Aquila Funds Trust, et al., 14299-14300 [2018-06661]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 3, 2018 / Notices that appropriate arrangements can be made. Thirty-five hard copies of each presentation or handout should be provided to the DFO thirty minutes before the meeting. In addition, one electronic copy of each presentation should be emailed to the DFO one day before the meeting. If an electronic copy cannot be provided within this timeframe, presenters should provide the DFO with a CD containing each presentation at least thirty minutes before the meeting. Electronic recordings will be permitted only during those portions of the meeting that are open to the public. Detailed procedures for the conduct of and participation in ACRS meetings were published in the Federal Register on October 4, 2017 (82 FR 46312). Detailed meeting agendas and meeting transcripts are available on the NRC website at https://www.nrc.gov/readingrm/doc-collections/acrs. Information regarding topics to be discussed, changes to the agenda, whether the meeting has been canceled or rescheduled, and the time allotted to present oral statements can be obtained from the website cited above or by contacting the identified DFO. Moreover, in view of the possibility that the schedule for ACRS meetings may be adjusted by the Chairman as necessary to facilitate the conduct of the meeting, persons planning to attend should check with these references if such rescheduling would result in a major inconvenience. If attending this meeting, please enter through the One White Flint North building, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, Maryland 20852. After registering with Security, please contact Theron Brown (Telephone 301–415– 6702) to be escorted to the meeting room. Dated: March 20, 2018. Mark L. Banks, Chief, Technical Support Branch, Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards. [FR Doc. 2018–06709 Filed 4–2–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590–01–P amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES POSTAL SERVICE Temporary Emergency Committee of the Board of Governors; Sunshine Act Meeting Tuesday, April 10, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. PLACE: Washington, DC. STATUS: Closed. MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: TIME AND DATE: VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:47 Apr 02, 2018 Jkt 244001 Tuesday, April 10, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. 1. Strategic Issues. 2. Financial Matters. 3. Personnel and Compensation Items. 4. Executive Session—Discussion of prior agenda items and Temporary Emergency Committee governance. GENERAL COUNSEL CERTIFICATION: The General Counsel of the United States Postal Service has certified that the meeting may be closed under the Government in the Sunshine Act. CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: Julie S. Moore, Secretary of the Board, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Washington, DC 20260–1000. Telephone: (202) 268–4800. Julie S. Moore, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2018–06886 Filed 3–30–18; 4:15 pm] BILLING CODE 7710–12–P 14299 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 April 23, 2018 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. Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC, 20549–1090; Applicants: Aquila Investment Management LLC, 120 West 45th Street, Suite 3600, New York, New York 10036. ADDRESSES: SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Investment Company Act Release No. 33061; File No. 812–14321] Aquila Funds Trust, et al. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: March 28, 2018. Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’). ACTION: Notice. AGENCY: 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: Aquila Funds Trust (‘‘AFT’’), Aquila Municipal Trust (‘‘AMT’’) and The Cascades Trust (‘‘Cascades’’ and together with AFT and AMT, each a ‘‘Trust’’), each registered under the Act as an open-end management investment company, and Aquila Investment Management LLC (the ‘‘Adviser’’), a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Filing Dates: The application was filed on June 9, 2014 and amended on September 26, 2017, January 30, 2018, and March 21, 2018. PO 00000 Frm 00062 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Barbara T. Heussler, Senior Counsel, at (202) 551–6990, or Robert H. Shapiro, Branch Chief, at (202) 551–6821 (Division of Investment Management, Chief Counsel’s Office). The following is a summary of the application. The complete application may be obtained via the Commission’s website 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 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 1 Applicants request that the order also apply to any existing or future series of the Trusts and any existing or future registered open-end management investment company or series thereof (each a ‘‘Fund’’ and collectively the ‘‘Funds’’) for which the Adviser, or an entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser or any successor thereto serves as investment adviser (each such entity included in the term ‘‘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. E:\FR\FM\03APN1.SGM 03APN1 14300 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 64 / Tuesday, April 3, 2018 / Notices amozie on DSK30RV082PROD with NOTICES 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 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 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 2 Any Fund, however, will be able to call a loan on one business day’s notice. 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. VerDate Sep<11>2014 16:47 Apr 02, 2018 Jkt 244001 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 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. PO 00000 Frm 00063 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 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. Robert Errett, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. 2018–06661 Filed 4–2–18; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34–82960; File No. SR–ICC– 2018–002] Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE Clear Credit LLC; Order Approving Proposed Rule Change Relating to ICC’s End-of-Day Price Discovery Policies and Procedures March 28, 2018. I. Introduction On January 26, 2018, ICE Clear Credit LLC (‘‘ICC’’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’),1 a proposed rule change (SR–ICC–2018–002) to revise its End-of-Day Price Discovery Policies and Procedures (‘‘Pricing Policy’’) with respect to the bid-offer width (‘‘BOW’’) methodology applicable to single-name (‘‘SN’’) instruments. The proposed rule change was published for comment in the Federal Register on February 12, 2018.2 The Commission did not receive comments on the proposed rule change. For the reasons discussed below, the Commission is approving the proposed rule change.3 II. Description of the Proposed Rule Change ICC proposes to revise its Pricing Policy to amend the methodology used to calculate end-of-day BOWs for its SN instruments. As part of its end-of-day pricing process, ICC calculates a BOW for each clearing-eligible instrument. These BOWs are then used as an input in determining end-of-day levels, which are used for mark-to-market and risk 1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). Exchange Act Release No. 34–82641 (February 6, 2018), 83 FR 6078 (February 12, 2016) (SR–ICC–2018–002) (‘‘Notice’’). 3 Capitalized terms used herein but not otherwise defined have the meaning set forth in the ICC rulebook, which is available at https:// www.theice.com/publicdocs/clear_credit/ICE_ Clear_Credit_Rules.pdf, or in the Pricing Policy. 2 Securities E:\FR\FM\03APN1.SGM 03APN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 64 (Tuesday, April 3, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14299-14300]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-06661]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 33061; File No. 812-14321]


Aquila Funds Trust, et al.

March 28, 2018.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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

    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: Aquila Funds Trust (``AFT''), Aquila Municipal Trust 
(``AMT'') and The Cascades Trust (``Cascades'' and together with AFT 
and AMT, each a ``Trust''), each registered under the Act as an open-
end management investment company, and Aquila Investment Management LLC 
(the ``Adviser''), a registered investment adviser under the Investment 
Advisers Act of 1940.
    Filing Dates: The application was filed on June 9, 2014 and amended 
on September 26, 2017, January 30, 2018, and March 21, 2018.
    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 April 23, 2018 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: Aquila Investment 
Management LLC, 120 West 45th Street, Suite 3600, New York, New York 
10036.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara T. Heussler, Senior Counsel, 
at (202) 551-6990, or Robert H. Shapiro, 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 website 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

[[Page 14300]]

the loans' duration will be no more than 7 days.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Applicants request that the order also apply to any existing 
or future series of the Trusts and any existing or future registered 
open-end management investment company or series thereof (each a 
``Fund'' and collectively the ``Funds'') for which the Adviser, or 
an entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with 
the Adviser or any successor thereto serves as investment adviser 
(each such entity included in the term ``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 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 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.
Robert Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-06661 Filed 4-2-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.