Touchstone Investment Trust, et al.; Notice of Application, 12662-12663 [2017-04209]

Download as PDF 12662 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 42 / Monday, March 6, 2017 / Notices change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Electronic Comments [Investment Company Act Release No. 32515; File No. 812–14612] • 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– NYSE–2017–05 on the subject line. Paper Comments • Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES All submissions should refer to File Number SR–NYSE–2017–05. 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–NYSE– 2017–05, and should be submitted on or before March 27, 2017. For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.24 Eduardo A. Aleman, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 2017–04208 Filed 3–3–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 24 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:24 Mar 03, 2017 Jkt 241001 Touchstone Investment Trust, et al.; Notice of Application February 28, 2017. Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’). ACTION: Notice of an application for an order pursuant to: (a) Section 6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (‘‘Act’’) granting an exemption from sections 18(f) and 21(b) of the Act; (b) section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act granting an exemption from section 12(d)(1) of the Act; (c) sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act granting an exemption from sections 17(a)(1), 17(a)(2) and 17(a)(3) of the Act; and (d) section 17(d) of the Act and rule 17d–1 under the Act to permit certain joint arrangements and transactions. Applicants request an order that would permit certain registered open-end management investment companies to participate in a joint lending and borrowing facility. AGENCY: Touchstone Investment Trust, Touchstone Strategic Trust, Touchstone Variable Series Trust, Touchstone Funds Group Trust, and Touchstone Institutional Funds Trust, registered under the Act as open-end management investment companies with one or more series, and Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the ‘‘Adviser’’), registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. FILING DATES: The application was filed on February 11, 2016, and amended on July 11, 2016 and January 26, 2017. 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 March 27, 2017 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. APPLICANTS: PO 00000 Frm 00130 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090; Applicants: c/o Jill T. McGruder, 303 Broadway, Suite 1100, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steven I. Amchan, Senior Counsel, at (202) 551–6826 or David J. Marcinkus, Branch Chief, at (202) 551–6821 (Division of Investment Management, Chief Counsel’s Office). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is a summary of the application. The complete application may be obtained via the Commission’s Web site by searching for the file number, or an applicant using the Company name box, at https:// www.sec.gov/search/search.htm or by calling (202) 551–8090. ADDRESSES: Summary of the Application 1. Applicants request an order that would permit the applicants to participate in an interfund lending facility where each Fund could lend money directly to and borrow money directly from other Funds to cover unanticipated cash shortfalls, such as unanticipated redemptions or trade fails.1 The Funds will not borrow under the facility for leverage purposes and the loans’ duration will be no more than 7 days.2 2. Applicants anticipate that the proposed facility would provide a borrowing Fund with a source of liquidity at a rate lower than the bank borrowing rate at times when the cash position of the Fund is insufficient to meet temporary cash requirements. In addition, Funds making short-term cash loans directly to other Funds would earn interest at a rate higher than they otherwise could obtain from investing their cash in repurchase agreements or certain other short term money market instruments. Thus, applicants assert that the facility would benefit both borrowing and lending Funds. 3. Applicants agree that any order granting the requested relief will be subject to the terms and conditions 1 Applicants request that the order apply to the applicants and to any existing or future registered open-end management investment company or series thereof for which the Adviser or any successor thereto or an investment adviser controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser or any successor thereto serves as investment adviser (each a ‘‘Fund’’ and collectively the ‘‘Funds’’ and each such investment adviser an ‘‘Adviser’’). For purposes of the requested order, ‘‘successor’’ is limited to any entity that results from a reorganization into another jurisdiction or a change in the type of a business organization. 2 Any Fund, however, will be able to call a loan on one business day’s notice. E:\FR\FM\06MRN1.SGM 06MRN1 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 42 / Monday, March 6, 2017 / Notices asabaliauskas on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES stated in the Application. Among others, the Adviser, through a designated committee, would administer the facility as a disinterested fiduciary as part of its duties under the investment management and administrative agreements with the Funds and would receive no additional fee as compensation for its services in connection with the administration of the facility. The facility would be subject to oversight and certain approvals by the Funds’ Board, including, among others, approval of the interest rate formula and of the method for allocating loans across Funds, as well as review of the process in place to evaluate the liquidity implications for the Funds. A Fund’s aggregate outstanding interfund loans will not exceed 15% of its net assets, and the Fund’s loans to any one Fund will not exceed 5% of the lending Fund’s net assets.3 4. Applicants assert that the facility does not raise the concerns underlying section 12(d)(1) of the Act given that the Funds are part of the same group of investment companies and there will be no duplicative costs or fees to the Funds.4 Applicants also assert that the proposed transactions do not raise the concerns underlying sections 17(a)(1), 17(a)(3), 17(d) and 21(b) of the Act as the Funds would not engage in lending transactions that unfairly benefit insiders or are detrimental to the Funds. Applicants state that the facility will offer both reduced borrowing costs and enhanced returns on loaned funds to all participating Funds and each Fund would have an equal opportunity to borrow and lend on equal terms based on an interest rate formula that is objective and verifiable. With respect to the relief from section 17(a)(2) of the Act, applicants note that any collateral pledged to secure an interfund loan would be subject to the same conditions imposed by any other lender to a Fund that imposes conditions on the quality of or access to collateral for a borrowing (if the lender is another Fund) or the same or better conditions (in any other circumstance).5 5. Applicants also believe that the limited relief from section 18(f)(1) of the Act that is necessary to implement the facility (because the lending Funds are not banks) is appropriate in light of the conditions and safeguards described in the application and because the Funds would remain subject to the requirement of section 18(f)(1) that all borrowings of a Fund, including combined interfund loans and bank borrowings, have at least 300% asset coverage. 6. Section 6(c) of the Act permits the Commission to exempt any persons or transactions from any provision of the Act if such exemption is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and consistent with the protection of investors and the purposes fairly intended by the policy and provisions of the Act. Section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act provides that the Commission may exempt any person, security, or transaction, or any class or classes of persons, securities, or transactions, from any provision of section 12(d)(1) if the exemption is consistent with the public interest and the protection of investors. Section 17(b) of the Act authorizes the Commission to grant an order permitting a transaction otherwise prohibited by section 17(a) if it finds that (a) the terms of the proposed transaction are fair and reasonable and do not involve overreaching on the part of any person concerned; (b) the proposed transaction is consistent with the policies of each registered investment company involved; and (c) the proposed transaction is consistent with the general purposes of the Act. Rule 17d–1(b) under the Act provides that in passing upon an application filed under the rule, the Commission will consider whether the participation of the registered investment company in a joint enterprise, joint arrangement or profit sharing plan on the basis proposed is consistent with the provisions, policies and purposes of the Act and the extent to which such participation is on a basis different from or less advantageous than that of the other participants. 3 Under certain circumstances, a borrowing Fund will be required to pledge collateral to secure the loan. 4 Applicants state that the obligation to repay an interfund loan could be deemed to constitute a security for the purposes of sections 17(a)(1) and 12(d)(1) of the Act. 5 Applicants state that any pledge of securities to secure an interfund loan could constitute a purchase of securities for purposes of section 17(a)(2) of the Act. [FR Doc. 2017–04209 Filed 3–3–17; 8:45 am] VerDate Sep<11>2014 19:24 Mar 03, 2017 Jkt 241001 For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, under delegated authority. Eduardo A. Aleman, Assistant Secretary. BILLING CODE 8011–01–P PO 00000 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–80116; File No. SR– NYSEArca–2017–18] Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change to the Co-Location Services Offered by the Exchange Adding a Wireless Connection to Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) Third Party Data February 28, 2017. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) 1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3 notice is hereby given that, on February 15, 2017, NYSE Arca, Inc. (the ‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘NYSE Arca’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II below, which Items have been prepared by the self-regulatory organization. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of the Substance of the Proposed Rule Change The Exchange proposes to change the co-location services offered by the Exchange to include a means for colocated Users to receive the Toronto Stock Market market data feed through a wireless connection. In addition, the proposed rule change reflects changes to the NYSE Arca Options Fee Schedule (the ‘‘Options Fee Schedule’’) and, through its wholly owned subsidiary NYSE Arca Equities, Inc. (‘‘NYSE Arca Equities’’), the NYSE Arca Equities Schedule of Fees and Charges for Exchange Services (the ‘‘Equities Fee Schedule’’ and, together with the Options Fee Schedule, the ‘‘Fee Schedules’’) related to the proposed service. The proposed rule change is available on the Exchange’s Web site at www.nyse.com, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change 1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). U.S.C. 78a. 3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 2 15 Frm 00131 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 12663 E:\FR\FM\06MRN1.SGM 06MRN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 42 (Monday, March 6, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12662-12663]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-04209]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 32515; File No. 812-14612]


Touchstone Investment Trust, et al.; Notice of Application

February 28, 2017.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice of an application for an order pursuant to: (a) Section 
6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``Act'') granting an 
exemption from sections 18(f) and 21(b) of the Act; (b) section 
12(d)(1)(J) of the Act granting an exemption from section 12(d)(1) of 
the Act; (c) sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act granting an exemption 
from sections 17(a)(1), 17(a)(2) and 17(a)(3) of the Act; and (d) 
section 17(d) of the Act and rule 17d-1 under the Act to permit certain 
joint arrangements and transactions. Applicants request an order that 
would permit certain registered open-end management investment 
companies to participate in a joint lending and borrowing facility.

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

Applicants:  Touchstone Investment Trust, Touchstone Strategic Trust, 
Touchstone Variable Series Trust, Touchstone Funds Group Trust, and 
Touchstone Institutional Funds Trust, registered under the Act as open-
end management investment companies with one or more series, and 
Touchstone Advisors, Inc. (the ``Adviser''), registered as an 
investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Filing Dates:  The application was filed on February 11, 2016, and 
amended on July 11, 2016 and January 26, 2017.

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 March 27, 2017 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: c/o Jill T. 
McGruder, 303 Broadway, Suite 1100, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  The following is a summary of the 
application. The complete application may be obtained via the 
Commission's Web site by searching for the file number, or an applicant 
using the Company name box, at https://www.sec.gov/search/search.htm or 
by calling (202) 551-8090.

Summary of the Application

    1. Applicants request an order that would permit the applicants to 
participate in an interfund lending facility where each Fund could lend 
money directly to and borrow money directly from other Funds to cover 
unanticipated cash shortfalls, such as unanticipated redemptions or 
trade fails.\1\ The Funds will not borrow under the facility for 
leverage purposes and the loans' duration will be no more than 7 
days.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Applicants request that the order apply to the applicants 
and to any existing or future registered open-end management 
investment company or series thereof for which the Adviser or any 
successor thereto or an investment adviser controlling, controlled 
by, or under common control with the Adviser or any successor 
thereto serves as investment adviser (each a ``Fund'' and 
collectively the ``Funds'' and each such investment adviser an 
``Adviser''). For purposes of the requested order, ``successor'' is 
limited to any entity that results from a reorganization into 
another jurisdiction or a change in the type of a business 
organization.
    \2\ Any Fund, however, will be able to call a loan on one 
business day's notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. Applicants anticipate that the proposed facility would provide a 
borrowing Fund with a source of liquidity at a rate lower than the bank 
borrowing rate at times when the cash position of the Fund is 
insufficient to meet temporary cash requirements. In addition, Funds 
making short-term cash loans directly to other Funds would earn 
interest at a rate higher than they otherwise could obtain from 
investing their cash in repurchase agreements or certain other short 
term money market instruments. Thus, applicants assert that the 
facility would benefit both borrowing and lending Funds.
    3. Applicants agree that any order granting the requested relief 
will be subject to the terms and conditions

[[Page 12663]]

stated in the Application. Among others, the Adviser, through a 
designated committee, would administer the facility as a disinterested 
fiduciary as part of its duties under the investment management and 
administrative agreements with the Funds and would receive no 
additional fee as compensation for its services in connection with the 
administration of the facility. The facility would be subject to 
oversight and certain approvals by the Funds' Board, including, among 
others, approval of the interest rate formula and of the method for 
allocating loans across Funds, as well as review of the process in 
place to evaluate the liquidity implications for the Funds. A Fund's 
aggregate outstanding interfund loans will not exceed 15% of its net 
assets, and the Fund's loans to any one Fund will not exceed 5% of the 
lending Fund's net assets.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Under certain circumstances, a borrowing Fund will be 
required to pledge collateral to secure the loan.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    4. Applicants assert that the facility does not raise the concerns 
underlying section 12(d)(1) of the Act given that the Funds are part of 
the same group of investment companies and there will be no duplicative 
costs or fees to the Funds.\4\ Applicants also assert that the proposed 
transactions do not raise the concerns underlying sections 17(a)(1), 
17(a)(3), 17(d) and 21(b) of the Act as the Funds would not engage in 
lending transactions that unfairly benefit insiders or are detrimental 
to the Funds. Applicants state that the facility will offer both 
reduced borrowing costs and enhanced returns on loaned funds to all 
participating Funds and each Fund would have an equal opportunity to 
borrow and lend on equal terms based on an interest rate formula that 
is objective and verifiable. With respect to the relief from section 
17(a)(2) of the Act, applicants note that any collateral pledged to 
secure an interfund loan would be subject to the same conditions 
imposed by any other lender to a Fund that imposes conditions on the 
quality of or access to collateral for a borrowing (if the lender is 
another Fund) or the same or better conditions (in any other 
circumstance).\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Applicants state that the obligation to repay an interfund 
loan could be deemed to constitute a security for the purposes of 
sections 17(a)(1) and 12(d)(1) of the Act.
    \5\ Applicants state that any pledge of securities to secure an 
interfund loan could constitute a purchase of securities for 
purposes of section 17(a)(2) of the Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    5. Applicants also believe that the limited relief from section 
18(f)(1) of the Act that is necessary to implement the facility 
(because the lending Funds are not banks) is appropriate in light of 
the conditions and safeguards described in the application and because 
the Funds would remain subject to the requirement of section 18(f)(1) 
that all borrowings of a Fund, including combined interfund loans and 
bank borrowings, have at least 300% asset coverage.
    6. Section 6(c) of the Act permits the Commission to exempt any 
persons or transactions from any provision of the Act if such exemption 
is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and consistent with 
the protection of investors and the purposes fairly intended by the 
policy and provisions of the Act. Section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act 
provides that the Commission may exempt any person, security, or 
transaction, or any class or classes of persons, securities, or 
transactions, from any provision of section 12(d)(1) if the exemption 
is consistent with the public interest and the protection of investors. 
Section 17(b) of the Act authorizes the Commission to grant an order 
permitting a transaction otherwise prohibited by section 17(a) if it 
finds that (a) the terms of the proposed transaction are fair and 
reasonable and do not involve overreaching on the part of any person 
concerned; (b) the proposed transaction is consistent with the policies 
of each registered investment company involved; and (c) the proposed 
transaction is consistent with the general purposes of the Act. Rule 
17d-1(b) under the Act provides that in passing upon an application 
filed under the rule, the Commission will consider whether the 
participation of the registered investment company in a joint 
enterprise, joint arrangement or profit sharing plan on the basis 
proposed is consistent with the provisions, policies and purposes of 
the Act and the extent to which such participation is on a basis 
different from or less advantageous than that of the other 
participants.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-04209 Filed 3-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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