procedures for
purchases and redemptions of Managed
Fund Shares, suitability requirements
under Rule 3.7, the risks involved in
trading the Managed Fund Shares
during the Pre-Opening and After Hours
Trading Sessions when an updated
Intraday Indicative Value will not be
calculated or publicly disseminated,
how information regarding the Intraday
Indicative Value and Disclosed Portfolio
is disseminated, prospectus delivery
requirements, and other trading
information. In addition, the
information circular will disclose that
the Managed Fund Shares are subject to
various fees and expenses, as described
in the registration statement, and will
discuss any exemptive, no-action, and
interpretive relief granted by the
Commission from any rules under the
Act. Finally, the Bulletin will disclose
that the net asset value for the Managed
Fund Shares will be calculated after 4
p.m. ET each trading day; and (4) the
issuer of a series of Managed Fund
Shares will be required to comply with
Rule 10A–3 under the Act for the initial
and continued listing of Managed Fund
Shares, as provided under Rule
14.10(c)(3).
The Exchange notes that the proposed
change is not otherwise intended to
address any other issues and that the
Exchange is not aware of any problems
that Members or issuers would have in
complying with the proposed change.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the
proposal is consistent with Section 6(b)
of the Act 51 in general and Section
6(b)(5) of the Act 52 in particular in that
it is designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, 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.
The proposed rule change is designed
to perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and, in general, to protect
investors and the public interest
because it would facilitate the listing
and trading of additional Managed Fund
Shares, which would enhance
competition among market participants,
to the benefit of investors and the
marketplace. Specifically, after more
than six years under the current process,
whereby an exchange is required to file
a proposed rule change with the
Commission for the listing and trading
of each new series of Managed Fund
Shares, the Exchange believes that it is
appropriate to codify certain rules
within Rule 14.11(i) that would
generally eliminate the need for separate
proposed rule changes. The Exchange
believes that this would facilitate the
listing and trading of additional types of
Managed Fund Shares that have
investment portfolios that are similar to
investment portfolios for Index Fund
Shares, which have been approved for
listing and trading, thereby creating
greater efficiencies in the listing process
for the Exchange and the Commission.
In this regard, the Exchange notes that
the standards proposed for Managed
Fund Share portfolios that include
equity securities, Derivative Securities
Products, and Linked Securities are
based in large part on the existing equity
security standards applicable to Index
Fund Shares based on either a U.S.
index or portfolio or an international or
global index or portfolio found in Rule
14.11(c)(3)(A)(i) 53 and (ii), 54
respectively, and that the standards
proposed for Managed Fund Share
portfolios that include fixed income
securities are based in large part on the
existing fixed income standards
applicable to Index Fund Shares in
14.11(c)(4). Additionally, many of the
standards proposed for other types of
holdings of series of Managed Fund
Shares are based on previous proposed
rule changes for specific series of
Managed Fund Shares.55 The Exchange
notes that prior to listing pursuant to
proposed amended Rule 14.11(i), an
issuer would be required to represent to
the Exchange that it will advise the
Exchange of any failure by a series of
Managed Fund Shares to comply with
the continued listing requirements, and,
pursuant to its obligations under
Section 19(g)(1) of the Exchange Act, the
Exchange will surveil for compliance
with the continued listing requirements.
If the Fund is not in compliance with
the applicable listing requirements, the
Exchange will commence delisting
procedures under Exchange Rule 14.12.
With respect to the proposed addition
to the criteria of Rule 14.11(i)(3)(B) to
provide that the Web site for each series
of Managed Fund Shares shall disclose
certain information regarding the
Disclosed Portfolio, to the extent
applicable, the Exchange notes that
supra notes 28 through 32.
supra notes 33 through 40.
55 See supra note 23.
U.S.C. 78f.
52 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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54 See
Jkt 238001
56 See
supra note 21.
U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
58 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
59 17 CFR 240.19b–4(e).
60 See supra note 23.
57 15
53 See
51 15
proposed rule changes approved by the
Commission for previously-listed series
of Managed Fund Shares have similarly
included disclosure requirements with
respect to each portfolio holding, as
applicable to the type of holding.56 With
respect to the proposed exclusion of
Derivative Securities Products and
Linked Securities from the requirements
of proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a) and
(b), the Exchange believes it is
appropriate to exclude Linked
Securities as well as Derivative
Securities Products from certain
component stock eligibility criteria for
Managed Fund Shares in so far as
Derivative Securities Products and
Linked Securities are themselves subject
to specific quantitative listing and
continued listing requirements of a
national securities exchange on which
such securities are listed. Derivative
Securities Products and Linked
Securities that are components of a
fund’s portfolio would have been listed
and traded on a national securities
exchange pursuant to a proposed rule
change approved by the Commission
pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 57
or submitted by a national securities
exchange pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 58 or would have
been listed by a national securities
exchange pursuant to the requirements
of Rule 19b-4(e) under the Act.59 The
Exchange also notes that Derivative
Securities Products and Linked
Securities are derivatively priced, and,
therefore, the Exchange believes that it
would not be necessary to apply the
proposed generic quantitative criteria
(e.g., market capitalization, trading
volume, or portfolio component
weighting) applicable to equity
securities other than Derivative
Securities Products or Linked Securities
(e.g., common stocks) to such products.
With respect to the proposed
amendment to the continued listing
requirement in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(i) to
require dissemination of an Intraday
Indicative Value at least every 15
seconds during Regular Trading Hours,
such requirement conforms to the
requirement applicable to the
dissemination of the Intraday Indicative
Value for Index Fund Shares in Rule
14.11(c)(3)(C) and 14.11(c)(6)(A). In
addition, such dissemination is
consistent with representations made in
proposed rule changes for issues of
Managed Fund Shares previously
approved by the Commission.60
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As proposed, pursuant to Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(c) an underlying
portfolio (excluding exempted
securities) that includes fixed income
securities must include a minimum of
13 non-affiliated issuers, provided,
however, that there would be no
minimum number of non-affiliated
issuers required for fixed income
securities if at least 70% of the weight
of the portfolio consists of equity
securities. The Exchange notes that
when evaluated in conjunction with
proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(b), the
proposed rule is consistent with current
Rules 14.11(c)(4)(B)(i)(d) and (e) in that
it provides for a maximum weighting of
a fixed income security in the fixed
income portion of the portfolio of a fund
that is comparable to the existing rules
applicable to Index Fund Shares based
on fixed income indexes.
With respect to the proposed
amendment to Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(iii)
relating to cash and cash equivalents,
while there is no limitation on the
amount of cash and cash equivalents
can make up of the portfolio, such
instruments are short-term, highly
liquid, and of high credit quality,
making them less susceptible than other
asset classes both to price manipulation
and volatility. Further, the requirement
is consistent with representations made
in proposed rule changes for issues of
Managed Fund Shares previously
approved by the Commission.61
With respect to proposed Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(iv) relating to listed
derivatives, the Exchange believes that
it is appropriate that there be no limit
to the percentage of a portfolio invested
in such holdings, provided that, in the
aggregate, at least 90% of the weight of
such holdings invested in futures,
exchange-traded options, and listed
swaps shall, on both an initial and
continuing basis, consist of futures,
options, and swaps for which the
Exchange may obtain information via
the ISG from other members or affiliates
or for which the principal market is a
market with which the Exchange has a
comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement CSSA, calculated using the
aggregate gross notional value of such
holdings. Such a requirement would
facilitate information sharing among
market participants trading shares of a
series of Managed Fund Shares as well
as futures and options that such series
may hold. In addition, the aggregate
gross notional value of listed derivatives
based on any five or fewer underlying
reference assets shall not exceed 65% of
the weight of the portfolio (including
gross notional exposures), and the
61 See
supra note 46.
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aggregate gross notional value of listed
derivatives based on any single
underlying reference asset shall not
exceed 30% of the weight of the
portfolio (including gross notional
exposures). Such a requirement would
act to limit the concentration of any
single or group of five or fewer
underlying reference assets in the
portfolio. In addition, listed swaps
would be centrally cleared, reducing
counterparty risk and thereby furthering
investor protection.62
With respect to proposed Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(v) relating to OTC
derivatives, the Exchange believes that
the limitation to 20% of a fund’s assets
would assure that, to the extent that a
fund holds derivatives, the
preponderance of fund investments
would not be in derivatives that are not
listed and centrally cleared. The
Exchange believes that such a limitation
is sufficient to mitigate the risks
associated with price manipulation
because a 20% cap on OTC derivatives
will ensure that any series of Managed
Fund Shares will be sufficiently broadbased in scope to minimize potential
manipulation associated with OTC
derivatives because the remaining 80%
of the portfolio will consist of
instruments subject to numerous
restrictions designed to prevent
manipulation, including equity
securities (which, as proposed, would
be subject to market cap, trading
volume, and diversity requirements,
among others), fixed income securities
(which, as proposed, would be subject
to principal amount outstanding,
diversity, and issuer requirements,
among others), cash and cash
equivalents (which, as proposed, would
be limited to short-term, highly liquid,
and high credit quality instruments),
and/or listed derivatives (which, as
proposed, 90% of the weight of futures
and options will be futures and options
whose principal market is a member of
ISG). With respect to proposed Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(vi) related to a fund’s use
of listed or OTC derivatives to gain
exposure to individual equities and/or
fixed income securities, or to indexes of
equities and/or indexes of fixed income
securities, the Exchange notes that such
exposure would be required to meet the
numerical and other criteria set forth in
62 The Commission has noted that ‘‘[c]entral
clearing mitigates counterparty risk among dealers
and other institutions by shifting that risk from
individual counterparties to [central counterparties
(‘‘CCPs’’)], thereby protecting CCPs from each
other’s potential failures.’’ See Securities Exchange
Act Release No. 67286 (June 28, 2012) (File No. S7–
44–10) (Process for Submissions for Review of
Security-Based Swaps for Mandatory Clearing and
Notice Filing Requirements for Clearing Agencies).
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38255
proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i) and
14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii), respectively.
Quotation and other market
information relating to listed futures
and options is available from the
exchanges listing such instruments as
well as from market data vendors. With
respect to centrally-cleared swaps 63 and
non-centrally-cleared swaps regulated
by the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (the ‘‘CFTC’’),64 the DoddFrank Act mandates that swap
information be reported to swap data
repositories (‘‘SDRs’’).65 SDRs provide a
central facility for swap data reporting
and recordkeeping and are required to
comply with data standards set by the
CFTC, including real-time public
reporting of swap transaction data to a
derivatives clearing organization or
SEF.66 SDRs require real-time reporting
of all OTC and centrally cleared
derivatives, including public reporting
of the swap price and size. The parties
responsible for reporting swaps
information are CFTC-registered swap
dealers (‘‘RSDs’’), major swap
participants, and SEFs. If swap
counterparties do not fall into the above
categories, then one of the parties to the
swap must report the trade to the SDR.
Cleared swaps regulated by the CFTC
must be executed on a Designated
Contract Market (‘‘DCM’’) or SEF. Such
cleared swaps have the same reporting
requirements as futures, including endof-day price, volume, and open interest.
CFTC swaps reporting requirements
require public dissemination of, among
other items, product ID (if available);
asset class; underlying reference asset,
reference issuer, or reference index;
termination date; date and time of
execution; price, including currency;
notional amounts, including currency;
whether direct or indirect
counterparties include an RSD; whether
cleared or un-cleared; and platform ID
of where the contract was executed (if
applicable).
With respect to security-based swaps
regulated by the Commission, the
Commission has adopted Regulation
SBSR under the Act implementing
63 There are currently five categories of swaps
eligible for central clearing: Interest rate swaps;
credit default swaps; foreign exchange swaps;
equity swaps; and commodity swaps. The following
entities provide central clearing for OTC
derivatives: ICE Clear Credit (U.S.); ICE Clear (E.U.);
CME Group; LCH.Clearnet; and Eurex.
64 Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, OTC and
centrally-cleared swaps are regulated by the CFTC
with the exception of security-based swaps, which
are regulated by the Commission.
65 The following entities are provisionally
registered with the CFTC as SDRs: BSDR LLC.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc., DTCC Data
Repository, and ICE Trade Vault.
66 Approximately 21 entities are currently
temporarily registered with the CFTC as SEFs.
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requirements for regulatory reporting
and public dissemination of securitybased swap transactions set forth in
Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Regulation SBSR provides for the
reporting of security-based swap
information to registered security-based
swap data repositories (‘‘Registered
SDRs’’) or the Commission, and the
public dissemination of security-based
swap transaction, volume, and pricing
information by Registered SDRs.67
Price information relating to forwards
and OTC options will be available from
major market data vendors.
The Exchange notes that a fund’s
investments in derivative instruments
would be subject to limits on leverage
imposed by the 1940 Act. Section 18(f)
of the 1940 Act and related Commission
guidance limit the amount of leverage
an investment company can obtain. A
fund’s investments would be consistent
with its investment objective and would
not be used to enhance leverage. To
limit the potential risk associated with
a fund’s use of derivatives, a fund will
segregate or ‘‘earmark’’ assets
determined to be liquid by a fund in
accordance with the 1940 Act (or, as
permitted by applicable regulation,
enter into certain offsetting positions) to
cover its obligations under derivative
instruments. A fund’s investments will
not be used to seek performance that is
the multiple or inverse multiple (i.e.,
2xs or 3xs) of a fund’s broad-based
securities market index (as defined in
Form N–1A).68
The proposed rule change is also
designed to protect investors and the
public interest because Managed Fund
Shares listed and traded pursuant to
Rule 14.11(i), including pursuant to the
proposed new portfolio standards,
would continue to be subject to the full
panoply of Exchange rules and
procedures that currently govern the
trading of equity securities on the
Exchange, as further described in the
Approval Order.
The proposed rule change is also
designed to protect investors and the
public interest as well as to promote just
and equitable principles of trade in that
any Non-U.S. Component Stocks will
each meet the following criteria initially
and on a continuing basis: (1) Have a
minimum market value of at least $100
million; (2) have a minimum global
67 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 74244
(February 11, 2015), 80 FR 14564 (March 19, 2015)
(Regulation SBSR—Reporting and Dissemination of
Security-Based Swap Information).
68 See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No.
7482 (April 29, 2015), 86 FR 25723 (May 5, 2015)
(SR–NYSEArca-2014–89) (order approving listing
and trading of shares of eight PIMCO exchangetraded funds).
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monthly trading volume of 250,000
shares, or minimum global notional
volume traded per month of
$25,000,000, averaged over the last six
months; (3) most heavily weighted NonU.S. Component Stock shall not exceed
25% of the equity weight of the
portfolio, and, to the extent applicable,
the five most heavily weighted Non-U.S.
Component Stocks shall not exceed
60% of the equity weight of the
portfolio; and (4) each Non-U.S.
Component Stock shall be listed and
traded on an exchange that has last-sale
reporting. The Exchange believes that
such quantitative criteria are sufficient
to mitigate any concerns that may arise
on the basis of a series of Managed Fund
Shares potentially holding 100% of its
assets in Non-U.S. Component Stocks
that are neither listed on members of
ISG nor exchanges with which the
Exchange has in place a CSSA because,
as stated above, such criteria are either
the same or more stringent than the
portfolio requirements for Index Fund
Shares that hold Non-U.S. Component
Stocks and there are no such
requirements related to such securities
being listed on an exchange that is a
member of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a CSSA. Further,
the Exchange has not encountered and
is not aware of any instances of
manipulation or other negative impact
in any series of Index Fund Shares that
has occurred by virtue of the Index
Fund Shares holding such Non-U.S.
Component Stocks. As such, the
Exchange believes that there should be
no difference in the portfolio
requirements for Managed Fund Shares
and Index Fund Shares as it relates to
holding Non-U.S. Component Stocks
that are not listed on an exchange that
is a member of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a CSSA.
The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative
acts and practices because the Managed
Fund Shares will be listed and traded
on the Exchange pursuant to the initial
and continued listing criteria in Rule
14.11(i). The Exchange has in place
surveillance procedures that are
adequate to properly monitor trading in
the Managed Fund Shares in all trading
sessions and to deter and detect
violations of Exchange rules and
applicable federal securities laws. The
Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the
Exchange, will communicate as needed
regarding trading in Managed Fund
Shares and their underlying
components with other markets that are
members of the ISG, including all U.S.
securities exchanges and futures
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Sfmt 4703
exchanges on which the components are
traded, or with which the Exchange has
in place a CSSA. In addition, the
Exchange or FINRA on behalf of the
Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in Managed Fund
Shares and their underlying
components from other markets that are
members of the ISG, including all U.S.
securities exchanges and futures
exchanges on which the components are
traded, or with which the Exchange has
in place a CSSA.
The Exchange also believes that the
proposed rule change would fulfill the
intended objective of Rule 19b–4(e)
under the Act by allowing Managed
Fund Shares that satisfy the proposed
listing standards to be listed and traded
without separate Commission approval.
However, as proposed, the Exchange
would continue to file separate
proposed rule changes before the listing
and trading of Managed Fund Shares
that do not satisfy the additional criteria
described above.
For the above reasons, the Exchange
believes that the proposed rule change
is consistent with the requirements of
Section 6(b)(5) of the Act.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that
the proposed rule change will impose
any burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purpose of the Act. Instead, the
Exchange believes that the proposed
rule change would facilitate the listing
and trading of additional types of
Managed Fund Shares and result in a
significantly more efficient process
surrounding the listing and trading of
Managed Fund Shares, which will
enhance competition among market
participants, to the benefit of investors
and the marketplace. The Exchange
believes that this would reduce the time
frame for bringing Managed Fund
Shares to market, thereby reducing the
burdens on issuers and other market
participants and promoting competition.
In turn, the Exchange believes that the
proposed change would make the
process for listing Managed Fund Shares
more competitive by applying uniform
listing standards with respect to
Managed Fund Shares.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
The Exchange has neither solicited
nor received written comments on the
proposed rule change.
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IV. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by
Amendment No. 5 Thereto, and Timing
for Commission Action
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act 69 provides
that, after initiating disapproval
proceedings, the Commission shall issue
an order approving or disapproving the
proposed rule change not later than 180
days after the date of publication of
notice of the filing of the proposed rule
change. The Commission may, however,
extend the period for issuing an order
approving or disapproving the proposed
rule change by not more than 60 days
if the Commission determines that a
longer period is appropriate and
publishes the reasons for such
determination. The Commission
determined that it was appropriate to
designate a longer period within which
to issue an order approving or
disapproving the proposed rule change
so that it has sufficient time to consider
the proposed rule change.70
Accordingly, the Commission, pursuant
to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,71
designated July 22, 2016, as the date by
which the Commission shall either
approve or disapprove the proposed
rule change, as modified by Amendment
No. 5 thereto (File No. SR–BATS–2015–
100).
V. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether Amendment No. 5 to
the proposed rule change is consistent
with the Act. Comments may be
submitted by any of the following
methods:
srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s Internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rule-comments@
sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–
BATS–2015–100 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street
NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–BATS–2015–100. This file
number should be included on the
subject line if email is used. To help the
Commission process and review your
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s
69 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
supra note 13 and accompanying text.
71 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed rule
change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549, on official
business days between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such
filing will also be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change;
the Commission does not edit personal
identifying information from
submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make
available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR–BATS–
2015–100 and should be submitted on
or before June 28, 2016.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.72
Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016–13825 Filed 6–10–16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Investment Company Act Release No.
32140; File No. 812–14525]
Guggenheim Funds Trust, et al.; Notice
of Application
June 6, 2016.
Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’).
ACTION: Notice of an application for an
order under section 12(d)(1)(J) of the
Investment Company Act of 1940 (the
‘‘Act’’) for an exemption from sections
12(d)(1)(A), (B), and (C) of the Act and
under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act
for an exemption from sections 17(a)(1)
and (2) of the Act. The requested order
would permit certain registered openend investment companies to acquire
shares of certain registered open-end
investment companies, registered
closed-end investment companies,
business development companies, as
defined in section 2(a)(48) of the Act
AGENCY:
70 See
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72 17
PO 00000
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
Frm 00131
Fmt 4703
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38257
(‘‘BDCs’’), and registered unit
investment trusts (collectively,
‘‘Underlying Funds’’) that are within
and outside the same group of
investment companies as the acquiring
investment companies, in excess of the
limits in section 12(d)(1) of the Act.
Guggenheim Funds Trust
and Guggenheim Variable Funds Trust,
each a Delaware statutory trust and
registered under the Act as an open-end
management investment company with
multiple series (each, a ‘‘Trust’’);
Guggenheim Partners Investment
Management, LLC, a Delaware limited
liability company (‘‘GPIM’’), and
Security Investors, LLC, a Kansas
limited liability company (‘‘Security
Investors’’), each registered as an
investment adviser under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940; and
Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC, a
Delaware limited liability company,
registered as a broker-dealer under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Exchange Act’’).
FILING DATES: The application was filed
on July 31, 2015, and amended on
December 16, 2015 and April 13, 2016.
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 July 1, 2016 and should
be accompanied by proof of service on
the applicants, in the form of an
affidavit, or, for lawyers, a certificate of
service. Pursuant to Rule 0–5 under the
Act, hearing requests should state the
nature of the writer’s interest, any facts
bearing upon the desirability of a
hearing on the matter, the reason for the
request, and the issues contested.
Persons who wish to be notified of a
hearing may request notification by
writing to the Commission’s Secretary.
ADDRESSES: Secretary, U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street
NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090.
Applicants: Guggenheim Funds Trust,
Guggenheim Variable Funds Trust, and
Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC,
805 King Farm Boulevard, Suite 600,
Rockville, MD 20850; Security
Investors, LLC, 330 Madison Avenue,
10th Floor, New York, NY 10022; and
Guggenheim Partners Investment
Management, LLC, 100 Wilshire
Boulevard, 5th Floor, Santa Monica, CA
90401.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Steven I. Amchan, Senior Counsel, at
APPLICANTS:
E:\FR\FM\13JNN1.SGM
13JNN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 113 (Monday, June 13, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38247-38257]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-13825]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-78005; File No. SR-BATS-2015-100]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Bats BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of
Filing of Amendment No. 5 To Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by
Amendments Nos. 1, 3, and 4 thereto, To Amend Rule 14.11(i) To Adopt
Generic Listing Standards for Managed Fund Shares
June 7, 2016.
I. Introduction
On November 18, 2015, BATS Exchange, Inc. (now known as Bats BZX
Exchange, Inc., ``Exchange'' or ``BZX'') \1\ filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission (``Commission''), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1)
of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'') \2\ and Rule 19b-4
thereunder,\3\ a proposed rule change to amend Rule 14.11(i) by, among
other things, adopting generic listing standards for Managed Fund
Shares. The proposed rule change was published for comment in the
Federal Register on November 25, 2015.\4\ On January 4, 2016, the
Commission designated a longer period within which to approve the
proposed rule change, disapprove the proposed rule change, or institute
proceedings to determine whether to disapprove the proposed rule
change.\5\ On February 9, 2016, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 1 to
the proposed rule change,\6\ which replaced the originally filed
proposed rule change in its entirety.\7\ On February 11, 2016, the
Exchange both filed and withdrew Amendment No. 2 to the proposed rule
change. On February 11, 2016, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 3 to the
proposed rule change.\8\ On February 17, 2016, the Exchange filed
Amendment No. 4 to the proposed rule change.\9\ On February 22, 2016,
the Commission issued notice of filing of Amendment Nos. 1, 3, and 4 to
the proposed rule change and instituted proceedings under Section
19(b)(2)(B) of the Act \10\ to determine whether to approve or
disapprove the proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment Nos. 1,
3, and 4 thereto.\11\ In the Order
[[Page 38248]]
Instituting Proceedings, the Commission solicited comments to specified
matters related to the proposal.\12\ On May 20, 2016, the Commission
designated a longer period for Commission action on the proposed rule
change.\13\ The Commission has not received any comments on the
proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment Nos. 1, 3, and 4
thereto.
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\1\ In March 2016, BATS changed its name from ``BATS Exchange,
Inc.'' to ``Bats BZX Exchange, Inc.'' See Securities Act Release No.
77307 (Mar. 7, 2016), 81 FR 12996 (Mar. 11, 2016) (SR-BATS-2016-25)
(publishing notice of the name change to Bats BZX Exchange, Inc.).
\2\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 76478 (Nov. 19,
2015), 80 FR 73841 (``Notice'').
\5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 76820, 81 FR 989
(Jan. 8, 2016). The Commission designated February 23, 2016 as the
date by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove, or
institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove, the
proposed rule change. See id.
\6\ Amendment No. 1: (1) Clarifies the proposed treatment of
convertible securities under the proposed generic listing criteria;
(2) modifies the proposed criterion regarding American Depositary
Receipts (``ADRs'') to provide that no more than 10% of the equity
weight of the portfolio shall consist of non-exchange traded (rather
than unsponsored) ADRs; (3) modifies the proposed portfolio limit on
listed derivatives to require that at least 90% of the weight of
such holdings invested in futures, exchange-traded options, and
listed swaps shall, on both an initial and continuing basis, consist
of futures, options, and swaps for which the Exchange may obtain
information via the Intermarket Surveillance Group (``ISG'') from
other members or affiliates of the ISG or for which the principal
market is a market with which the Exchange has a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement (``CSSA''); (4) provides that a
portfolio's investments in listed and over-the-counter derivatives
will be calculated for purposes the proposed limits on such holdings
as the total absolute notional value of the derivatives; (5) makes
certain other conforming and clarifying changes. The amendments to
the proposed rule change are available at: https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-bats-2015-100/bats2015100.shtml.
\7\ See Amendment No. 1, supra note 6, at 4.
\8\ Amendment No. 3 deletes from the proposal the following two
sentences: (1) ``Such limitation will not apply to listed swaps
because swaps are listed on swap execution facilities (``SEFs''),
the majority of which are not members of ISG.'' and (2) ``Such
limitation would not apply to listed swaps because swaps are listed
on SEFs, the majority of which are not members of ISG.'' Amendment
No. 3 also corrects an erroneous statement in Item 11 to indicate
that an Exhibit 4 was included in Amendment No. 1.
\9\ Amendment No. 4 deletes from the proposal the following
sentence: ``Thus, if the limitation applied to swaps, there would
effectively be a cap of 10% of the portfolio invested in listed
swaps.'' Amendment No. 4 also amends two representations as follows
(added language in brackets): The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of
the Exchange, will communicate as needed regarding trading in
Managed Fund Shares [and their underlying components] with other
markets that are members of the ISG, including all U.S. securities
exchanges and futures exchanges on which the components are traded[,
or with which the Exchange has in place a CSSA.] In addition, the
Exchange or FINRA[,] on behalf of the Exchange[,] may obtain
information regarding trading in Managed Fund Shares [and their
underlying components] from other markets that are members of the
ISG, including all U.S. securities exchanges and futures exchanges
on which the components are traded, or with which the Exchange has
in place a CSSA.''
\10\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
\11\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 77202, 81 FR 9889
(Feb. 26, 2016) (``Order Instituting Proceedings''). Specifically,
the Commission instituted proceedings to allow for additional
analysis of the proposed rule change's consistency with Section
6(b)(5) of the Act, which requires, among other things, that the
rules of a national securities exchange be ``designed to prevent
fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and
equitable principles of trade,'' and ``to protect investors and the
public interest.'' See id., 81 FR at 9897.
\12\ See id.
\13\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 77871, 81 FR 33567
(May 26, 2016) (designating July 22, 2016 as the date by which the
Commission must either approve or disapprove the proposed rule
change).
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Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Act \14\ and Rule 19b-4
thereunder,\15\ notice is hereby given that, on June 3, 2016, the
Exchange filed Amendment No. 5 to the proposed rule change,\16\ which
replaced the originally filed proposed rule change in its entirety. The
proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 5 thereto, is as
described in Items II and III below, which Items have been prepared by
the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 5
thereto, from interested persons.
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\14\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\15\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\16\ Amendment No. 5: (1) Clarifies the context of ``system
failures'' in the definition of Normal Market Conditions; (2)
clarifies the scope of ``equity'' securities to also include U.S.
Component Stocks, Non-U.S. Component Stocks, Derivative Securities
Products, and Linked Securities listed pursuant to equivalent rules
of another national securities exchange; (3) clarifies the exclusion
of U.S. Department of Treasury securities and government-sponsored
entity securities from the minimum diversification requirements
applicable to fixed income securities; (4) provides that the
calculation for complying with the percentage limitations with
respect to listed derivatives and OTC derivatives (as defined
herein) will be based on aggregate gross notional values of the
derivatives; (5) provides additional minimum diversification
requirements with respect to listed derivatives, to be calculated
based on aggregate gross notional values, including gross notional
exposures; (6) clarifies that, to the extent that listed or OTC
derivatives (as defined herein) are used to gain exposure to
individual equities and/or fixed income securities, or to indexes of
equities and/or indexes of fixed income securities, the aggregate
gross notional value of such exposure is required to meet the
criteria set forth in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i) and (ii) (including
gross notional exposures), respectively; (7) provides examples on
how the percentage limitations applicable to listed and OTC
derivatives (as defined herein) would be calculated; and (8)
confirms that (a) an issuer would be required to represent to the
Exchange that it will advise the Exchange of any failure by a series
of Managed Fund Shares to comply with the continued listing
requirements, and, pursuant to its obligations under Section
19(g)(1) of the Act, the Exchange will surveil for compliance with
the continued listing requirements, and (b) if the series of Managed
Fund Shares is not in compliance with the applicable listing
requirements, the Exchange will commence delisting procedures.
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II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange is proposing a rule change to adopt generic listing
standards for shares listed under BZX Rule 14.11(i) (``Managed Fund
Shares'').
The text of the proposed rule change is available at the Exchange's
Web site at www.batstrading.com, at the principal office of the
Exchange, and at the Commission's Public Reference Room.
III. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item V below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in
Sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant parts of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
This Amendment No. 5 to SR-BATS-2015-100 amends and replaces in its
entirety Amendment No. 1 to the proposal (and subsequent amendments
thereto), which was filed on February 10, 2016, which amended and
replaced in its entirety the proposal as originally submitted on
November 15, 2015. The Exchange submits this Amendment No. 5 in order
to clarify certain points about the proposal, to describe more
accurately how investments in derivative securities will be treated,
and provide an example of how portfolio exposure will be calculated.
The Exchange proposes to amend Rule 14.11(i) to adopt generic
listing standards for Managed Fund Shares. Under the Exchange's current
rules, a proposed rule change must be filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission (``SEC'' or ``Commission'') for the listing and
trading of each new series of Managed Fund Shares. The Exchange
believes that it is appropriate to codify certain rules within Rule
14.11(i) that would generally eliminate the need for such proposed rule
changes, which would create greater efficiency and promote uniform
standards in the listing process. Prior to listing pursuant to proposed
amended Rule 14.11(i), an issuer would be required to represent to the
Exchange that it will advise the Exchange of any failure by a series of
Managed Fund Shares to comply with the continued listing requirements,
and, pursuant to its obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of the Exchange
Act, the Exchange will surveil for compliance with the continued
listing requirements. If the Fund is not in compliance with the
applicable listing requirements, the Exchange will commence delisting
procedures under Exchange Rule 14.12.
Background
Rule 14.11(i) sets forth certain rules related to the listing and
trading of Managed Fund Shares.\17\ Under Rule 14.11(i)(3)(A), the term
``Managed Fund Share'' means a security that:
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\17\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 65225 (August 30,
2011), 76 FR 55148 (September 6, 2011) (SR-BATS-2011-018) (Order
Approving Proposed Rule Change to Adopt Rules for the Qualification,
Listing and Delisting of Companies on the Exchange) (the ``Approval
Order''). The Approval Order approved the rules permitting the
listing of both Tier I and Tier II securities on the Exchange and
the requirements associated therewith, which includes the listing
and trading of Index Fund Shares and Managed Fund Shares, trading
hours and halts, and listing fees originally applicable to Managed
Fund Shares.
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(a) Represents an interest in a registered investment company
(``Investment Company'') organized as an open-end management investment
company or similar entity, that invests in a portfolio of securities
selected by the Investment Company's investment adviser (hereafter
``Adviser'') consistent with the Investment Company's investment
objectives and policies;
(b) is issued in a specified aggregate minimum number in return for
a deposit of a specified portfolio of securities and/or a cash amount
with a value equal to the next determined net asset value; and
(c) when aggregated in the same specified minimum number, may be
redeemed at a holder's request, which holder will be paid a specified
portfolio of securities and/or cash with a value equal to the next
determined net asset value.
Effectively, Managed Fund Shares are securities issued by an
actively-managed open-end Investment Company (i.e., an exchange-traded
fund (``ETF'') that is actively managed). Because Managed Fund Shares
are actively-managed, they do not seek to replicate the performance of
a specified passive index of securities. Instead, they
[[Page 38249]]
generally use an active investment strategy to seek to meet their
investment objectives. In contrast, an open-end Investment Company that
issues Index Fund Shares, listed and traded on the Exchange pursuant to
Rule 14.11(c), seeks to provide investment results that generally
correspond to the price and yield performance of a specific foreign or
domestic stock index, fixed income securities index, or combination
thereof.
All Managed Fund Shares listed pursuant to Rule 14.11(i) are
included within the definition of ``security'' or ``securities'' as
such terms are used in the Rules of the Exchange and, as such, are
subject to the full panoply of Exchange rules and procedures that
currently govern the trading of securities on the Exchange.\18\
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\18\ See Rule 14.11(i)(2).
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In addition, Rule 14.11(i) currently provides for the criteria that
Managed Fund Shares must satisfy for initial and continued listing on
the Exchange, including, for example, that a minimum number of Managed
Fund Shares are required to be outstanding at the time of commencement
of trading on the Exchange. However, the current process for listing
and trading new series of Managed Fund Shares on the Exchange requires
that the Exchange submit a proposed rule change with the Commission. In
this regard, Rule 14.11(i)(2)(A) specifies that the Exchange will file
separate proposals under Section 19(b) of the Act (hereafter, a
``proposed rule change'') before the listing of Managed Fund Shares,
which, in conjunction with the proposal to create generic listing
standards for Managed Fund Shares, the Exchange is proposing to delete.
Proposed Changes to Rule 14.11(i)
The Exchange is proposing to amend Rule 14.11(i) to specify that
the Exchange may approve Managed Fund Shares for listing pursuant to
SEC Rule 19b-4(e) under the Act, which pertains to derivative
securities products (``SEC Rule 19b-4(e)'').\19\ SEC Rule 19b-4(e)(1)
provides that the listing and trading of a new derivative securities
product by a self-regulatory organization (``SRO'') is not deemed a
proposed rule change, pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of Rule 19b-4,\20\
if the Commission has approved, pursuant to section 19(b) of the Act,
the SRO's trading rules, procedures and listing standards for the
product class that would include the new derivative securities product
and the SRO has a surveillance program for the product class. This is
the current method pursuant to which ``passive'' ETFs are listed under
Rule 14.11.
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\19\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(e). As provided under SEC Rule 19b-4(e),
the term ``new derivative securities product'' means any type of
option, warrant, hybrid securities product or any other security,
other than a single equity option or a security futures product,
whose value is based, in whole or in part, upon the performance of,
or interest in, an underlying instrument.
\20\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(c)(1). As provided under SEC Rule 19b-
4(c)(1), a stated policy, practice, or interpretation of the SRO
shall be deemed to be a proposed rule change unless it is reasonably
and fairly implied by an existing rule of the SRO.
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The Exchange would also specify within Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C) that
components of Managed Fund Shares listed pursuant to SEC Rule 19b-4(e)
must satisfy the requirements of Rule 14.11(i) on an initial and
continued basis, which includes certain specific criteria that the
Exchange is proposing to include within Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C), as
described in greater detail below. As proposed, the Exchange would
continue to file separate proposed rule changes before the listing and
trading of Managed Fund Shares with components that do not satisfy the
additional criteria described below or components other than those
specified below. For example, if the components of a Managed Fund Share
exceeded one of the applicable thresholds, the Exchange would file a
separate proposed rule change before listing and trading such Managed
Fund Share. Similarly, if the components of a Managed Fund Share
included a security or asset that is not specified below, the Exchange
would file a separate proposed rule change.
The Exchange would also amend the definition of the term
``Disclosed Portfolio'' under Rule 14.11(i)(3)(B) in order to require
that the Web site for each series of Managed Fund Shares listed on the
Exchange disclose the following information regarding the Disclosed
Portfolio, to the extent applicable: Ticker symbol, CUSIP or other
identifier, a description of the holding, identity of the asset upon
which the derivative is based, the strike price for any options, the
quantity of each security or other asset held as measured by select
metrics, maturity date, coupon rate, effective date, market value and
percentage weight of the holding in the portfolio.\21\
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\21\ Proposed rule changes for previously-listed series of
Managed Fund Shares have similarly included disclosure requirements
with respect to each portfolio holding, as applicable to the type of
holding. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No. 72666 (July
3, 2014), 79 FR 44224 (July 30, 2014) (SR-NYSEArca-2013-122) (the
``PIMCO Total Return Use of Derivatives Approval'').
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The Exchange would also add to Rule 14.11(i)(4)(A) by specifying
that all Managed Fund Shares must have a stated investment objective,
which must be adhered to under normal market conditions.\22\
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\22\ The Exchange would also add a new defined term under Rule
14.11(i)(3)(E) to specify that the term ``normal market conditions''
includes, but is not limited to, the absence of trading halts in the
applicable financial markets generally; operational issues causing
dissemination of inaccurate market information or system failures;
or force majeure type events such as natural or man-made disaster,
act of God, armed conflict, act of terrorism, riot or labor
disruption, or any similar intervening circumstance.
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Finally, the Exchange would also amend the continued listing
requirement in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B) by changing the requirement that an
Intraday Indicative Value for Managed Fund Shares be widely
disseminated by one or more major market data vendors at least every 15
seconds during the time when the Managed Fund Shares trade on the
Exchange to a requirement that an Intraday Indicative Value be widely
disseminated by one or more major market data vendors at least every 15
seconds during Regular Trading Hours, as defined in Exchange Rule
1.5(w).
Proposed Managed Fund Share Portfolio Standards
The Exchange is proposing standards that would pertain to Managed
Fund Shares to qualify for listing and trading pursuant to SEC Rule
19b-4(e). These standards would be grouped according to security or
asset type. The Exchange notes that the standards proposed for a
Managed Fund Share portfolio that holds equity securities, Derivative
Securities Products, and Linked Securities are based in large part on
the existing equity security standards applicable to Index Fund Shares
in Exchange Rule 14.11(c)(3). The standards proposed for a Managed Fund
Share portfolio that holds fixed income securities are based in large
part on the existing fixed income security standards applicable to
Index Fund Shares in Rule 14.11(c)(4). Many of the standards proposed
for other types of holdings in a Managed Fund Share portfolio are based
on previous proposed rule changes for specific series of Managed Fund
Shares.\23\
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\23\ Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 74193 (February 3,
2015), 80 FR 7066 (February 9, 2015) (SR-BATS-2014-054) (the
``iShares Short Maturity Municipal Bond Approval''); 74297 (February
18, 2015), 80 FR 9788 (February 24, 2015) (SR-BATS-2014-056) (the
``iShares U.S. Fixed Income Balanced Risk Approval''); 66321
(February 3, 2012), 77 FR 6850 (February 9, 2012) (SR-NYSEArca-2011-
95) (the ``PIMCO Total Return Approval''); the PIMCO Total Return
Use of Derivatives Approval; 69244 (March 27, 2013), 78 FR 19766
(April 2, 2013) (SR-NYSEArca-2013-08) (the ``SPDR Blackstone/GSO
Senior Loan Approval''); 68870 (February 8, 2013), 78 FR 11245
(February 15, 2013) (SR-NYSEArca-2012-139) (the ``First Trust
Preferred Securities and Income Approval''); 69591 (May 16, 2013),
78 FR 30372 (May 22, 2013) (SR-NYSEArca-2013-33) (the
``International Bear Approval''); 61697 (March 12, 2010), 75 FR
13616 (March 22, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-04) (the ``WisdomTree Real
Return Approval''); and 67054 (May 24, 2012), 77 FR 32161 (May 31,
2012) (SR-NYSEArca-2012-25) (the ``WisdomTree Brazil Bond
Approval''). Certain standards proposed herein for Managed Fund
Shares are also based on previously proposed rule changes for
specific index-based series of Index Fund Shares that did not
satisfy the standards for those products on their respective listing
exchange and for which Commission approval was required prior to
listing and trading. See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 67985
(October 4, 2012), 77 FR 61804 (October 11, 2012) (SR-NYSEArca-2012-
92); 63881(February 9, 2011), 76 FR 9065 (February 16, 2011) (SR-
NYSEArca-2010-120); 63176 (October 25, 2010), 75 FR 66815 (October
29, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-94); and 69373 (April 15, 2013), 78 FR
23601 (April 19, 2013) (SR-NYSEArca-2012-108) (the ``NYSE Arca U.S.
Equity Synthetic Reverse Convertible Index Fund Approval'').
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[[Page 38250]]
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i) would describe the standards for a
Managed Fund Share portfolio that holds equity securities, which are
defined to be U.S. Component Stocks,\24\ Non-U.S. Component Stocks,\25\
Derivative Securities Products,\26\ and Linked Securities \27\ listed
on a national securities exchange. For Derivative Securities Products
and Linked Securities, no more than 25% of the equity weight of the
portfolio could include leveraged and/or inverse leveraged Derivative
Securities Products or Linked Securities. To the extent that a
portfolio includes convertible securities, the equity security into
which such security is converted shall meet the criteria of this Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(i) after converting.
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\24\ For the purposes of Rule 14.11(i) and this proposal, the
term ``U.S. Component Stocks'' will have the same meaning as defined
in Rule 14.11(c)(1)(D).
\25\ For the purposes of Rule 14.11(i) and this proposal, the
term ``Non-U.S. Component Stocks'' will have the same meaning as
defined in Rule 14.11(c)(1)(E).
\26\ For the purposes of Rule 14.11(i) and this proposal, the
term ``Derivative Securities Products will have the same meaning as
defined in Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(a) and will include both those
Derivative Securities Products listed on the Exchange as well as
each of the equivalent security types listed on another national
securities exchange.
\27\ Linked Securities are securities listed on the Exchange
under Rule 14.11(d) and each of the equivalent security types listed
on another national securities exchange.
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As proposed in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a), the component stocks of
the equity portion of a portfolio that are U.S. Component Stocks shall
meet the following criteria initially and on a continuing basis:
(1) Component stocks (excluding Derivative Securities Products and
Linked Securities) that in the aggregate account for at least 90% of
the equity weight of the portfolio (excluding such Derivative
Securities Products and Linked Securities) each must have a minimum
market value of at least $75 million; \28\
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\28\ The proposed text is identical to the corresponding text of
Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(a), except for the omission of the reference
to ``index,'' which is not applicable, and the addition of the
reference to Linked Securities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Component stocks (excluding Derivative Securities Products and
Linked Securities) that in the aggregate account for at least 70% of
the equity weight of the portfolio (excluding such Derivative
Securities Products and Linked Securities) each must have a minimum
monthly trading volume of 250,000 shares, or minimum notional volume
traded per month of $25,000,000, averaged over the last six months;
\29\
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\29\ This proposed text is identical to the corresponding text
of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(b), except for the omission of the
reference to ``index,'' which is not applicable, and the addition of
the reference to Linked Securities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) The most heavily weighted component stock (excluding Derivative
Securities Products and Linked Securities) must not exceed 30% of the
equity weight of the portfolio, and, to the extent applicable, the five
most heavily weighted component stocks (excluding Derivative Securities
Products and Linked Securities) must not exceed 65% of the equity
weight of the portfolio; \30\
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\30\ This proposed text is identical to the corresponding text
of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(c), except for the omission of the
reference to ``index,'' which is not applicable, and the addition of
the reference to Linked Securities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4) Where the equity portion of the portfolio does not include Non-
U.S. Component Stocks, the equity portion of the portfolio shall
include a minimum of 13 component stocks; provided, however, that there
would be no minimum number of component stocks if (a) one or more
series of Derivative Securities Products or Linked Securities
constitute, at least in part, components underlying a series of Managed
Fund Shares, or (b) one or more series of Derivative Securities
Products or Linked Securities account for 100% of the equity weight of
the portfolio of a series of Managed Fund Shares; \31\
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\31\ This proposed text is identical to the corresponding text
of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(d), except for the omission of the
reference to ``index,'' which is not applicable, the addition of the
reference to Linked Securities, the reference to the equity portion
of the portfolio not including Non-U.S. Component Stocks, and the
reference to the 100% limitation applying to the ``equity weight''
of the portfolio--this last difference is included because the
proposed standards in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C) permit the inclusion of
non-equity securities, whereas Rule 14.11(c)(3) applies only to
equity securities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(5) Except as provided in proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a),
equity securities in the portfolio must be U.S. Component Stocks listed
on a national securities exchange and must be NMS Stocks as defined in
Rule 600 of Regulation NMS; \32\ and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\32\ 17 CFR 240.600. This proposed text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i)(e), except for the
addition of ``equity'' to make clear that the standard applies to
``equity securities'' and the omission of the reference to
``index,'' which is not applicable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(6) American Depositary Receipts (``ADRs'') may be exchange traded
or non-exchange traded. However no more than 10% of the equity weight
of the portfolio shall consist of non-exchange traded ADRs.
As proposed in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(b), the component stocks of
the equity portion of a portfolio that are Non-U.S. Component Stocks
shall meet the following criteria initially and on a continuing basis:
(1) Non-U.S. Component Stocks each shall have a minimum market
value of at least $100 million; \33\
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\33\ The proposed text is identical to the corresponding
representation from the Non-U.S. Components Release, as defined in
footnote 24, below. The proposed text is also identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(a), except for the
omission of the reference to ``index,'' which is not applicable, and
that each Non-U.S. Component Stock must have a minimum market value
of at least $100 million instead of the 70% required under Rule
14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Non-U.S. Component Stocks each shall have a minimum global
monthly trading volume of 250,000 shares, or minimum global notional
volume traded per month of $25,000,000, averaged over the last six
months; \34\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\34\ The proposed text is identical to the corresponding
representation from the Non-U.S. Components Release, as defined in
footnote 24, below. This proposed text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(b), except for the
omission of the reference to ``index,'' which is not applicable, and
the addition of the reference to Linked Securities.
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(3) The most heavily weighted Non-U.S. Component Stock shall not
exceed 25% of the equity weight of the portfolio, and, to the extent
applicable, the five most heavily weighted Non-U.S. Component Stocks
shall not exceed 60% of the equity weight of the portfolio; \35\
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\35\ This proposed text is identical to the corresponding text
of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(c), except for the omission of the
reference to ``index,'' which is not applicable, and the addition of
the reference to Linked Securities.
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(4) Where the equity portion of the portfolio includes Non-U.S.
Component Stocks, the equity portion of the portfolio shall include a
minimum of 20 component stocks; provided, however, that there shall be
no minimum number of component stocks if (a) one or more series of
Derivative Securities Products or Linked Securities constitute, at
least in part, components underlying a series
[[Page 38251]]
of Managed Fund Shares, or (b) one or more series of Derivative
Securities Products or Linked Securities account for 100% of the equity
weight of the portfolio of a series of Managed Fund Shares; \36\ and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\36\ This proposed text is identical to the corresponding text
of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(d), except for the omission of the
reference to ``index,'' which is not applicable, the addition of the
reference to Linked Securities, the reference to the equity portion
of the portfolio including Non-U.S. Component Stocks, and the
reference to the 100% limitation applying to the ``equity weight''
of the portfolio--this last difference is included because the
proposed standards in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C) permit the inclusion of
non-equity securities, whereas Rule 14.11(c)(3) applies only to
equity securities.
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(5) Each Non-U.S. Component Stock shall be listed and traded on an
exchange that has last-sale reporting.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\37\ 17 CFR 240.600. This proposed text is identical to the
corresponding text of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii)(e), except for the
addition of ``equity'' to make clear that the standard applies to
``equity securities'' and the omission of the reference to
``index,'' which is not applicable.
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The Exchange notes that, as approved by the Commission for certain
Managed Fund Shares \38\ and also not required under corresponding Rule
14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii) related to Index Fund Shares,\39\ it is not
proposing to require that any of the equity portion of the equity
portfolio composed of Non-U.S. Component Stocks be listed on markets
that are either a member of the Intermarket Surveillance Group
(``ISG'') or a market with which the Exchange has a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement (``CSSA'').\40\ However, as further
detailed below, the Exchange or the Financial Industry Regulatory
Authority, Inc. (``FINRA''), on behalf of the Exchange, will
communicate as needed regarding trading in Managed Fund Shares with
other markets that are members of the ISG, including all U.S.
securities exchanges and futures exchanges on which the components are
traded.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\38\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 75023 (May 21,
2015), 80 FR 30519 (May 28, 2015) (SR-NYSEArca-2014-100) (the ``Non-
U.S. Components Release'').
\39\ Under Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(ii), index fund shares with
components that include Non-U.S. Component Stocks can hold a
portfolio that is entirely composed of Non-U.S. Component Stocks
that are listed on markets that are neither members of ISG, nor with
which the Exchange has in place a CSSA.
\40\ ISG is comprised of an international group of exchanges,
market centers, and market regulators that perform front-line market
surveillance in their respective jurisdictions. See https://www.isgportal.org/home.html.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii) would describe the standards for a
Managed Fund Share portfolio that holds fixed income securities, which
are debt securities \41\ that are notes, bonds, debentures or evidence
of indebtedness that include, but are not limited to, U.S. Department
of Treasury securities (``Treasury Securities''), government-sponsored
entity securities (``GSE Securities''), municipal securities, trust
preferred securities, supranational debt and debt of a foreign country
or a subdivision thereof, investment grade and high yield corporate
debt, bank loans, mortgage and asset backed securities,\42\ and
commercial paper. To the extent that a portfolio includes convertible
securities, the fixed income security into which such security is
converted shall meet the criteria of proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)
after converting. The components of the fixed income portion of a
portfolio shall meet the following criteria initially and on a
continuing basis:
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\41\ Debt securities include a variety of fixed income
obligations, including, but not limited to, corporate debt
securities, government securities, municipal securities, convertible
securities, and mortgage-backed securities. Debt securities include
investment-grade securities, non-investment-grade securities, and
unrated securities. Debt securities also include variable and
floating rate securities.
\42\ The Exchange notes that, for purposes of this proposal, the
issuer of asset backed securities will be considered the issuer of
the underlying debt.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(1) Components that in the aggregate account for at least 75% of
the fixed income weight of the portfolio shall each have a minimum
original principal amount outstanding of $100 million or more; \43\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\43\ This proposed text of 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(a)(1) is based on
the corresponding text of 14.11(c)(4)(B)(i)(b).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) No component fixed-income security (excluding Treasury
Securities and GSE Securities) could represent more than 30% of the
fixed income weight of the portfolio, and the five most heavily
weighted fixed income securities in the portfolio (excluding Treasury
Securities and GSE Securities) shall not in the aggregate account for
more than 65% of the fixed income weight of the portfolio; \44\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\44\ This proposed rule text is identical to the corresponding
text of Rule 14.11(c)(4)(B)(i)(d), except for the omission of the
reference to ``index,'' which is not applicable, and the exclusion
of ``GSE Securities,'' which is consistent with the corresponding
text of NYSE Arca, Inc. (``Arca'') Commentary .02(a)(4) to Rule
5.2(j)(3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) An underlying portfolio (excluding exempted securities) that
includes fixed income securities shall include a minimum of 13 non-
affiliated issuers, provided, however, that there shall be no minimum
number of non-affiliated issuers required for fixed income securities
if at least 70% of the weight of the portfolio consists of equity
securities as described in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i); \45\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\45\ This proposed text is similar to the corresponding text of
Rule 14.11(c)(4)(B)(i)(e), except for the omission of the reference
to ``index,'' which is not applicable and the provision that there
shall be no minimum number of non-affiliated issuers required for
fixed income securities if at least 70% of the weight of the
portfolio consists of equity securities as described in proposed
Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4) Component securities that in aggregate account for at least 90%
of the fixed income weight of the portfolio must be either: (a) From
issuers that are required to file reports pursuant to Sections 13 and
15(d) of the Act; (b) from issuers that have a worldwide market value
of its outstanding common equity held by non-affiliates of $700 million
or more; (c) from issuers that have outstanding securities that are
notes, bonds, debentures, or evidence of indebtedness having a total
remaining principal amount of at least $1 billion; (d) exempted
securities as defined in Section 3(a)(12) of the Act; or (e) from
issuers that are a government of a foreign country or a political
subdivision of a foreign country; and
(5) Non-agency, non-GSE and privately-issued mortgage-related and
other asset-backed securities components of a portfolio shall not
account, in the aggregate, for more than 20% of the weight of the fixed
income portion of the portfolio.
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(iii) describes the standards for a
Managed Fund Share portfolio that holds cash and cash equivalents.\46\
Specifically, the portfolio may hold short-term instruments with
maturities of less than 3 months. There would be no limitation to the
percentage of the portfolio invested in such holdings. Short-term
instruments would include the following: \47\ (1) U.S. Government
securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity
and rates of interest, which are either issued or guaranteed by the
U.S. Treasury or by U.S. Government agencies or instrumentalities; (2)
certificates of deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or
savings and loan association; (3) bankers' acceptances, which are
short-term credit instruments used to finance commercial transactions;
(4) repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements; (5) bank
time deposits, which are monies kept on deposit with banks or savings
[[Page 38252]]
and loan associations for a stated period of time at a fixed rate of
interest; (6) commercial paper, which are short-term unsecured
promissory notes; and (7) money market funds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\46\ Proposed rule changes for previously-listed series of
Managed Fund Shares have similarly included the ability for such
Managed Fund Share holdings to include cash and cash equivalents.
See, e.g., iShares U.S. Fixed Income Balanced Risk Approval at 9789,
SPDR Blackstone/GSO Senior Loan Approval at 19768-69, and First
Trust Preferred Securities and Income Approval at 76150.
\47\ Proposed rule changes for previously-listed series of
Managed Fund Shares have similarly specified short-term instruments
with respect to their inclusion in Managed Fund Share holdings. See,
e.g., First Trust Preferred Securities and Income Approval at 76150-
51.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(iv) describes the standards for a
Managed Fund Share portfolio that holds listed derivatives, including
futures, options and swaps on commodities, currencies and financial
instruments (e.g., stocks, fixed income, interest rates, and
volatility) or a basket or index of any of the foregoing.\48\ There
would be no limitation to the percentage of the portfolio invested in
such holdings; provided, however, that, in the aggregate, at least 90%
of the weight of such holdings invested in futures, exchange-traded
options, and listed swaps shall, on both an initial and continuing
basis, consist of futures, options, and swaps for which the Exchange
may obtain information via the ISG from other members or affiliates or
for which the principal market is a market with which the Exchange has
a CSSA, calculated using the aggregate gross notional value of such
holdings.\49\ In addition, the aggregate gross notional value of listed
derivatives based on any five or fewer underlying reference assets
shall not exceed 65% of the weight of the portfolio (including gross
notional exposures), and the aggregate gross notional value of listed
derivatives based on any single underlying reference asset shall not
exceed 30% of the weight of the portfolio (including gross notional
exposures). The Exchange notes that, for purposes of calculating this
limitation, a portfolio's investment in listed derivatives will be
calculated as the gross notional value of the listed derivatives.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\48\ Proposed rule changes for previously-listed series of
Managed Fund Shares have similarly included the ability for such
Managed Fund Share holdings to include listed derivatives. See,
e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 75 FR 13616 (March 22,
2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-04) at 13617; and 67054 (May 24, 2012), 77
FR 32161 (May 31, 2012) (SR-NYSEArca-2012-25) at 32163.
\49\ See supra note 40.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(v) describes the standards for a
Managed Fund Share portfolio that holds over the counter (``OTC'')
derivatives, including forwards, options and swaps on commodities,
currencies and financial instruments (e.g., stocks, fixed income,
interest rates, and volatility) or a basket or index of any of the
foregoing.\50\ Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(v) also provides that the
aggregate gross notional value of OTC Derivatives shall not exceed 20%
of the weight of the portfolio (including gross notional exposures).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\50\ Proposed rule changes for previously-listed series of
Managed Fund Shares have similarly included the ability for such
Managed Fund Shares to include OTC derivatives, specifically OTC
down-and-in put options, which are not NMS Stocks as defined in Rule
600 of Regulation NMS and therefore would not satisfy the
requirements of Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i) or the analogous rule on
another listing exchange. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release
No. 69373 (April 15, 2013), 78 FR 23601 (April 19, 2013) (SR-
NYSEArca-2012-108) at 23602.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(vi) provides that, to the extent that
listed or OTC derivatives are used to gain exposure to individual
equities and/or fixed income securities, or to indexes of equities and/
or fixed income securities, the aggregate gross notional value of such
exposure shall meet the criteria set forth in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)
and 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii) (including gross notional exposures),
respectively. The Exchange notes that, for purposes of this proposal, a
portfolio's investment in OTC derivatives will be calculated as the
gross notional value of the OTC derivatives.
The Exchange believes that the proposed standards would continue to
ensure transparency surrounding the listing process for Managed Fund
Shares. Additionally, the Exchange believes that the proposed portfolio
standards for listing and trading Managed Fund Shares, many of which
track existing Exchange rules relating to Index Fund Shares, are
reasonably designed to promote a fair and orderly market for such
Managed Fund Shares. These proposed standards would also work in
conjunction with the existing initial and continued listing criteria
related to surveillance procedures and trading guidelines.
As an example of how the Exchange would determine whether a series
of Managed Fund Shares meets these proposed portfolio exposure
requirements, see the following examples based on a hypothetical
portfolio. For purposes of these examples, it will be assumed that the
portfolio meets proposed Rules 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a)(1), (2), (4), (5),
and (6), 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(b)(1), (2), (4), and (5), and
14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(a), (c), and (d).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Percent of
Instrument type Units Price ($) Market value portfolio
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
U.S. Equity 1................................... 15,000 25 375,000 7.50
U.S. Equity 2................................... 10,000 50 500,000 10.00
U.S. Equity 3................................... 5,000 100 500,000 10.00
U.S. Equity 4................................... 1,200 150 180,000 3.60
U.S. Equity 5................................... 1,000 250 250,000 5.00
Int'l Equity 1.................................. 9,000 25 225,000 4.50
Int'l Equity 2.................................. 5,000 50 250,000 5.00
Int'l Equity 3.................................. 5,000 100 500,000 10.00
Int'l Equity 4.................................. 10,000 75 750,000 15.00
Int'l Equity 5.................................. 2,000 75 150,000 3.00
Fixed Income 1.................................. 5,000 25 125,000 2.50
Fixed Income 2.................................. 6,400 50 320,000 6.40
Fixed Income 3 (Private label ABS).............. 2,000 75 150,000 3.00
TBill 1 (2 months).............................. 12,500 50 625,000 12.50
TBill 2 (6 months).............................. 2,000 50 100,000 2.00
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Equity................................ .............. .............. .............. 3,680,000
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Fixed Income.......................... .............. .............. .............. 1,320,000
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... .............. .............. 5,000,000 100.00
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[[Page 38253]]
In this hypothetical portfolio, proposed Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a)(3) is met because the most heavily weighted single
U.S. equity component stock (both U.S. Equity 2 and U.S. Equity 3)
represents 13.6% of the equity weight of the portfolio (500,000/
3,680,000) and the five most heavily weighted U.S. equity component
stocks represent 49% of the equity weight of the portfolio (1,805,000/
3,680,000) and proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(b)(3) is met because the
most heavily weighted Non-U.S. Component Stock composes 20.4% of the
equity weight of the portfolio (750,000/3,680,000) and the five most
heavily weighted Non-U.S. Component Stocks compose 51% of the equity
weight of the portfolio (1,875,000/3,680,000). Proposed Rules
14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(b) and (e) are met because the most heavily weighted
fixed income security (excluding Treasury Securities) represents 24.2%
of the fixed income weight of the portfolio (320,000/1,320,000), the
five most heavily weighted fixed income securities (excluding Treasury
Securities) represent 45% of the fixed income weight of the portfolio
(595,000/1,320,000), and the non-agency, non-GSE, and privately-issued
mortgage-related and other asset-backed securities components represent
11.4% of the fixed income weight of the portfolio (150,000/1,320,000).
For purposes of this analysis, both TBill 1 and TBill 2 will be counted
as fixed income securities even though TBill 1 would be included in the
definition of cash and cash equivalents. There is no portfolio analysis
specific to the cash and cash equivalents portion of the portfolio
because there are no limitations to the percentage of the portfolio
invested in instruments that qualify as cash and cash equivalents.
Suppose that the hypothetical portfolio laid out above added the
following instruments:
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Precent of
Units of Price or face Absolute portfolio
Instrument type reference value of notional (including
asset in the reference exposure gross notional
contract(s) asset exposures)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Listed Derivative 1 (Option on U.S. Equity 1)... 10,000 20 200,000 3.20
Listed Derivative 2 (Treasury Futures).......... 5 100,000 500,000 8.00
Listed Derivative 3 (Commodity Swap)............ 200 250 50,000 0.80
OTC Derivative 1 (Credit Default Swap).......... N/A 500,000 500,000 8.00
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Derivative............................ .............. .............. 1,250,000 ..............
Listed Derivative............................... .............. .............. 750,000 ..............
Derivative Equity............................... .............. .............. 200,000 ..............
Derivative FI................................... .............. .............. 500,000 ..............
Derivative Other................................ .............. .............. 550,000 ..............
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Equity................................ .............. .............. 3,880,000 ..............
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total Fixed Income.......................... .............. .............. 1,820,000 ..............
---------------------------------------------------------------
Total....................................... .............. .............. 6,250,000 ..............
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In this hypothetical portfolio, proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(vi)
provides that the calculations provided above related to Rules
14.11(i)(4)(C)(i) and (ii) would now need to include the aggregate
gross notional value of Listed Derivative 1 and Listed Derivative 2,
respectively. As such, the $200,000 absolute notional exposure from
Listed Derivative 1 would be added to the existing exposure to U.S.
Equity 1 and proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a)(3) would be met because
the most heavily weighted single U.S. equity component stock (now U.S.
Equity 1) represents 14.8% of the equity weight of the portfolio
(575,000/3,880,000) and the five most heavily weighted U.S. equity
component stocks represent 51.7% of the equity weight of the portfolio
(2,005,000/3,880,000). Similarly, proposed Rule 14.11(4)(C)(i)(b)(3) is
met because the additional $500,000 in aggregate gross notional
exposure to fixed income securities (in particular, Treasury
Securities) gained through Listed Derivative 2 is added included in the
calculation such that the most heavily weighted fixed income security
(excluding Treasury Securities) represents 17.6% of the fixed income
weight of the portfolio (320,000/1,820,000), the five most heavily
weighted fixed income securities (excluding Treasury Securities)
represent 32.7% of the fixed income weight of the portfolio (595,000/
1,820,000), and the non-agency, non-GSE, and privately-issued mortgage-
related and other asset-backed securities components represent 8.2% of
the fixed income weight of the portfolio (150,000/1,820,000). Proposed
Rule 14.11(4)(C)(iv)(a) would be met if both Listed Derivative 1 and
Listed Derivative 2 are derivatives for which the Exchange may obtain
information via the ISG, from other members or affiliates of the ISG or
for which the principal market is a market with which the Exchange has
a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement [((500,000 + 200,000)/
750,000) = 93%>90%]. However, if Listed Derivative 1 or Listed
Derivative 2 did not meet that requirement, the portfolio would not
meet proposed Rule 14.11(4)(C)(iv)(a) [((500,000 + 50,000)/750,000) =
73.3%<90%; ((200,000 + 50,000)/750,000) = 33.3% < 90%]. Proposed Rule
14.11(4)(C)(iv)(b) is met because the aggregate gross notional value of
listed derivatives is 12% of the portfolio (750,000/6,250,000), which
is less than both standards in the proposed rule. Proposed Rule
14.11(4)(C)(v) would be met because the aggregate gross notional
exposure of OTC Derivatives is 8% of the weight of the portfolio
(500,000/6,250,000).
In support of this proposal, the Exchange represents that: (1)
Generically listed Managed Fund Shares will conform to the initial and
continued listing criteria under Rule 14.11(i)(4)(A) and (B); (2) the
Exchange's surveillance procedures are adequate to continue to properly
monitor the trading of the Managed Fund Shares in all trading sessions
and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules. Specifically, the
Exchange intends to utilize its existing surveillance procedures
applicable to derivative products, which will include Managed Fund
Shares, to monitor trading in the Managed Fund Shares; (3) prior to the
[[Page 38254]]
commencement of trading of a particular series of Managed Fund Shares,
the Exchange will inform its Members in an information circular of the
special characteristics and risks associated with trading the Managed
Fund Shares, including procedures for purchases and redemptions of
Managed Fund Shares, suitability requirements under Rule 3.7, the risks
involved in trading the Managed Fund Shares during the Pre-Opening and
After Hours Trading Sessions when an updated Intraday Indicative Value
will not be calculated or publicly disseminated, how information
regarding the Intraday Indicative Value and Disclosed Portfolio is
disseminated, prospectus delivery requirements, and other trading
information. In addition, the information circular will disclose that
the Managed Fund Shares are subject to various fees and expenses, as
described in the registration statement, and will discuss any
exemptive, no-action, and interpretive relief granted by the Commission
from any rules under the Act. Finally, the Bulletin will disclose that
the net asset value for the Managed Fund Shares will be calculated
after 4 p.m. ET each trading day; and (4) the issuer of a series of
Managed Fund Shares will be required to comply with Rule 10A-3 under
the Act for the initial and continued listing of Managed Fund Shares,
as provided under Rule 14.10(c)(3).
The Exchange notes that the proposed change is not otherwise
intended to address any other issues and that the Exchange is not aware
of any problems that Members or issuers would have in complying with
the proposed change.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Act \51\ in general and Section 6(b)(5) of the Act \52\ in
particular in that it is designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\51\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
\52\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The proposed rule change is designed to perfect the mechanism of a
free and open market and, in general, to protect investors and the
public interest because it would facilitate the listing and trading of
additional Managed Fund Shares, which would enhance competition among
market participants, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace.
Specifically, after more than six years under the current process,
whereby an exchange is required to file a proposed rule change with the
Commission for the listing and trading of each new series of Managed
Fund Shares, the Exchange believes that it is appropriate to codify
certain rules within Rule 14.11(i) that would generally eliminate the
need for separate proposed rule changes. The Exchange believes that
this would facilitate the listing and trading of additional types of
Managed Fund Shares that have investment portfolios that are similar to
investment portfolios for Index Fund Shares, which have been approved
for listing and trading, thereby creating greater efficiencies in the
listing process for the Exchange and the Commission. In this regard,
the Exchange notes that the standards proposed for Managed Fund Share
portfolios that include equity securities, Derivative Securities
Products, and Linked Securities are based in large part on the existing
equity security standards applicable to Index Fund Shares based on
either a U.S. index or portfolio or an international or global index or
portfolio found in Rule 14.11(c)(3)(A)(i) \53\ and (ii), \54\
respectively, and that the standards proposed for Managed Fund Share
portfolios that include fixed income securities are based in large part
on the existing fixed income standards applicable to Index Fund Shares
in 14.11(c)(4). Additionally, many of the standards proposed for other
types of holdings of series of Managed Fund Shares are based on
previous proposed rule changes for specific series of Managed Fund
Shares.\55\ The Exchange notes that prior to listing pursuant to
proposed amended Rule 14.11(i), an issuer would be required to
represent to the Exchange that it will advise the Exchange of any
failure by a series of Managed Fund Shares to comply with the continued
listing requirements, and, pursuant to its obligations under Section
19(g)(1) of the Exchange Act, the Exchange will surveil for compliance
with the continued listing requirements. If the Fund is not in
compliance with the applicable listing requirements, the Exchange will
commence delisting procedures under Exchange Rule 14.12.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\53\ See supra notes 28 through 32.
\54\ See supra notes 33 through 40.
\55\ See supra note 23.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With respect to the proposed addition to the criteria of Rule
14.11(i)(3)(B) to provide that the Web site for each series of Managed
Fund Shares shall disclose certain information regarding the Disclosed
Portfolio, to the extent applicable, the Exchange notes that proposed
rule changes approved by the Commission for previously-listed series of
Managed Fund Shares have similarly included disclosure requirements
with respect to each portfolio holding, as applicable to the type of
holding.\56\ With respect to the proposed exclusion of Derivative
Securities Products and Linked Securities from the requirements of
proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i)(a) and (b), the Exchange believes it is
appropriate to exclude Linked Securities as well as Derivative
Securities Products from certain component stock eligibility criteria
for Managed Fund Shares in so far as Derivative Securities Products and
Linked Securities are themselves subject to specific quantitative
listing and continued listing requirements of a national securities
exchange on which such securities are listed. Derivative Securities
Products and Linked Securities that are components of a fund's
portfolio would have been listed and traded on a national securities
exchange pursuant to a proposed rule change approved by the Commission
pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act \57\ or submitted by a national
securities exchange pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \58\ or
would have been listed by a national securities exchange pursuant to
the requirements of Rule 19b-4(e) under the Act.\59\ The Exchange also
notes that Derivative Securities Products and Linked Securities are
derivatively priced, and, therefore, the Exchange believes that it
would not be necessary to apply the proposed generic quantitative
criteria (e.g., market capitalization, trading volume, or portfolio
component weighting) applicable to equity securities other than
Derivative Securities Products or Linked Securities (e.g., common
stocks) to such products.
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\56\ See supra note 21.
\57\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
\58\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\59\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(e).
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With respect to the proposed amendment to the continued listing
requirement in Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(i) to require dissemination of an
Intraday Indicative Value at least every 15 seconds during Regular
Trading Hours, such requirement conforms to the requirement applicable
to the dissemination of the Intraday Indicative Value for Index Fund
Shares in Rule 14.11(c)(3)(C) and 14.11(c)(6)(A). In addition, such
dissemination is consistent with representations made in proposed rule
changes for issues of Managed Fund Shares previously approved by the
Commission.\60\
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\60\ See supra note 23.
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[[Page 38255]]
As proposed, pursuant to Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(c) an underlying
portfolio (excluding exempted securities) that includes fixed income
securities must include a minimum of 13 non-affiliated issuers,
provided, however, that there would be no minimum number of non-
affiliated issuers required for fixed income securities if at least 70%
of the weight of the portfolio consists of equity securities. The
Exchange notes that when evaluated in conjunction with proposed Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(b), the proposed rule is consistent with current
Rules 14.11(c)(4)(B)(i)(d) and (e) in that it provides for a maximum
weighting of a fixed income security in the fixed income portion of the
portfolio of a fund that is comparable to the existing rules applicable
to Index Fund Shares based on fixed income indexes.
With respect to the proposed amendment to Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(iii)
relating to cash and cash equivalents, while there is no limitation on
the amount of cash and cash equivalents can make up of the portfolio,
such instruments are short-term, highly liquid, and of high credit
quality, making them less susceptible than other asset classes both to
price manipulation and volatility. Further, the requirement is
consistent with representations made in proposed rule changes for
issues of Managed Fund Shares previously approved by the
Commission.\61\
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\61\ See supra note 46.
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With respect to proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(iv) relating to listed
derivatives, the Exchange believes that it is appropriate that there be
no limit to the percentage of a portfolio invested in such holdings,
provided that, in the aggregate, at least 90% of the weight of such
holdings invested in futures, exchange-traded options, and listed swaps
shall, on both an initial and continuing basis, consist of futures,
options, and swaps for which the Exchange may obtain information via
the ISG from other members or affiliates or for which the principal
market is a market with which the Exchange has a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement CSSA, calculated using the aggregate
gross notional value of such holdings. Such a requirement would
facilitate information sharing among market participants trading shares
of a series of Managed Fund Shares as well as futures and options that
such series may hold. In addition, the aggregate gross notional value
of listed derivatives based on any five or fewer underlying reference
assets shall not exceed 65% of the weight of the portfolio (including
gross notional exposures), and the aggregate gross notional value of
listed derivatives based on any single underlying reference asset shall
not exceed 30% of the weight of the portfolio (including gross notional
exposures). Such a requirement would act to limit the concentration of
any single or group of five or fewer underlying reference assets in the
portfolio. In addition, listed swaps would be centrally cleared,
reducing counterparty risk and thereby furthering investor
protection.\62\
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\62\ The Commission has noted that ``[c]entral clearing
mitigates counterparty risk among dealers and other institutions by
shifting that risk from individual counterparties to [central
counterparties (``CCPs'')], thereby protecting CCPs from each
other's potential failures.'' See Securities Exchange Act Release
No. 67286 (June 28, 2012) (File No. S7-44-10) (Process for
Submissions for Review of Security-Based Swaps for Mandatory
Clearing and Notice Filing Requirements for Clearing Agencies).
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With respect to proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(v) relating to OTC
derivatives, the Exchange believes that the limitation to 20% of a
fund's assets would assure that, to the extent that a fund holds
derivatives, the preponderance of fund investments would not be in
derivatives that are not listed and centrally cleared. The Exchange
believes that such a limitation is sufficient to mitigate the risks
associated with price manipulation because a 20% cap on OTC derivatives
will ensure that any series of Managed Fund Shares will be sufficiently
broad-based in scope to minimize potential manipulation associated with
OTC derivatives because the remaining 80% of the portfolio will consist
of instruments subject to numerous restrictions designed to prevent
manipulation, including equity securities (which, as proposed, would be
subject to market cap, trading volume, and diversity requirements,
among others), fixed income securities (which, as proposed, would be
subject to principal amount outstanding, diversity, and issuer
requirements, among others), cash and cash equivalents (which, as
proposed, would be limited to short-term, highly liquid, and high
credit quality instruments), and/or listed derivatives (which, as
proposed, 90% of the weight of futures and options will be futures and
options whose principal market is a member of ISG). With respect to
proposed Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(vi) related to a fund's use of listed or
OTC derivatives to gain exposure to individual equities and/or fixed
income securities, or to indexes of equities and/or indexes of fixed
income securities, the Exchange notes that such exposure would be
required to meet the numerical and other criteria set forth in proposed
Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(i) and 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii), respectively.
Quotation and other market information relating to listed futures
and options is available from the exchanges listing such instruments as
well as from market data vendors. With respect to centrally-cleared
swaps \63\ and non-centrally-cleared swaps regulated by the Commodity
Futures Trading Commission (the ``CFTC''),\64\ the Dodd-Frank Act
mandates that swap information be reported to swap data repositories
(``SDRs'').\65\ SDRs provide a central facility for swap data reporting
and recordkeeping and are required to comply with data standards set by
the CFTC, including real-time public reporting of swap transaction data
to a derivatives clearing organization or SEF.\66\ SDRs require real-
time reporting of all OTC and centrally cleared derivatives, including
public reporting of the swap price and size. The parties responsible
for reporting swaps information are CFTC-registered swap dealers
(``RSDs''), major swap participants, and SEFs. If swap counterparties
do not fall into the above categories, then one of the parties to the
swap must report the trade to the SDR. Cleared swaps regulated by the
CFTC must be executed on a Designated Contract Market (``DCM'') or SEF.
Such cleared swaps have the same reporting requirements as futures,
including end-of-day price, volume, and open interest. CFTC swaps
reporting requirements require public dissemination of, among other
items, product ID (if available); asset class; underlying reference
asset, reference issuer, or reference index; termination date; date and
time of execution; price, including currency; notional amounts,
including currency; whether direct or indirect counterparties include
an RSD; whether cleared or un-cleared; and platform ID of where the
contract was executed (if applicable).
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\63\ There are currently five categories of swaps eligible for
central clearing: Interest rate swaps; credit default swaps; foreign
exchange swaps; equity swaps; and commodity swaps. The following
entities provide central clearing for OTC derivatives: ICE Clear
Credit (U.S.); ICE Clear (E.U.); CME Group; LCH.Clearnet; and Eurex.
\64\ Pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act, OTC and centrally-cleared
swaps are regulated by the CFTC with the exception of security-based
swaps, which are regulated by the Commission.
\65\ The following entities are provisionally registered with
the CFTC as SDRs: BSDR LLC. Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Inc., DTCC
Data Repository, and ICE Trade Vault.
\66\ Approximately 21 entities are currently temporarily
registered with the CFTC as SEFs.
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With respect to security-based swaps regulated by the Commission,
the Commission has adopted Regulation SBSR under the Act implementing
[[Page 38256]]
requirements for regulatory reporting and public dissemination of
security-based swap transactions set forth in Title VII of the Dodd-
Frank Act. Regulation SBSR provides for the reporting of security-based
swap information to registered security-based swap data repositories
(``Registered SDRs'') or the Commission, and the public dissemination
of security-based swap transaction, volume, and pricing information by
Registered SDRs.\67\
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\67\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 74244 (February 11,
2015), 80 FR 14564 (March 19, 2015) (Regulation SBSR--Reporting and
Dissemination of Security-Based Swap Information).
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Price information relating to forwards and OTC options will be
available from major market data vendors.
The Exchange notes that a fund's investments in derivative
instruments would be subject to limits on leverage imposed by the 1940
Act. Section 18(f) of the 1940 Act and related Commission guidance
limit the amount of leverage an investment company can obtain. A fund's
investments would be consistent with its investment objective and would
not be used to enhance leverage. To limit the potential risk associated
with a fund's use of derivatives, a fund will segregate or ``earmark''
assets determined to be liquid by a fund in accordance with the 1940
Act (or, as permitted by applicable regulation, enter into certain
offsetting positions) to cover its obligations under derivative
instruments. A fund's investments will not be used to seek performance
that is the multiple or inverse multiple (i.e., 2xs or 3xs) of a fund's
broad-based securities market index (as defined in Form N-1A).\68\
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\68\ See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No. 7482 (April
29, 2015), 86 FR 25723 (May 5, 2015) (SR-NYSEArca-2014-89) (order
approving listing and trading of shares of eight PIMCO exchange-
traded funds).
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The proposed rule change is also designed to protect investors and
the public interest because Managed Fund Shares listed and traded
pursuant to Rule 14.11(i), including pursuant to the proposed new
portfolio standards, would continue to be subject to the full panoply
of Exchange rules and procedures that currently govern the trading of
equity securities on the Exchange, as further described in the Approval
Order.
The proposed rule change is also designed to protect investors and
the public interest as well as to promote just and equitable principles
of trade in that any Non-U.S. Component Stocks will each meet the
following criteria initially and on a continuing basis: (1) Have a
minimum market value of at least $100 million; (2) have a minimum
global monthly trading volume of 250,000 shares, or minimum global
notional volume traded per month of $25,000,000, averaged over the last
six months; (3) most heavily weighted Non-U.S. Component Stock shall
not exceed 25% of the equity weight of the portfolio, and, to the
extent applicable, the five most heavily weighted Non-U.S. Component
Stocks shall not exceed 60% of the equity weight of the portfolio; and
(4) each Non-U.S. Component Stock shall be listed and traded on an
exchange that has last-sale reporting. The Exchange believes that such
quantitative criteria are sufficient to mitigate any concerns that may
arise on the basis of a series of Managed Fund Shares potentially
holding 100% of its assets in Non-U.S. Component Stocks that are
neither listed on members of ISG nor exchanges with which the Exchange
has in place a CSSA because, as stated above, such criteria are either
the same or more stringent than the portfolio requirements for Index
Fund Shares that hold Non-U.S. Component Stocks and there are no such
requirements related to such securities being listed on an exchange
that is a member of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a CSSA.
Further, the Exchange has not encountered and is not aware of any
instances of manipulation or other negative impact in any series of
Index Fund Shares that has occurred by virtue of the Index Fund Shares
holding such Non-U.S. Component Stocks. As such, the Exchange believes
that there should be no difference in the portfolio requirements for
Managed Fund Shares and Index Fund Shares as it relates to holding Non-
U.S. Component Stocks that are not listed on an exchange that is a
member of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a CSSA.
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices because the
Managed Fund Shares will be listed and traded on the Exchange pursuant
to the initial and continued listing criteria in Rule 14.11(i). The
Exchange has in place surveillance procedures that are adequate to
properly monitor trading in the Managed Fund Shares in all trading
sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and
applicable federal securities laws. The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of
the Exchange, will communicate as needed regarding trading in Managed
Fund Shares and their underlying components with other markets that are
members of the ISG, including all U.S. securities exchanges and futures
exchanges on which the components are traded, or with which the
Exchange has in place a CSSA. In addition, the Exchange or FINRA on
behalf of the Exchange may obtain information regarding trading in
Managed Fund Shares and their underlying components from other markets
that are members of the ISG, including all U.S. securities exchanges
and futures exchanges on which the components are traded, or with which
the Exchange has in place a CSSA.
The Exchange also believes that the proposed rule change would
fulfill the intended objective of Rule 19b-4(e) under the Act by
allowing Managed Fund Shares that satisfy the proposed listing
standards to be listed and traded without separate Commission approval.
However, as proposed, the Exchange would continue to file separate
proposed rule changes before the listing and trading of Managed Fund
Shares that do not satisfy the additional criteria described above.
For the above reasons, the Exchange believes that the proposed rule
change is consistent with the requirements of Section 6(b)(5) of the
Act.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate
in furtherance of the purpose of the Act. Instead, the Exchange
believes that the proposed rule change would facilitate the listing and
trading of additional types of Managed Fund Shares and result in a
significantly more efficient process surrounding the listing and
trading of Managed Fund Shares, which will enhance competition among
market participants, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace.
The Exchange believes that this would reduce the time frame for
bringing Managed Fund Shares to market, thereby reducing the burdens on
issuers and other market participants and promoting competition. In
turn, the Exchange believes that the proposed change would make the
process for listing Managed Fund Shares more competitive by applying
uniform listing standards with respect to Managed Fund Shares.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
The Exchange has neither solicited nor received written comments on
the proposed rule change.
[[Page 38257]]
IV. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by
Amendment No. 5 Thereto, and Timing for Commission Action
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act \69\ provides that, after initiating
disapproval proceedings, the Commission shall issue an order approving
or disapproving the proposed rule change not later than 180 days after
the date of publication of notice of the filing of the proposed rule
change. The Commission may, however, extend the period for issuing an
order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change by not more
than 60 days if the Commission determines that a longer period is
appropriate and publishes the reasons for such determination. The
Commission determined that it was appropriate to designate a longer
period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the
proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the
proposed rule change.\70\ Accordingly, the Commission, pursuant to
Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,\71\ designated July 22, 2016, as the date
by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove the proposed
rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 5 thereto (File No. SR-BATS-
2015-100).
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\69\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
\70\ See supra note 13 and accompanying text.
\71\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
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V. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether Amendment No. 5
to the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be
submitted by any of the following methods:
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's Internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an email to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include
File Number SR-BATS-2015-100 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Brent J. Fields,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-BATS-2015-100. This file
number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help
the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's Internet Web site (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all
written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are
filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to
the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other
than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and
printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE.,
Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such filing will also be available
for inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All
comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does
not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File Number SR-BATS-2015-100 and should be
submitted on or before June 28, 2016.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\72\
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\72\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-13825 Filed 6-10-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P