Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Listing and Trading of Shares of the American Century Diversified Municipal Bond ETF Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E, 45168-45175 [2018-19146]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 172 / Wednesday, September 5, 2018 / Notices
or appropriate in furtherance of the
purposes of the Act. Rather, the
Exchange believes that the proposed
rule change is evidence of the
competitive forces in the equities
markets. The Exchange originally
launched the Nasdaq Closing Cross in
2004 with a ten minute cutoff period
where Participants would no longer
have the ability to enter additional
MOC/LOC Orders, and would have
limited ability to interact with their
already entered orders. While the
Exchange launched functionality last
year to accept LOC Orders up to five
minutes before the execution of the
Nasdaq Closing Cross, these orders are
subject to conditions that may not
appeal to all market participants.
Meanwhile, exchanges that have
launched closing auctions more recently
have typically adopted them with
shorter cutoff periods. The Exchange
believes that the market participants
that trade in the Nasdaq Closing Cross,
which determines the Nasdaq Official
Closing Price for all Nasdaq listed
stocks, would similarly benefit from a
shorter cutoff period. The proposed
cutoff times would apply equally to all
Participants and reflects the current
market environment where trading is
increasingly more automated and
efficient, and where competing
exchanges already offer later cutoff
times than those currently in place on
Nasdaq. The Exchange believes that the
proposed changes to the Order
Imbalance Indicator similarly reflect the
current competitive environment as the
Exchange’s changes are designed to
continue to provide complete and
timely information to the market, to the
benefit of Participants that trade on
Nasdaq. The proposed changes to the
Order Imbalance Indicator, like the
changes being made to the cutoff times,
will apply equally to all Participants.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were either
solicited or received.
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 45 days of the date of
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register or within such longer period
up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may
designate if it finds such longer period
to be appropriate and publishes its
reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which
the self-regulatory organization
consents, the Commission will:
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(A) By order approve or disapprove
such proposed rule change, or
(B) institute proceedings to determine
whether the proposed rule change
should be disapproved.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.30
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant 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. 2018–19148 Filed 9–4–18; 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–
NASDAQ–2018–068 on the subject line.
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE
Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed
Rule Change Relating to Listing and
Trading of Shares of the American
Century Diversified Municipal Bond
ETF Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–E
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–NASDAQ–2018–068. 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 website (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 website 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 the
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change.
Persons submitting comments are
cautioned that we do not redact or edit
personal identifying information from
comment submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish
to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NASDAQ–2018–068 and
should be submitted on or before
September 26, 2018.
August 29, 2018.
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BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–83982; File No. SR–
NYSEArca–2018–62]
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 August
17, 2018, 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 Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to list and
trade shares of the American Century
Diversified Municipal Bond ETF under
NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–E (‘‘Managed
Fund Shares’’). The proposed rule
change is available on the Exchange’s
website 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
and discussed any comments it received
on the proposed rule change. The text
of those statements may be examined at
30 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 15 U.S.C. 78a.
3 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
1 15
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the places specified in Item IV 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
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to list and
trade shares (‘‘Shares’’) of the American
Century Diversified Municipal Bond
ETF (‘‘Fund’’) under NYSE Arca Rule
8.600–E,4 which governs the listing and
trading of Managed Fund Shares.5 The
Shares will be offered by the American
Century ETF Trust (the ‘‘Trust’’), which
is registered with the Commission as an
open-end management investment
company.6 The Fund is a series of the
Trust.
4 The Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) has approved Exchange listing and
trading shares of actively managed funds that
principally hold municipal bonds. See, e.g.,
Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 60981
(November 10, 2009), 74 FR 59594 (November 18,
2009) (SR–NYSEArca–2009–79) (order approving
listing and trading of shares of the PIMCO ShortTerm Municipal Bond Strategy Fund and PIMCO
Intermediate Municipal Bond Strategy Fund); 79293
(November 10, 2016), 81 FR 81189 (November 17,
2016) (SR–NYSEArca–2016–107) (order approving
listing and trading of shares of Cumberland
Municipal Bond ETF under Rule 8.600); 80865
(June 6, 2017), 82 FR 26970 (June 12, 2017) (order
approving listing and trading of shares of the
Franklin Liberty Intermediate Municipal
Opportunities ETF and Franklin Liberty Municipal
Bond ETF under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600);
80885 (June 8, 2017), 82 FR 27302 (June 14, 2017)
(order approving listing and trading of shares of the
IQ Municipal Insured ETF, IQ Municipal Short
Duration ETF, and IQ Municipal Intermediate ETF
under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600); 82166
(November 29, 2017), 82 FR 57497 (December 5,
2017) (SR–NYSEArca–2017–90) (order approving
listing and trading of shares of the Hartford
Municipal Opportunities ETF Under NYSE Arca
Rule 8.600–E). The Commission also has approved
listing and trading on the Exchange of shares of the
SPDR Nuveen S&P High Yield Municipal Bond
Fund under Commentary .02 of NYSE Arca Equities
Rule 5.2(j)(3). See Securities Exchange Act Release
No.63881 (February 9, 2011), 76 FR 9065 (February
16, 2011) (SR–NYSEArca–2010–120).
5 A Managed Fund Share is a security that
represents an interest in an investment company
registered under the Investment Company Act of
1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–1) (‘‘1940 Act’’) organized as
an open-end investment company or similar entity
that invests in a portfolio of securities selected by
its investment adviser consistent with its
investment objectives and policies. In contrast, an
open-end investment company that issues
Investment Company Units, listed and traded on
the Exchange under NYSE Arca Rule 5.2–E(j)(3),
seeks to provide investment results that correspond
generally to the price and yield performance of a
specific foreign or domestic stock index, fixed
income securities index or combination thereof.
6 The Trust is registered under the 1940 Act. On
June 22, 2018, the Trust filed with the Commission
its registration statement on Form N–1A under the
Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a) (‘‘Securities
Act’’), and under the 1940 Act relating to the Fund
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American Century Investment
Management, Inc. will be the Fund’s
investment adviser (‘‘Adviser’’).
Foreside Fund Services, LLC will be the
Fund’s distributor. State Street Bank
and Trust Company will serve as
transfer agent for the Fund.
Commentary .06 to Rule 8.600–E
provides that, if the investment adviser
to the investment company issuing
Managed Fund Shares is affiliated with
a broker-dealer, such investment adviser
shall erect a ‘‘fire wall’’ between the
investment adviser and the brokerdealer with respect to access to
information concerning the composition
and/or changes to such investment
company portfolio.7 In addition,
Commentary .06 further requires that
personnel who make decisions on the
open-end fund’s portfolio composition
must be subject to procedures designed
to prevent the use and dissemination of
material nonpublic information
regarding the open-end fund’s portfolio.
The Adviser is not registered as a
broker-dealer but is affiliated with a
broker-dealer, and has implemented a
‘‘fire wall’’ with respect to such brokerdealer affiliate regarding access to
information concerning the composition
of and/or changes to the Fund’s
portfolio. In addition, personnel who
make decisions on the Fund’s portfolio
composition must be subject to
procedures designed to prevent the use
(File Nos. 333–221045 and 811–23305)
(‘‘Registration Statement’’). The description of the
operation of the Trust and the Fund herein is based,
in part, on the Registration Statement. In addition,
the Commission has issued an order granting
certain exemptive relief to the Trust under the 1940
Act. See Investment Company Act Release No.
32871 (October 25, 2017) (File No. 812–14793)
(‘‘Exemptive Order’’).
7 An investment adviser to an open-end fund is
required to be registered under the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940 (the ‘‘Advisers Act’’). As a
result, the Adviser and its related personnel are
subject to the provisions of Rule 204A–1 under the
Advisers Act relating to codes of ethics. This Rule
requires investment advisers to adopt a code of
ethics that reflects the fiduciary nature of the
relationship to clients as well as compliance with
other applicable securities laws. Accordingly,
procedures designed to prevent the communication
and misuse of non-public information by an
investment adviser must be consistent with Rule
204A–1 under the Advisers Act. In addition, Rule
206(4)–7 under the Advisers Act makes it unlawful
for an investment adviser to provide investment
advice to clients unless such investment adviser has
(i) adopted and implemented written policies and
procedures reasonably designed to prevent
violation, by the investment adviser and its
supervised persons, of the Advisers Act and the
Commission rules adopted thereunder; (ii)
implemented, at a minimum, an annual review
regarding the adequacy of the policies and
procedures established pursuant to subparagraph (i)
above and the effectiveness of their
implementation; and (iii) designated an individual
(who is a supervised person) responsible for
administering the policies and procedures adopted
under subparagraph (i) above.
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45169
and dissemination of material, nonpublic information regarding the Fund’s
portfolio. In the event (a) the Adviser
becomes registered as a broker-dealer or
newly affiliated with a broker-dealer, or
(b) any new adviser to the Fund is a
registered broker-dealer or becomes
affiliated with a broker-dealer, the
applicable adviser will implement and
maintain a fire wall with respect to its
relevant personnel or broker-dealer
affiliate regarding access to information
concerning the composition and/or
changes to the Fund’s portfolio, and will
be subject to procedures designed to
prevent the use and dissemination of
material non-public information
regarding such portfolio.
American Century Diversified
Municipal Bond ETF
According to the Registration
Statement, the Fund will seek current
income that is exempt from federal
income tax. The Fund will invest in
municipal and other debt securities.
Under normal market conditions,8 the
Fund will invest at least 80% of the
Fund’s net assets in municipal
securities (‘‘Municipal Securities’’).9
According to the Registration
Statement, the Fund may invest in
Municipal Securities which, for
purposes of this filing, are the following:
• General obligation bonds
• Revenue (or limited obligation) bonds
• Private activity (or industrial
development) bonds
• Municipal notes
• Municipal warrants
• Municipal lease obligations
• Zero-coupon municipal securities
• Municipal tobacco bonds
The Fund may purchase new issues of
Municipal Securities on a when-issued
or forward commitment basis.
The Municipal Securities in which
the Fund invests may be fixed, variable
or floating rate securities.
Other Investments
While the Fund, under normal market
conditions, will invest at least 80% of
its net assets in Municipal Securities as
described above, the Fund may, under
normal market conditions, invest up to
20% of its net assets in the aggregate in
the securities and financial instruments
described below.
8 The term ‘‘normal market conditions’’ is defined
in NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–E(c)(5).
9 Municipal securities primarily include debt
obligations are issued by or on behalf of the District
of Columbia, states, territories, commonwealths and
possessions of the United States and their political
subdivisions (e.g., cities, towns, counties, school
districts, authorities and commissions) and
agencies, authorities and instrumentalities.
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 172 / Wednesday, September 5, 2018 / Notices
The Fund may hold cash and cash
equivalents.10 In addition, the Fund
may hold the following fixed income
securities with maturities of three
months or more: Securities issued or
guaranteed by the U.S. government and
its agencies and instrumentalities;
commercial paper; bankers’
acceptances; notes; bonds (other than
bonds that are Municipal Securities);
debentures; repurchase agreements;
money market funds; and certificates of
deposit.
The Fund may hold the following
derivative instruments: U.S. Treasury
futures contracts; interest rate futures;
futures on fixed income securities or
fixed income securities indexes; and
exchange-traded and over-the-counter
(‘‘OTC’’) credit default swaps, interest
rate swaps, swaps on fixed income
securities, and swaps on fixed income
securities indexes.
The Fund may hold structured notes.
The Fund may hold inverse floaters.
The Fund may hold variable or
floating rate fixed income securities
(other than variable or floating rate
Municipal Securities).
The Fund may purchase zero-coupon
debt securities (other than zero-coupon
Municipal Securities).
The Fund may purchase step-coupon
or step-rate debt securities.
The Fund may purchase pay-in-kind
securities.
The Fund may engage in short sales
in any of the securities or financial
instruments in which it may invest.
The Fund will not invest in securities
or other financial instruments that have
not been described in this proposed rule
change.
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Creations and Redemptions of Shares
According to the Registration
Statement, the consideration for
purchase of Creation Units of the Fund
generally will consist of cash.
Alternatively, Creation Units may at
times be offered in exchange for
‘‘Deposit Securities’’ (i.e., the in-kind
deposit of a designated portfolio of
securities) and the Cash Component as
described below. Together, the Deposit
Securities and the Cash Component
constitute the ‘‘Fund Deposit.’’ The
Fund Deposit represents the minimum
initial and subsequent investment
amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund.
The ‘‘Cash Component’’ is an amount
equal to the difference between the net
asset value (‘‘NAV’’) of the Shares (per
Creation Unit) and the ‘‘Deposit
Amount,’’ which is an amount equal to
10 For purposes of this filing, the term ‘‘cash
equivalents’’ has the meaning specified in
Commentary .01(c) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–E.
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17:04 Sep 04, 2018
Jkt 244001
the market value of the Deposit
Securities, and serves to compensate for
any differences between the NAV per
Creation Unit and the Deposit Amount.
The size of a Creation Unit will be
50,000 Shares, which is subject to
change; however, the size of a Creation
Unit will not exceed 100,000 Shares.
When partial or full cash purchases of
Creation Units are available or specified
for the Fund, they will be effected in
essentially the same manner as in-kind
purchases thereof. In the case of a
partial or full cash purchase, the
‘‘Authorized Participant’’ (as described
below) must pay the cash equivalent of
the Deposit Securities it would
otherwise be required to provide
through the in-kind purchase, plus the
same Cash Component required to be
paid by an in-kind purchaser.
The Adviser will make available
through the NSCC on each business day
prior to the opening of business on the
Exchange, the list of names and the
required number of shares of each
Deposit Security and the amount of the
Cash Component (if any) to be included
in the current Fund Deposit.
The Fund reserves the right to permit
or require the substitution of a ‘‘cash in
lieu’’ amount to be added to the Cash
Component to replace any Deposit
Security that may not be available in
sufficient quantity for delivery or that
may not be eligible for transfer through
the facilities of the Depository Trust
Company (‘‘DTC’’) or the clearing
process through the Continuous Net
Settlement System of the National
Securities Clearing Corporation
(‘‘NSCC’’) (‘‘NSCC Clearing Process’’), or
that the Authorized Participant is not
able to trade due to a trading
restriction.11
An Authorized Participant must
submit an irrevocable order to purchase
Shares of the Fund, in proper form, no
later than two hours prior to the closing
time of the Core Trading Session of the
Exchange (normally 2 p.m., Eastern time
(‘‘E.T.’’)), on any business day to receive
that day’s NAV.
To be eligible to place orders and to
create a Creation Unit of the Fund, an
entity must be: (i) A ‘‘Participating
Party,’’ i.e., a broker-dealer or other
participant in the NSCC Clearing
Process, or (ii) a DTC Participant, and,
in either case, must have executed an
agreement with the distributor with
respect to creations and redemptions of
Creation Units (Authorized Participant
Agreement). A Participating Party or
11 The Adviser represents that, to the extent the
Trust effects the creation or redemption of Shares
wholly or partially in cash, such transactions will
be effected in the same manner for all Authorized
Participants.
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Frm 00083
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DTC Participant who has executed an
Authorized Participant Agreement is
referred to as an ‘‘Authorized
Participant.’’
Shares of the Fund may be redeemed
by Authorized Participants only in
Creation Units at their NAV next
determined after receipt of a redemption
request in proper form and only on a
business day.
The Adviser will make available
through the NSCC, prior to the opening
of business on the Exchange on each
business day, the designated portfolio of
securities (including any portion of such
securities for which cash may be
substituted) that will be applicable to
redemption requests received in proper
form on that day (Fund Securities), and
an amount of cash as described below
(Cash Amount) (if any).
Unless cash redemptions are available
or specified for the Fund, the
redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit
generally will consist of Fund
Securities, plus the Cash Amount,
which is an amount equal to the
difference between the NAV of the
Shares being redeemed, as next
determined after the receipt of a
redemption request in proper form, and
the value of Fund Securities, less a
redemption transaction fee.
When partial or full cash redemptions
of Creation Units are available or
specified, they will be effected in
essentially the same manner as in-kind
purchases thereof. In the case of a
partial or full cash redemption, the
Authorized Participant receives the cash
equivalent of the Fund Securities it
would otherwise receive through an inkind redemption, plus the same Cash
Amount to be paid to an in-kind
redeemer.12
Redemption requests for Creation
Units of the Fund must be submitted to
the transfer agent by or through an
Authorized Participant. An Authorized
Participant must submit an irrevocable
request to redeem Shares no later than
two hours prior to the closing of the
regular trading session of the Exchange
(normally 2:00 p.m., E.T.) on any
business day, in order to receive that
day’s NAV.
Availability of Information
The Fund will disclose on the Fund’s
website (www.americancenturyetfs.com)
at the start of each business day the
identities and quantities of the
securities and other assets held by the
Fund that will form the basis of the
Fund’s calculation of its NAV on that
business day. The portfolio holdings so
disclosed will be based on information
12 See
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note 11, supra.
05SEN1
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 172 / Wednesday, September 5, 2018 / Notices
as of the close of business on the prior
business day and/or trades that have
been completed prior to the opening of
business on that business day and that
are expected to settle on the business
day.
The website for the Fund will contain
the following information, on a perShare basis, for the Fund: (1) The prior
business day’s NAV; (2) the market
closing price or midpoint of the bid-ask
spread at the time of NAV calculation
(the ‘‘Bid-Ask Price’’); and (3) a
calculation of the premium or discount
of the Bid-Ask Price against such NAV.
In addition, on each business day,
before the commencement of trading in
Shares on the NYSE Arca, the Fund will
disclose on its website the identities and
quantities of the portfolio securities and
other assets held by the Fund that will
form the basis for the calculation of
NAV at the end of the business day.
The Fund’s portfolio holdings will be
disclosed on the Fund’s website daily
after the close of trading on the
Exchange and prior to the opening of
trading on the Exchange the following
day. On a daily basis, the Fund will
disclose the information required under
NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–E (c)(2) to the
extent applicable. The website
information will be publicly available at
no charge.
The approximate value of the Fund’s
investments on a per-Share basis, the
IOPV, will be disseminated every 15
seconds during the Exchange Core
Trading Session (ordinarily 9:30 a.m. to
4:00 p.m., E.T.).
Investors can also obtain the Fund’s
Statement of Additional Information
(‘‘SAI’’) and shareholder reports. The
Fund’s SAI and shareholder reports will
be available free upon request from the
Trust, and those documents and Form
N–CSR may be viewed on-screen or
downloaded from the Commission’s
website at www.sec.gov. Information
regarding market price and trading
volume of the Shares will be continually
available on a real-time basis throughout
the day on brokers’ computer screens
and other electronic services.
Information regarding the previous
day’s closing price and trading volume
information for the Shares will be
published daily in the financial section
of newspapers.
Quotation and last sale information
for the Shares will be available via the
Consolidated Tape Association (‘‘CTA’’)
high-speed line, and from the national
securities exchange on which they are
listed. Quotation information from
brokers and dealers or pricing services
will be available for Municipal
Securities. Price information for money
market funds is available from the
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17:04 Sep 04, 2018
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45171
applicable investment company’s
website and from market data vendors.
Price information for exchange-traded
derivative instruments held by the Fund
is available from the applicable
exchange. Price information for certain
fixed income securities held by the
Fund is available through the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority’s
(FINRA) Trade Reporting and
Compliance Engine (‘‘TRACE’’). Price
information for certain Municipal
Securities held by the Fund is available
through the Electronic Municipal
Market Access (‘‘EMMA’’) of the
Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board
(‘‘MSRB’’). Pricing information
regarding each asset class in which the
Fund will invest will generally be
available through nationally recognized
data service providers through
subscription agreements. In addition,
the indicative optimized portfolio value
(‘‘IOPV’’)(which is the Portfolio
Indicative Value, as defined in NYSE
Arca Rule 8.600–E(c)(3)), will be widely
disseminated at least every 15 seconds
during the Core Trading Session by one
or more major market data vendors or
other information providers.13
Pre-refunded bonds will be excluded
from the above limits. The Adviser
represents that, with respect to prerefunded bonds (also known as
refunded or escrow-secured bonds, the
issuer ‘‘prerefunds’’ the bond by setting
aside in advance all or a portion of the
amount to be paid to the bondholders
when the bond is called. Generally, an
issuer uses the proceeds from a new
bond issue to buy high grade, interest
bearing debt securities, including direct
obligations of the U.S. government,
which are then deposited in an
irrevocable escrow account held by a
trustee bank to secure all future
payments of principal and interest on
the pre-refunded bonds. The escrow
would be sufficient to satisfy principal
and interest on the call or maturity date
and one would not look to the issuer for
repayment. Because pre-refunded
bonds’ pricing would be valued based
on the applicable escrow (generally U.S.
government securities), such prerefunded securities would not be readily
susceptible to market manipulation and
it would be unnecessary to apply the
diversification and weighting criteria set
forth above.
Investment Restrictions
The Fund’s investments will be
consistent with its investment goal and
will not be used to provide multiple
returns of a benchmark or to produce
leveraged returns.
Under normal market conditions,
except for periods of high cash inflows
or outflows,14 the Fund will satisfy the
following criteria:
i. The Fund will have a minimum of
20 non-affiliated issuers;
ii. No single municipal securities
issuer will account for more than 10%
of the weight of the Fund’s portfolio;
iii. No individual bond will account
for more than 5% of the weight of the
Fund’s portfolio;
iv. The Fund will limit its
investments in Municipal Securities of
any one state to 20% of the Fund’s total
assets and will be diversified among
issuers in at least 10 states;
v. The Fund will be diversified among
a minimum of five different sectors of
the municipal bond market.15
Application of Generic Listing
Requirements
The Exchange is submitting this
proposed rule change because the
portfolio for the Fund will not meet all
of the ‘‘generic’’ listing requirements of
Commentary .01 to NYSE Arca Rule
8.600–E applicable to the listing of
Managed Fund Shares. The Fund’s
portfolio will meet all such
requirements except for those set forth
in Commentary .01(b)(1).16
The Exchange believes that it is
appropriate and in the public interest to
approve listing and trading of Shares of
the Fund on the Exchange
notwithstanding that the Fund would
not meet the requirements of
Commentary .01(b)(1) to Rule 8.600–E
in that the Fund’s investments in
municipal securities will be welldiversified.
The Exchange believes that permitting
Fund Shares to be listed and traded on
the Exchange notwithstanding that less
than 75% of the weight of the Fund’s
portfolio may consist of components
with less than $100 million minimum
13 Currently, it is the Exchange’s understanding
that several major market data vendors display and/
or make widely available Portfolio Indicative
Values taken from CTA or other data feeds.
14 ‘‘Periods of high cash inflows or outflows’’ as
used herein, mean rolling periods of seven calendar
days during which inflows or outflows of cash, in
the aggregate, exceed 10% of the Fund’s net assets
as of the opening of business on the first day of
such periods.
15 The Fund’s investments in Municipal
Securities will include investments in state and
local (e.g., county, city, town) Municipal Securities
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
relating to such sectors as the following: Airports;
bridges and highways; hospitals; housing; jails;
mass transportation; nursing homes; parks; public
buildings; recreational facilities; school facilities;
streets; and water and sewer works.
16 Commentary .01(b)(1) to NYSE Arca Rule
8.600–E provides that components that in the
aggregate account for at least 75% of the fixed
income weight of the portfolio each shall have a
minimum original principal amount outstanding of
$100 million or more.
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original principal amount outstanding
would provide the Fund with greater
ability to select from a broad range of
Municipal Securities, as described
above, that would support the Fund’s
investment goal.
The Exchange believes that,
notwithstanding that the Fund’s
portfolio may not satisfy Commentary
.01(b)(1) to Rule 8.600–E, the Fund’s
portfolio will not be susceptible to
manipulation. As noted above, the
Fund’s investments, excluding prerefunded bonds, as described above,
will be diversified among a minimum of
20 non-affiliated issuers; no single
municipal securities issuer will account
for more than 10% of the weight of the
Fund’s portfolio; no individual bond
will account for more than 5% of the
weight of the Fund’s portfolio; the Fund
will limit its investments in Municipal
Securities of any one state to 20% of the
Fund’s total assets and will be
diversified among issuers in at least 10
states; and the Fund will be diversified
among a minimum of five different
sectors of the municipal bond market.
The Exchange notes that the
Commission has previously approved
an exception from requirements set
forth in Commentary .01(b) relating to
municipal securities similar to those
proposed with respect to the Fund.17
The Exchange notes that, other than
Commentary .01(b)(1) to Rule 8.600–E,
the Fund’s portfolio will meet all other
requirements of Rule 8.600–E.
Trading Halts
With respect to trading halts, the
Exchange may consider all relevant
factors in exercising its discretion to
halt or suspend trading in the Shares of
the Fund.18 Trading in Shares of the
Fund will be halted if the circuit breaker
parameters in NYSE Arca Rule 7.12–E
have been reached. Trading also may be
halted because of market conditions or
for reasons that, in the view of the
Exchange, make trading in the Shares
inadvisable.
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Trading Rules
The Exchange deems the Shares to be
equity securities, thus rendering trading
17 See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos.
82974 (March 30, 2018), 83 FR 14698 (April 5,
2018) (SR–NYSEArca–2017–99) (Notice of Filing of
Amendment No. 3 and Order Granting Accelerated
Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified
by Amendment No. 3, to List and Trade Shares of
the Hartford Schroders Tax-Aware Bond ETF Under
NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–E); 82166 (November 29,
2017), 82 FR 57497 (December 5, 2017) (SR–
NYSEArca–2017–90) (Order Approving a Proposed
Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 2, to
List and Trade Shares of the Hartford Municipal
Opportunities ETF Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–
E).
18 See NYSE Arca Rule 7.12–E.
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17:04 Sep 04, 2018
Jkt 244001
in the Shares subject to the Exchange’s
existing rules governing the trading of
equity securities. Shares will trade on
NYSE Arca from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., E.T.
in accordance with NYSE Arca Rule
7.34–E (Early, Core, and Late Trading
Sessions). The Exchange has
appropriate rules to facilitate
transactions in the Shares during all
trading sessions. As provided in NYSE
Arca Rule 7.6–E, the minimum price
variation (‘‘MPV’’) for quoting and entry
of orders in equity securities traded on
NYSE Arca is $0.01, with the exception
of securities that are priced less than
$1.00 for which the MPV for order entry
is $0.0001.
The Shares of the Fund will conform
to the initial and continued listing
criteria under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–E.
Consistent with NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–
E(d)(2)(B)(ii), the Adviser will
implement and maintain, or be subject
to, procedures designed to prevent the
use and dissemination of material nonpublic information regarding the actual
components of the Fund’s portfolio. The
Exchange represents that, for initial
and/or continued listing, the Fund will
be in compliance with Rule 10A–3 19
under the Act, as provided by NYSE
Arca Rule 5.3–E. A minimum of 100,000
Shares will be outstanding at the
commencement of trading on the
Exchange. The Exchange will obtain a
representation from the issuer of the
Shares that the NAV per Share will be
calculated daily and that the NAV and
the Disclosed Portfolio will be made
available to all market participants at
the same time. The Fund’s investments
will be consistent with the Fund’s
investment goal and will not be used to
enhance leverage.
Surveillance
The Exchange represents that trading
in the Shares will be subject to the
existing trading surveillances,
administered by FINRA on behalf of the
Exchange, or by regulatory staff of the
Exchange, which are designed to detect
violations of Exchange rules and
applicable federal securities laws. The
Exchange represents that these
procedures are adequate to properly
monitor Exchange trading of the Shares
in all trading sessions and to deter and
detect violations of Exchange rules and
federal securities laws applicable to
trading on the Exchange.20
The surveillances referred to above
generally focus on detecting securities
19 17
CFR 240.10A–3.
conducts cross-market surveillances on
behalf of the Exchange pursuant to a regulatory
services agreement. The Exchange is responsible for
FINRA’s performance under this regulatory services
agreement.
20 FINRA
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
trading outside their normal patterns,
which could be indicative of
manipulative or other violative activity.
When such situations are detected,
surveillance analysis follows and
investigations are opened, where
appropriate, to review the behavior of
all relevant parties for all relevant
trading violations.
The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of
the Exchange, or both, will
communicate as needed regarding
trading in the Shares with other markets
and other entities that are members of
the Intermarket Surveillance Group
(‘‘ISG’’), and the Exchange or FINRA, on
behalf of the Exchange, or both, may
obtain trading information regarding
trading in the Shares from such markets
and other entities.21 In addition, the
Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in the Shares from
markets and other entities that are
members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement. In
addition, FINRA, on behalf of the
Exchange, is able to access, as needed,
trade information for certain fixed
income securities held by the Fund
reported to FINRA’s TRACE. FINRA
also can access data obtained from the
MSRB relating to municipal bond
trading activity for surveillance
purposes in connection with trading in
the Shares.
In addition, the Exchange also has a
general policy prohibiting the
distribution of material, non-public
information by its employees.
All statements and representations
made in this filing regarding (a) the
description of the portfolio, (b)
limitations on portfolio holdings or
reference assets, or (c) the applicability
of Exchange listing rules specified in
this rule filing shall constitute
continued listing requirements for
listing the Shares of the Fund on the
Exchange.
The issuer has represented to the
Exchange that it will advise the
Exchange of any failure by the Fund to
comply with the continued listing
requirements, and, pursuant to its
obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of the
Act, the Exchange will monitor 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
NYSE Arca Rule 5.5–E(m).
21 For a list of the current members of ISG, see
www.isgportal.org. The Exchange notes that not all
components of the Disclosed Portfolio may trade on
markets that are members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement.
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 172 / Wednesday, September 5, 2018 / Notices
Information Bulletin
Prior to the commencement of
trading, the Exchange will inform its
Equity Trading Permit Holders in an
Information Bulletin (‘‘Bulletin’’) of the
special characteristics and risks
associated with trading the Shares.
Specifically, the Bulletin will discuss
the following: (1) The procedures for
purchases and redemptions of Shares in
Creation Unit aggregations (and that
Shares are not individually redeemable);
(2) NYSE Arca Rule 9.2–E(a), which
imposes a duty of due diligence on its
Equity Trading Permit Holders to learn
the essential facts relating to every
customer prior to trading the Shares; (3)
the risks involved in trading the Shares
during the Early and Late Trading
Sessions when an updated IOPV will
not be calculated or publicly
disseminated; (4) how information
regarding the IOPV and the Disclosed
Portfolio is disseminated; (5) the
requirement that Equity Trading Permit
Holders deliver a prospectus to
investors purchasing newly issued
Shares prior to or concurrently with the
confirmation of a transaction; and (6)
trading information.
In addition, the Bulletin will
reference that the Fund is subject to
various fees and expenses described in
the Registration Statement. The Bulletin
will discuss any exemptive, no-action,
and interpretive relief granted by the
Commission from any rules under the
Act. The Bulletin will also disclose that
the NAV for the Shares will be
calculated after 4:00 p.m., E.T. each
trading day.
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
2. Statutory Basis
The basis under the Act for this
proposed rule change is the requirement
under Section 6(b)(5) 22 that an
exchange have rules that are 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, in general, to protect investors and
the public interest.
The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative
acts and practices in that the Shares will
be listed and traded on the Exchange
pursuant to the initial and continued
listing criteria in NYSE Arca Rule
8.600–E. The Exchange has in place
surveillance procedures that are
adequate to properly monitor trading in
the Shares in all trading sessions and to
deter and detect violations of Exchange
22 15
U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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17:04 Sep 04, 2018
Jkt 244001
rules and applicable federal securities
laws. The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf
of the Exchange, or both, will
communicate as needed regarding
trading in the Shares with other markets
and other entities that are members of
the ISG, and the Exchange or FINRA, on
behalf of the Exchange, or both, may
obtain trading information regarding
trading in the Shares from such markets
and other entities. In addition, the
Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in the Shares from
markets and other entities that are
members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement. In
addition, FINRA, on behalf of the
Exchange, is able to access, as needed,
trade information for certain fixed
income securities held by the Fund
reported to TRACE. FINRA also can
access data obtained from the MSRB
relating to municipal bond trading
activity for surveillance purposes in
connection with trading in the Shares.
The Adviser is not a registered brokerdealer but is affiliated with a brokerdealer. The Adviser has implemented a
‘‘fire wall’’ with respect to such brokerdealer affiliate regarding access to
information concerning the composition
of and/or changes to the Fund’s
portfolio.
The Exchange believes that it is
appropriate and in the public interest to
approve listing and trading of Shares of
the Fund on the Exchange
notwithstanding that the Fund would
not meet the requirements of
Commentary .01(b)(1) to Rule 8.600–E
in that the Fund’s investments in
municipal securities will be welldiversified. As noted above, the Fund’s
investments will be well-diversified in
that the Fund, excluding pre-refunded
bonds, as described above, will have a
minimum of 20 non-affiliated issuers;
no single municipal securities issuer
will account for more than 10% of the
weight of the Fund’s portfolio; no
individual bond will account for more
than 5% of the weight of the Fund’s
portfolio; the Fund will limit its
investments in Municipal Securities of
any one state to 20% of the Fund’s total
assets and will be diversified among
issuers in at least 10 states; and the
Fund will be diversified among a
minimum of five different sectors of the
municipal bond market. With respect to
the proposed exclusion for pre-refunded
bonds described above, generally, an
issuer uses the proceeds from a new
bond issue to buy high grade, interest
bearing debt securities, including direct
obligations of the U.S. government,
which are then deposited in an
PO 00000
Frm 00086
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
45173
irrevocable escrow account held by a
trustee bank to secure all future
payments of principal and interest on
the pre-refunded bonds. The escrow
would be sufficient to satisfy principal
and interest on the call or maturity date
and one would not look to the issuer for
repayment. Because pre-refunded
bonds’ pricing would be valued based
on the applicable escrow (generally U.S.
government securities), such prerefunded securities would not be readily
susceptible to market manipulation and
it would be unnecessary to apply the
diversification and weighting criteria set
forth above in ‘‘Investment
Restrictions.’’
The Exchange believes that permitting
Fund Shares to be listed and traded on
the Exchange notwithstanding that less
than 75% of the weight of the Fund’s
portfolio may consist of components
with less than $100 million minimum
original principal amount outstanding
would provide the Fund with greater
ability to select from a broad range of
municipal securities, as described
above, that would support the Fund’s
investment objective.
The proposed rule change is designed
to promote just and equitable principles
of trade and to protect investors and the
public interest in that the Exchange will
obtain a representation from the issuer
of the Shares that the NAV per Share
will be calculated daily and that the
NAV and the Disclosed Portfolio will be
made available to all market
participants at the same time. In
addition, a large amount of information
is publicly available regarding the Fund
and the Shares, thereby promoting
market transparency. Quotation and last
sale information for the Shares will be
available via the CTA high-speed line,
and from the national securities
exchange on which they are listed. Price
information for Municipal Securities;
cash equivalents; fixed income
securities with maturities of three
months or more (as described above);
futures; exchange-traded and OTC
swaps; structured notes; inverse floaters;
variable or floating-rate fixed income
securities (other than variable or floating
rate Municipal Securities); zero-coupon
debt securities (other than zero-coupon
Municipal Securities); step-coupon or
step-rate debt securities; and pay-inkind securities will be available from
one or more major market data vendors.
Price information for certain fixed
income securities held by the Fund is
available through the FINRA’s TRACE.
Price information for certain Municipal
Securities held by the Fund is available
through MSRB’s EMMA.
Prior to the commencement of
trading, the Exchange will inform its
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Equity Trading Permit Holders in an
Information Bulletin of the special
characteristics and risks associated with
trading the Shares. Trading in Shares of
the Fund will be halted if the circuit
breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Rule
7.12–E have been reached or because of
market conditions or for reasons that, in
the view of the Exchange, make trading
in the Shares inadvisable. Trading in the
Shares will be subject to NYSE Arca
Rule 8.600–E(d)(2)(D), which sets forth
circumstances under which Shares of
the Fund may be halted. In addition, as
noted above, investors will have ready
access to information regarding the
Fund’s holdings, the IOPV, the
Disclosed Portfolio, and quotation and
last sale information for the Shares.
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 in that
it will facilitate the listing and trading
of an additional type of activelymanaged exchange-traded product that
principally holds municipal securities
and that will enhance competition
among market participants, to the
benefit of investors and the marketplace.
As noted above, the Exchange has in
place surveillance procedures relating to
trading in the Shares and may obtain
information via ISG from other
exchanges that are members of ISG or
with which the Exchange has entered
into a comprehensive surveillance
sharing agreement. In addition, as noted
above, investors will have ready access
to information regarding the Fund’s
holdings, IOPV, Disclosed Portfolio, and
quotation and last sale information for
the Shares.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
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. The Exchange
notes that the proposed rule change will
facilitate the listing and trading of an
additional type of actively-managed
exchange-traded product that
principally holds municipal securities
and that will enhance competition
among market participants, to the
benefit of investors and the marketplace.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited
or received with respect to the proposed
rule change.
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17:04 Sep 04, 2018
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III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The Exchange has filed the proposed
rule change pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act 23 and Rule
19b–4(f)(6) thereunder.24 Because the
proposed rule change does not: (i)
Significantly affect the protection of
investors or the public interest; (ii)
impose any significant burden on
competition; and (iii) become operative
prior to 30 days from the date on which
it was filed, or such shorter time as the
Commission may designate, if
consistent with the protection of
investors and the public interest, the
proposed rule change has become
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A)
of the Act and Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii)
thereunder.25
A proposed rule change filed under
Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 26 normally does not
become operative prior to 30 days after
the date of the filing. However, pursuant
to Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii),27 the
Commission may designate a shorter
time if such action is consistent with the
protection of investors and the public
interest. The Exchange has asked the
Commission to waive the 30-day
operative delay so that the proposal may
become operative immediately upon
filing. The Exchange states that waiver
of the 30-day delayed operative date is
consistent with the protection of
investors and the public interest
because the Commission has previously
approved an exception from
requirements set forth in Commentary
.01(b) relating to municipal securities
similar to those proposed with respect
to the Fund.28 Additionally, the
Exchange asserts that the waiver will
permit the prompt listing and trading of
an additional issue of Managed Fund
Shares that principally holds municipal
securities, which will enhance
competition among issuers, investment
advisers and other market participants
with respect to listing and trading of
issues of Managed Fund Shares that
hold municipal securities. The
Commission believes that waiver of the
30-day operative delay is consistent
with the protection of investors and the
23 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii).
CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6).
25 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6)(iii). As required under
Rule19b–4(f)(6)(iii), the Exchange provided the
Commission with written notice of its intent to file
the proposed rule change, along with a brief
description and text of the proposed rule change,
at least five business days prior to the date of filing
of the proposed rule change, or such shorter time
as designated by the Commission.
26 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6).
27 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6)(iii).
28 See supra note 17 and accompanying text.
24 17
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
public interest because the proposed
continued listing standards for the
Shares are substantially similar to those
applicable to others approved by the
Commission for similar funds.
Accordingly, the Commission hereby
waives the 30-day operative delay and
designates the proposed rule change
operative upon filing.29
At any time within 60 days of the
filing of such proposed rule change, the
Commission summarily may
temporarily suspend such rule change if
it appears to the Commission that such
action is necessary or appropriate in the
public interest, for the protection of
investors, or otherwise in furtherance of
the purposes of the Act. If the
Commission takes such action, the
Commission shall institute proceedings
under Section 19(b)(2)(B) 30 of the Act to
determine whether the proposed rule
change should be approved or
disapproved.
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:
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–
NYSEArca–2018–62 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.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NYSEArca–2018–62. 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 website (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
29 For purposes only of waiving the 30-day
operative delay, the Commission has also
considered the proposed rule’s impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See
15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
30 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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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 website 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
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also
will be available for inspection and
copying at the principal office of the
Exchange. All comments received will
be posted without change. Persons
submitting comments are cautioned that
we do not redact or edit personal
identifying information from comment
submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make
available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR–
NYSEArca–2018–62, and should be
submitted on or before September 26,
2018.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.31
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018–19146 Filed 9–4–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. AB 1268X]
daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with NOTICES
Chicago Terminal Railroad—
Abandonment Exemption—in Chicago,
Illinois
Chicago Terminal Railroad (CTM)
filed a verified notice of exemption
under 49 CFR 1152 subpart F—Exempt
Abandonments to abandon a less than
0.1-mile portion of the ‘‘Bloomingdale’’
line in Chicago, Ill., between N. Elston
Avenue and Union Pacific North
Avenue Yard (the Line). The Line
traverses United States Postal Service
Zip Code 60642.
CTM has certified that: (1) No local
freight traffic has moved over the Line
for at least two years; (2) there is no
overhead traffic on the Line; (3) no
formal complaint filed by a user of rail
service on the line (or a state or local
government acting on behalf of any such
user) regarding cessation of service over
the line either is pending before the
Surface Transportation Board or any
U.S. District Court or has been decided
in favor of the complainant within the
two-year period; and (4) the
requirements at 49 CFR 1105.7(c)
(environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.11
31 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
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17:04 Sep 04, 2018
Jkt 244001
(transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12
(newspaper publication), and 49 CFR
1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental
agencies) have been met.
As a condition to this exemption, any
employee adversely affected by the
abandonment shall be protected under
Oregon Short Line Railroad—
Abandonment Portion Goshen Branch
Between Firth & Ammon, in Bingham &
Bonneville Counties, Idaho, 360 I.C.C.
91 (1979). To address whether this
condition adequately protects affected
employees, a petition for partial
revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d)
must be filed.
Provided no formal expression of
intent to file an offer of financial
assistance (OFA) has been received,1
this exemption will be effective on
October 5, 2018, unless stayed pending
reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do
not involve environmental issues,2
formal expressions of intent to file an
OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),3 and
trail use/rail banking requests under 49
CFR 1152.29 must be filed by September
17, 2018. Petitions to reopen or requests
for public use conditions under 49 CFR
1152.28 must be filed by September 25,
2018,4 with the Surface Transportation
Board, 395 E Street SW, Washington, DC
20423–0001.
A copy of any petition filed with the
Board should be sent to CTM’s
representative: John D. Heffner, Clark
Hill Strasburger, 1025 Connecticut Ave.
NW, Suite 717, Washington, DC 20036.
If the verified notice contains false or
misleading information, the exemption
is void ab initio.
1 The Board modified its OFA procedures
effective July 29, 2017. Among other things, the
OFA process now requires potential offerors, in
their formal expression of intent, to make a
preliminary financial responsibility showing based
on a calculation using information contained in the
carrier’s filing and publicly available information.
See Offers of Financial Assistance, EP 729 (STB
served June 29, 2017); 82 FR 30,997 (July 5, 2017).
2 The Board will grant a stay if an informed
decision on environmental issues (whether raised
by a party or by the Board’s Office of Environmental
Analysis (OEA) in its independent investigation)
cannot be made before the exemption’s effective
date. See Exemption of Out-of-Serv. Rail Lines, 5
I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any request for a stay should
be filed as soon as possible so that the Board may
take appropriate action before the exemption’s
effective date.
3 Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing
fee, which is currently set at $1,800. See
Regulations Governing Fees for Servs. Performed in
Connection with Licensing & Related Servs.—2017
Update, EP 542 (Sub-No. 25), slip op. App. B at 13
(STB served August 8, 2018).
4 CTM states that it operated the Line pursuant to
an operating easement granted to CTM by Soo Line
Railroad Company (Soo) and that Soo continues to
the own the real estate underlying the Line. Thus,
CTM states that the right of way currently used by
the Line potentially could be appropriate for other
public purposes.
PO 00000
Frm 00088
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
45175
CTM has filed a combined
environmental and historic report that
addresses the effects, if any, of the
abandonment on the environment and
historic resources. OEA will issue an
environmental assessment (EA) by
September 10, 2018. Interested persons
may obtain a copy of the EA by writing
to OEA (Room 1100, Surface
Transportation Board, Washington, DC
20423–0001) or by calling OEA, at (202)
245–0305. Assistance for the hearing
impaired is available through the
Federal Information Relay Service
(FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339. Comments
on environmental and historic
preservation matters must be filed
within 15 days after the EA becomes
available to the public.
Environmental, historic preservation,
public use, or trail use/rail banking
conditions will be imposed, where
appropriate, in a subsequent decision.
Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR
1152.29(e)(2), CTM shall file a notice of
consummation with the Board to signify
that it has exercised the authority
granted and fully abandoned the Line. If
consummation has not been effected by
CTM’s filing of a notice of
consummation by September 5, 2019,
and there are no legal or regulatory
barriers to consummation, the authority
to abandon will automatically expire.
Board decisions and notices are
available on our website at www.stb.gov.
Decided: August 30, 2018.
By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Jeffrey Herzig,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2018–19223 Filed 9–4–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
[Docket No. FD 36214]
Rock & Rail, LLC—Acquisition and
Operation Exemption—Rail Lines of
Martin Marietta Materials, Inc.
Rock & Rail, LLC (R&R), a Class III rail
carrier, has filed a verified notice of
exemption under 49 CFR 1150.41 to
acquire and operate approximately 0.51
miles of rail line owned by Martin
Marietta Materials, Inc. (MMM), located
within MMM’s existing industry facility
in Weld County, CO, between milepost
14.97 and milepost 15.48, which
includes existing yard, switching, and
industry tracks (the Lines).
R&R states that it has reached an
agreement, pursuant to which MMM
would transfer its interests in the Lines
and other related facilities to R&R,
including a concrete ready-mix plant, a
E:\FR\FM\05SEN1.SGM
05SEN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 5, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45168-45175]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19146]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-83982; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2018-62]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Listing
and Trading of Shares of the American Century Diversified Municipal
Bond ETF Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E
August 29, 2018.
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 August 17, 2018, 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.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
\3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to list and trade shares of the American
Century Diversified Municipal Bond ETF under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E
(``Managed Fund Shares''). The proposed rule change is available on the
Exchange's website 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 and discussed any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at
[[Page 45169]]
the places specified in Item IV 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
The Exchange proposes to list and trade shares (``Shares'') of the
American Century Diversified Municipal Bond ETF (``Fund'') under NYSE
Arca Rule 8.600-E,\4\ which governs the listing and trading of Managed
Fund Shares.\5\ The Shares will be offered by the American Century ETF
Trust (the ``Trust''), which is registered with the Commission as an
open-end management investment company.\6\ The Fund is a series of the
Trust.
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\4\ The Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') has
approved Exchange listing and trading shares of actively managed
funds that principally hold municipal bonds. See, e.g., Securities
Exchange Act Release Nos. 60981 (November 10, 2009), 74 FR 59594
(November 18, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-79) (order approving listing
and trading of shares of the PIMCO Short-Term Municipal Bond
Strategy Fund and PIMCO Intermediate Municipal Bond Strategy Fund);
79293 (November 10, 2016), 81 FR 81189 (November 17, 2016) (SR-
NYSEArca-2016-107) (order approving listing and trading of shares of
Cumberland Municipal Bond ETF under Rule 8.600); 80865 (June 6,
2017), 82 FR 26970 (June 12, 2017) (order approving listing and
trading of shares of the Franklin Liberty Intermediate Municipal
Opportunities ETF and Franklin Liberty Municipal Bond ETF under NYSE
Arca Equities Rule 8.600); 80885 (June 8, 2017), 82 FR 27302 (June
14, 2017) (order approving listing and trading of shares of the IQ
Municipal Insured ETF, IQ Municipal Short Duration ETF, and IQ
Municipal Intermediate ETF under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600);
82166 (November 29, 2017), 82 FR 57497 (December 5, 2017) (SR-
NYSEArca-2017-90) (order approving listing and trading of shares of
the Hartford Municipal Opportunities ETF Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-
E). The Commission also has approved listing and trading on the
Exchange of shares of the SPDR Nuveen S&P High Yield Municipal Bond
Fund under Commentary .02 of NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(3). See
Securities Exchange Act Release No.63881 (February 9, 2011), 76 FR
9065 (February 16, 2011) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-120).
\5\ A Managed Fund Share is a security that represents an
interest in an investment company registered under the Investment
Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1) (``1940 Act'') organized as an
open-end investment company or similar entity that invests in a
portfolio of securities selected by its investment adviser
consistent with its investment objectives and policies. In contrast,
an open-end investment company that issues Investment Company Units,
listed and traded on the Exchange under NYSE Arca Rule 5.2-E(j)(3),
seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the
price and yield performance of a specific foreign or domestic stock
index, fixed income securities index or combination thereof.
\6\ The Trust is registered under the 1940 Act. On June 22,
2018, the Trust filed with the Commission its registration statement
on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a)
(``Securities Act''), and under the 1940 Act relating to the Fund
(File Nos. 333-221045 and 811-23305) (``Registration Statement'').
The description of the operation of the Trust and the Fund herein is
based, in part, on the Registration Statement. In addition, the
Commission has issued an order granting certain exemptive relief to
the Trust under the 1940 Act. See Investment Company Act Release No.
32871 (October 25, 2017) (File No. 812-14793) (``Exemptive Order'').
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American Century Investment Management, Inc. will be the Fund's
investment adviser (``Adviser''). Foreside Fund Services, LLC will be
the Fund's distributor. State Street Bank and Trust Company will serve
as transfer agent for the Fund.
Commentary .06 to Rule 8.600-E provides that, if the investment
adviser to the investment company issuing Managed Fund Shares is
affiliated with a broker-dealer, such investment adviser shall erect a
``fire wall'' between the investment adviser and the broker-dealer with
respect to access to information concerning the composition and/or
changes to such investment company portfolio.\7\ In addition,
Commentary .06 further requires that personnel who make decisions on
the open-end fund's portfolio composition must be subject to procedures
designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material nonpublic
information regarding the open-end fund's portfolio. The Adviser is not
registered as a broker-dealer but is affiliated with a broker-dealer,
and has implemented a ``fire wall'' with respect to such broker-dealer
affiliate regarding access to information concerning the composition of
and/or changes to the Fund's portfolio. In addition, personnel who make
decisions on the Fund's portfolio composition must be subject to
procedures designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material,
non-public information regarding the Fund's portfolio. In the event (a)
the Adviser becomes registered as a broker-dealer or newly affiliated
with a broker-dealer, or (b) any new adviser to the Fund is a
registered broker-dealer or becomes affiliated with a broker-dealer,
the applicable adviser will implement and maintain a fire wall with
respect to its relevant personnel or broker-dealer affiliate regarding
access to information concerning the composition and/or changes to the
Fund's portfolio, and will be subject to procedures designed to prevent
the use and dissemination of material non-public information regarding
such portfolio.
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\7\ An investment adviser to an open-end fund is required to be
registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the ``Advisers
Act''). As a result, the Adviser and its related personnel are
subject to the provisions of Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act
relating to codes of ethics. This Rule requires investment advisers
to adopt a code of ethics that reflects the fiduciary nature of the
relationship to clients as well as compliance with other applicable
securities laws. Accordingly, procedures designed to prevent the
communication and misuse of non-public information by an investment
adviser must be consistent with Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act.
In addition, Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act makes it unlawful
for an investment adviser to provide investment advice to clients
unless such investment adviser has (i) adopted and implemented
written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent
violation, by the investment adviser and its supervised persons, of
the Advisers Act and the Commission rules adopted thereunder; (ii)
implemented, at a minimum, an annual review regarding the adequacy
of the policies and procedures established pursuant to subparagraph
(i) above and the effectiveness of their implementation; and (iii)
designated an individual (who is a supervised person) responsible
for administering the policies and procedures adopted under
subparagraph (i) above.
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American Century Diversified Municipal Bond ETF
According to the Registration Statement, the Fund will seek current
income that is exempt from federal income tax. The Fund will invest in
municipal and other debt securities. Under normal market conditions,\8\
the Fund will invest at least 80% of the Fund's net assets in municipal
securities (``Municipal Securities'').\9\
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\8\ The term ``normal market conditions'' is defined in NYSE
Arca Rule 8.600-E(c)(5).
\9\ Municipal securities primarily include debt obligations are
issued by or on behalf of the District of Columbia, states,
territories, commonwealths and possessions of the United States and
their political subdivisions (e.g., cities, towns, counties, school
districts, authorities and commissions) and agencies, authorities
and instrumentalities.
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According to the Registration Statement, the Fund may invest in
Municipal Securities which, for purposes of this filing, are the
following:
General obligation bonds
Revenue (or limited obligation) bonds
Private activity (or industrial development) bonds
Municipal notes
Municipal warrants
Municipal lease obligations
Zero-coupon municipal securities
Municipal tobacco bonds
The Fund may purchase new issues of Municipal Securities on a when-
issued or forward commitment basis.
The Municipal Securities in which the Fund invests may be fixed,
variable or floating rate securities.
Other Investments
While the Fund, under normal market conditions, will invest at
least 80% of its net assets in Municipal Securities as described above,
the Fund may, under normal market conditions, invest up to 20% of its
net assets in the aggregate in the securities and financial instruments
described below.
[[Page 45170]]
The Fund may hold cash and cash equivalents.\10\ In addition, the
Fund may hold the following fixed income securities with maturities of
three months or more: Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S.
government and its agencies and instrumentalities; commercial paper;
bankers' acceptances; notes; bonds (other than bonds that are Municipal
Securities); debentures; repurchase agreements; money market funds; and
certificates of deposit.
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\10\ For purposes of this filing, the term ``cash equivalents''
has the meaning specified in Commentary .01(c) to NYSE Arca Rule
8.600-E.
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The Fund may hold the following derivative instruments: U.S.
Treasury futures contracts; interest rate futures; futures on fixed
income securities or fixed income securities indexes; and exchange-
traded and over-the-counter (``OTC'') credit default swaps, interest
rate swaps, swaps on fixed income securities, and swaps on fixed income
securities indexes.
The Fund may hold structured notes.
The Fund may hold inverse floaters.
The Fund may hold variable or floating rate fixed income securities
(other than variable or floating rate Municipal Securities).
The Fund may purchase zero-coupon debt securities (other than zero-
coupon Municipal Securities).
The Fund may purchase step-coupon or step-rate debt securities.
The Fund may purchase pay-in-kind securities.
The Fund may engage in short sales in any of the securities or
financial instruments in which it may invest.
The Fund will not invest in securities or other financial
instruments that have not been described in this proposed rule change.
Creations and Redemptions of Shares
According to the Registration Statement, the consideration for
purchase of Creation Units of the Fund generally will consist of cash.
Alternatively, Creation Units may at times be offered in exchange for
``Deposit Securities'' (i.e., the in-kind deposit of a designated
portfolio of securities) and the Cash Component as described below.
Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component constitute the
``Fund Deposit.'' The Fund Deposit represents the minimum initial and
subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund. The
``Cash Component'' is an amount equal to the difference between the net
asset value (``NAV'') of the Shares (per Creation Unit) and the
``Deposit Amount,'' which is an amount equal to the market value of the
Deposit Securities, and serves to compensate for any differences
between the NAV per Creation Unit and the Deposit Amount. The size of a
Creation Unit will be 50,000 Shares, which is subject to change;
however, the size of a Creation Unit will not exceed 100,000 Shares.
When partial or full cash purchases of Creation Units are available
or specified for the Fund, they will be effected in essentially the
same manner as in-kind purchases thereof. In the case of a partial or
full cash purchase, the ``Authorized Participant'' (as described below)
must pay the cash equivalent of the Deposit Securities it would
otherwise be required to provide through the in-kind purchase, plus the
same Cash Component required to be paid by an in-kind purchaser.
The Adviser will make available through the NSCC on each business
day prior to the opening of business on the Exchange, the list of names
and the required number of shares of each Deposit Security and the
amount of the Cash Component (if any) to be included in the current
Fund Deposit.
The Fund reserves the right to permit or require the substitution
of a ``cash in lieu'' amount to be added to the Cash Component to
replace any Deposit Security that may not be available in sufficient
quantity for delivery or that may not be eligible for transfer through
the facilities of the Depository Trust Company (``DTC'') or the
clearing process through the Continuous Net Settlement System of the
National Securities Clearing Corporation (``NSCC'') (``NSCC Clearing
Process''), or that the Authorized Participant is not able to trade due
to a trading restriction.\11\
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\11\ The Adviser represents that, to the extent the Trust
effects the creation or redemption of Shares wholly or partially in
cash, such transactions will be effected in the same manner for all
Authorized Participants.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable order to
purchase Shares of the Fund, in proper form, no later than two hours
prior to the closing time of the Core Trading Session of the Exchange
(normally 2 p.m., Eastern time (``E.T.'')), on any business day to
receive that day's NAV.
To be eligible to place orders and to create a Creation Unit of the
Fund, an entity must be: (i) A ``Participating Party,'' i.e., a broker-
dealer or other participant in the NSCC Clearing Process, or (ii) a DTC
Participant, and, in either case, must have executed an agreement with
the distributor with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation
Units (Authorized Participant Agreement). A Participating Party or DTC
Participant who has executed an Authorized Participant Agreement is
referred to as an ``Authorized Participant.''
Shares of the Fund may be redeemed by Authorized Participants only
in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a
redemption request in proper form and only on a business day.
The Adviser will make available through the NSCC, prior to the
opening of business on the Exchange on each business day, the
designated portfolio of securities (including any portion of such
securities for which cash may be substituted) that will be applicable
to redemption requests received in proper form on that day (Fund
Securities), and an amount of cash as described below (Cash Amount) (if
any).
Unless cash redemptions are available or specified for the Fund,
the redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit generally will consist of
Fund Securities, plus the Cash Amount, which is an amount equal to the
difference between the NAV of the Shares being redeemed, as next
determined after the receipt of a redemption request in proper form,
and the value of Fund Securities, less a redemption transaction fee.
When partial or full cash redemptions of Creation Units are
available or specified, they will be effected in essentially the same
manner as in-kind purchases thereof. In the case of a partial or full
cash redemption, the Authorized Participant receives the cash
equivalent of the Fund Securities it would otherwise receive through an
in-kind redemption, plus the same Cash Amount to be paid to an in-kind
redeemer.\12\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\12\ See note 11, supra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Redemption requests for Creation Units of the Fund must be
submitted to the transfer agent by or through an Authorized
Participant. An Authorized Participant must submit an irrevocable
request to redeem Shares no later than two hours prior to the closing
of the regular trading session of the Exchange (normally 2:00 p.m.,
E.T.) on any business day, in order to receive that day's NAV.
Availability of Information
The Fund will disclose on the Fund's website
(www.americancenturyetfs.com) at the start of each business day the
identities and quantities of the securities and other assets held by
the Fund that will form the basis of the Fund's calculation of its NAV
on that business day. The portfolio holdings so disclosed will be based
on information
[[Page 45171]]
as of the close of business on the prior business day and/or trades
that have been completed prior to the opening of business on that
business day and that are expected to settle on the business day.
The website for the Fund will contain the following information, on
a per-Share basis, for the Fund: (1) The prior business day's NAV; (2)
the market closing price or midpoint of the bid-ask spread at the time
of NAV calculation (the ``Bid-Ask Price''); and (3) a calculation of
the premium or discount of the Bid-Ask Price against such NAV. In
addition, on each business day, before the commencement of trading in
Shares on the NYSE Arca, the Fund will disclose on its website the
identities and quantities of the portfolio securities and other assets
held by the Fund that will form the basis for the calculation of NAV at
the end of the business day.
The Fund's portfolio holdings will be disclosed on the Fund's
website daily after the close of trading on the Exchange and prior to
the opening of trading on the Exchange the following day. On a daily
basis, the Fund will disclose the information required under NYSE Arca
Rule 8.600-E (c)(2) to the extent applicable. The website information
will be publicly available at no charge.
The approximate value of the Fund's investments on a per-Share
basis, the IOPV, will be disseminated every 15 seconds during the
Exchange Core Trading Session (ordinarily 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.,
E.T.).
Investors can also obtain the Fund's Statement of Additional
Information (``SAI'') and shareholder reports. The Fund's SAI and
shareholder reports will be available free upon request from the Trust,
and those documents and Form N-CSR may be viewed on-screen or
downloaded from the Commission's website at www.sec.gov. Information
regarding market price and trading volume of the Shares will be
continually available on a real-time basis throughout the day on
brokers' computer screens and other electronic services. Information
regarding the previous day's closing price and trading volume
information for the Shares will be published daily in the financial
section of newspapers.
Quotation and last sale information for the Shares will be
available via the Consolidated Tape Association (``CTA'') high-speed
line, and from the national securities exchange on which they are
listed. Quotation information from brokers and dealers or pricing
services will be available for Municipal Securities. Price information
for money market funds is available from the applicable investment
company's website and from market data vendors. Price information for
exchange-traded derivative instruments held by the Fund is available
from the applicable exchange. Price information for certain fixed
income securities held by the Fund is available through the Financial
Industry Regulatory Authority's (FINRA) Trade Reporting and Compliance
Engine (``TRACE''). Price information for certain Municipal Securities
held by the Fund is available through the Electronic Municipal Market
Access (``EMMA'') of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board
(``MSRB''). Pricing information regarding each asset class in which the
Fund will invest will generally be available through nationally
recognized data service providers through subscription agreements. In
addition, the indicative optimized portfolio value (``IOPV'')(which is
the Portfolio Indicative Value, as defined in NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-
E(c)(3)), will be widely disseminated at least every 15 seconds during
the Core Trading Session by one or more major market data vendors or
other information providers.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ Currently, it is the Exchange's understanding that several
major market data vendors display and/or make widely available
Portfolio Indicative Values taken from CTA or other data feeds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investment Restrictions
The Fund's investments will be consistent with its investment goal
and will not be used to provide multiple returns of a benchmark or to
produce leveraged returns.
Under normal market conditions, except for periods of high cash
inflows or outflows,\14\ the Fund will satisfy the following criteria:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ ``Periods of high cash inflows or outflows'' as used
herein, mean rolling periods of seven calendar days during which
inflows or outflows of cash, in the aggregate, exceed 10% of the
Fund's net assets as of the opening of business on the first day of
such periods.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
i. The Fund will have a minimum of 20 non-affiliated issuers;
ii. No single municipal securities issuer will account for more
than 10% of the weight of the Fund's portfolio;
iii. No individual bond will account for more than 5% of the weight
of the Fund's portfolio;
iv. The Fund will limit its investments in Municipal Securities of
any one state to 20% of the Fund's total assets and will be diversified
among issuers in at least 10 states;
v. The Fund will be diversified among a minimum of five different
sectors of the municipal bond market.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\15\ The Fund's investments in Municipal Securities will include
investments in state and local (e.g., county, city, town) Municipal
Securities relating to such sectors as the following: Airports;
bridges and highways; hospitals; housing; jails; mass
transportation; nursing homes; parks; public buildings; recreational
facilities; school facilities; streets; and water and sewer works.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pre-refunded bonds will be excluded from the above limits. The
Adviser represents that, with respect to pre-refunded bonds (also known
as refunded or escrow-secured bonds, the issuer ``prerefunds'' the bond
by setting aside in advance all or a portion of the amount to be paid
to the bondholders when the bond is called. Generally, an issuer uses
the proceeds from a new bond issue to buy high grade, interest bearing
debt securities, including direct obligations of the U.S. government,
which are then deposited in an irrevocable escrow account held by a
trustee bank to secure all future payments of principal and interest on
the pre-refunded bonds. The escrow would be sufficient to satisfy
principal and interest on the call or maturity date and one would not
look to the issuer for repayment. Because pre-refunded bonds' pricing
would be valued based on the applicable escrow (generally U.S.
government securities), such pre-refunded securities would not be
readily susceptible to market manipulation and it would be unnecessary
to apply the diversification and weighting criteria set forth above.
Application of Generic Listing Requirements
The Exchange is submitting this proposed rule change because the
portfolio for the Fund will not meet all of the ``generic'' listing
requirements of Commentary .01 to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E applicable to
the listing of Managed Fund Shares. The Fund's portfolio will meet all
such requirements except for those set forth in Commentary
.01(b)(1).\16\
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\16\ Commentary .01(b)(1) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E provides
that components that in the aggregate account for at least 75% of
the fixed income weight of the portfolio each shall have a minimum
original principal amount outstanding of $100 million or more.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange believes that it is appropriate and in the public
interest to approve listing and trading of Shares of the Fund on the
Exchange notwithstanding that the Fund would not meet the requirements
of Commentary .01(b)(1) to Rule 8.600-E in that the Fund's investments
in municipal securities will be well-diversified.
The Exchange believes that permitting Fund Shares to be listed and
traded on the Exchange notwithstanding that less than 75% of the weight
of the Fund's portfolio may consist of components with less than $100
million minimum
[[Page 45172]]
original principal amount outstanding would provide the Fund with
greater ability to select from a broad range of Municipal Securities,
as described above, that would support the Fund's investment goal.
The Exchange believes that, notwithstanding that the Fund's
portfolio may not satisfy Commentary .01(b)(1) to Rule 8.600-E, the
Fund's portfolio will not be susceptible to manipulation. As noted
above, the Fund's investments, excluding pre-refunded bonds, as
described above, will be diversified among a minimum of 20 non-
affiliated issuers; no single municipal securities issuer will account
for more than 10% of the weight of the Fund's portfolio; no individual
bond will account for more than 5% of the weight of the Fund's
portfolio; the Fund will limit its investments in Municipal Securities
of any one state to 20% of the Fund's total assets and will be
diversified among issuers in at least 10 states; and the Fund will be
diversified among a minimum of five different sectors of the municipal
bond market.
The Exchange notes that the Commission has previously approved an
exception from requirements set forth in Commentary .01(b) relating to
municipal securities similar to those proposed with respect to the
Fund.\17\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\17\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 82974 (March 30,
2018), 83 FR 14698 (April 5, 2018) (SR-NYSEArca-2017-99) (Notice of
Filing of Amendment No. 3 and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of
a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 3, to List and
Trade Shares of the Hartford Schroders Tax-Aware Bond ETF Under NYSE
Arca Rule 8.600-E); 82166 (November 29, 2017), 82 FR 57497 (December
5, 2017) (SR-NYSEArca-2017-90) (Order Approving a Proposed Rule
Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 2, to List and Trade Shares of
the Hartford Municipal Opportunities ETF Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-
E).
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The Exchange notes that, other than Commentary .01(b)(1) to Rule
8.600-E, the Fund's portfolio will meet all other requirements of Rule
8.600-E.
Trading Halts
With respect to trading halts, the Exchange may consider all
relevant factors in exercising its discretion to halt or suspend
trading in the Shares of the Fund.\18\ Trading in Shares of the Fund
will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Rule
7.12-E have been reached. Trading also may be halted because of market
conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make
trading in the Shares inadvisable.
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\18\ See NYSE Arca Rule 7.12-E.
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Trading Rules
The Exchange deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus
rendering trading in the Shares subject to the Exchange's existing
rules governing the trading of equity securities. Shares will trade on
NYSE Arca from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., E.T. in accordance with NYSE Arca Rule
7.34-E (Early, Core, and Late Trading Sessions). The Exchange has
appropriate rules to facilitate transactions in the Shares during all
trading sessions. As provided in NYSE Arca Rule 7.6-E, the minimum
price variation (``MPV'') for quoting and entry of orders in equity
securities traded on NYSE Arca is $0.01, with the exception of
securities that are priced less than $1.00 for which the MPV for order
entry is $0.0001.
The Shares of the Fund will conform to the initial and continued
listing criteria under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E. Consistent with NYSE
Arca Rule 8.600-E(d)(2)(B)(ii), the Adviser will implement and
maintain, or be subject to, procedures designed to prevent the use and
dissemination of material non-public information regarding the actual
components of the Fund's portfolio. The Exchange represents that, for
initial and/or continued listing, the Fund will be in compliance with
Rule 10A-3 \19\ under the Act, as provided by NYSE Arca Rule 5.3-E. A
minimum of 100,000 Shares will be outstanding at the commencement of
trading on the Exchange. The Exchange will obtain a representation from
the issuer of the Shares that the NAV per Share will be calculated
daily and that the NAV and the Disclosed Portfolio will be made
available to all market participants at the same time. The Fund's
investments will be consistent with the Fund's investment goal and will
not be used to enhance leverage.
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\19\ 17 CFR 240.10A-3.
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Surveillance
The Exchange represents that trading in the Shares will be subject
to the existing trading surveillances, administered by FINRA on behalf
of the Exchange, or by regulatory staff of the Exchange, which are
designed to detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal
securities laws. The Exchange represents that these procedures are
adequate to properly monitor Exchange trading of the Shares in all
trading sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules
and federal securities laws applicable to trading on the Exchange.\20\
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\20\ FINRA conducts cross-market surveillances on behalf of the
Exchange pursuant to a regulatory services agreement. The Exchange
is responsible for FINRA's performance under this regulatory
services agreement.
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The surveillances referred to above generally focus on detecting
securities trading outside their normal patterns, which could be
indicative of manipulative or other violative activity. When such
situations are detected, surveillance analysis follows and
investigations are opened, where appropriate, to review the behavior of
all relevant parties for all relevant trading violations.
The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, will
communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares with other
markets and other entities that are members of the Intermarket
Surveillance Group (``ISG''), and the Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of
the Exchange, or both, may obtain trading information regarding trading
in the Shares from such markets and other entities.\21\ In addition,
the Exchange may obtain information regarding trading in the Shares
from markets and other entities that are members of ISG or with which
the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement. In addition, FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, is able to
access, as needed, trade information for certain fixed income
securities held by the Fund reported to FINRA's TRACE. FINRA also can
access data obtained from the MSRB relating to municipal bond trading
activity for surveillance purposes in connection with trading in the
Shares.
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\21\ For a list of the current members of ISG, see
www.isgportal.org. The Exchange notes that not all components of the
Disclosed Portfolio may trade on markets that are members of ISG or
with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance
sharing agreement.
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In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the
distribution of material, non-public information by its employees.
All statements and representations made in this filing regarding
(a) the description of the portfolio, (b) limitations on portfolio
holdings or reference assets, or (c) the applicability of Exchange
listing rules specified in this rule filing shall constitute continued
listing requirements for listing the Shares of the Fund on the
Exchange.
The issuer has represented to the Exchange that it will advise the
Exchange of any failure by the Fund to comply with the continued
listing requirements, and, pursuant to its obligations under Section
19(g)(1) of the Act, the Exchange will monitor 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 NYSE Arca Rule 5.5-E(m).
[[Page 45173]]
Information Bulletin
Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its
Equity Trading Permit Holders in an Information Bulletin (``Bulletin'')
of the special characteristics and risks associated with trading the
Shares. Specifically, the Bulletin will discuss the following: (1) The
procedures for purchases and redemptions of Shares in Creation Unit
aggregations (and that Shares are not individually redeemable); (2)
NYSE Arca Rule 9.2-E(a), which imposes a duty of due diligence on its
Equity Trading Permit Holders to learn the essential facts relating to
every customer prior to trading the Shares; (3) the risks involved in
trading the Shares during the Early and Late Trading Sessions when an
updated IOPV will not be calculated or publicly disseminated; (4) how
information regarding the IOPV and the Disclosed Portfolio is
disseminated; (5) the requirement that Equity Trading Permit Holders
deliver a prospectus to investors purchasing newly issued Shares prior
to or concurrently with the confirmation of a transaction; and (6)
trading information.
In addition, the Bulletin will reference that the Fund is subject
to various fees and expenses described in the Registration Statement.
The Bulletin will discuss any exemptive, no-action, and interpretive
relief granted by the Commission from any rules under the Act. The
Bulletin will also disclose that the NAV for the Shares will be
calculated after 4:00 p.m., E.T. each trading day.
2. Statutory Basis
The basis under the Act for this proposed rule change is the
requirement under Section 6(b)(5) \22\ that an exchange have rules that
are 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, in general, to protect investors and the public interest.
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\22\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is designed to
prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices in that the
Shares will be listed and traded on the Exchange pursuant to the
initial and continued listing criteria in NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E. The
Exchange has in place surveillance procedures that are adequate to
properly monitor trading in the 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, or
both, will communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares with
other markets and other entities that are members of the ISG, and the
Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, may obtain
trading information regarding trading in the Shares from such markets
and other entities. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in the Shares from markets and other entities that
are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a
comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. In addition, FINRA, on
behalf of the Exchange, is able to access, as needed, trade information
for certain fixed income securities held by the Fund reported to TRACE.
FINRA also can access data obtained from the MSRB relating to municipal
bond trading activity for surveillance purposes in connection with
trading in the Shares. The Adviser is not a registered broker-dealer
but is affiliated with a broker-dealer. The Adviser has implemented a
``fire wall'' with respect to such broker-dealer affiliate regarding
access to information concerning the composition of and/or changes to
the Fund's portfolio.
The Exchange believes that it is appropriate and in the public
interest to approve listing and trading of Shares of the Fund on the
Exchange notwithstanding that the Fund would not meet the requirements
of Commentary .01(b)(1) to Rule 8.600-E in that the Fund's investments
in municipal securities will be well-diversified. As noted above, the
Fund's investments will be well-diversified in that the Fund, excluding
pre-refunded bonds, as described above, will have a minimum of 20 non-
affiliated issuers; no single municipal securities issuer will account
for more than 10% of the weight of the Fund's portfolio; no individual
bond will account for more than 5% of the weight of the Fund's
portfolio; the Fund will limit its investments in Municipal Securities
of any one state to 20% of the Fund's total assets and will be
diversified among issuers in at least 10 states; and the Fund will be
diversified among a minimum of five different sectors of the municipal
bond market. With respect to the proposed exclusion for pre-refunded
bonds described above, generally, an issuer uses the proceeds from a
new bond issue to buy high grade, interest bearing debt securities,
including direct obligations of the U.S. government, which are then
deposited in an irrevocable escrow account held by a trustee bank to
secure all future payments of principal and interest on the pre-
refunded bonds. The escrow would be sufficient to satisfy principal and
interest on the call or maturity date and one would not look to the
issuer for repayment. Because pre-refunded bonds' pricing would be
valued based on the applicable escrow (generally U.S. government
securities), such pre-refunded securities would not be readily
susceptible to market manipulation and it would be unnecessary to apply
the diversification and weighting criteria set forth above in
``Investment Restrictions.''
The Exchange believes that permitting Fund Shares to be listed and
traded on the Exchange notwithstanding that less than 75% of the weight
of the Fund's portfolio may consist of components with less than $100
million minimum original principal amount outstanding would provide the
Fund with greater ability to select from a broad range of municipal
securities, as described above, that would support the Fund's
investment objective.
The proposed rule change is designed to promote just and equitable
principles of trade and to protect investors and the public interest in
that the Exchange will obtain a representation from the issuer of the
Shares that the NAV per Share will be calculated daily and that the NAV
and the Disclosed Portfolio will be made available to all market
participants at the same time. In addition, a large amount of
information is publicly available regarding the Fund and the Shares,
thereby promoting market transparency. Quotation and last sale
information for the Shares will be available via the CTA high-speed
line, and from the national securities exchange on which they are
listed. Price information for Municipal Securities; cash equivalents;
fixed income securities with maturities of three months or more (as
described above); futures; exchange-traded and OTC swaps; structured
notes; inverse floaters; variable or floating-rate fixed income
securities (other than variable or floating rate Municipal Securities);
zero-coupon debt securities (other than zero-coupon Municipal
Securities); step-coupon or step-rate debt securities; and pay-in-kind
securities will be available from one or more major market data
vendors. Price information for certain fixed income securities held by
the Fund is available through the FINRA's TRACE. Price information for
certain Municipal Securities held by the Fund is available through
MSRB's EMMA.
Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its
[[Page 45174]]
Equity Trading Permit Holders in an Information Bulletin of the special
characteristics and risks associated with trading the Shares. Trading
in Shares of the Fund will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters
in NYSE Arca Rule 7.12-E have been reached or because of market
conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make
trading in the Shares inadvisable. Trading in the Shares will be
subject to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E(d)(2)(D), which sets forth
circumstances under which Shares of the Fund may be halted. In
addition, as noted above, investors will have ready access to
information regarding the Fund's holdings, the IOPV, the Disclosed
Portfolio, and quotation and last sale information for the Shares.
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 in that it will facilitate the listing and trading of
an additional type of actively-managed exchange-traded product that
principally holds municipal securities and that will enhance
competition among market participants, to the benefit of investors and
the marketplace. As noted above, the Exchange has in place surveillance
procedures relating to trading in the Shares and may obtain information
via ISG from other exchanges that are members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has entered into a comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement. In addition, as noted above, investors will have ready
access to information regarding the Fund's holdings, IOPV, Disclosed
Portfolio, and quotation and last sale information for the Shares.
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. The Exchange notes that the
proposed rule change will facilitate the listing and trading of an
additional type of actively-managed exchange-traded product that
principally holds municipal securities and that will enhance
competition among market participants, to the benefit of investors and
the marketplace.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the
proposed rule change.
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
The Exchange has filed the proposed rule change pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A)(iii) of the Act \23\ and Rule 19b-4(f)(6) thereunder.\24\
Because the proposed rule change does not: (i) Significantly affect the
protection of investors or the public interest; (ii) impose any
significant burden on competition; and (iii) become operative prior to
30 days from the date on which it was filed, or such shorter time as
the Commission may designate, if consistent with the protection of
investors and the public interest, the proposed rule change has become
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6)(iii) thereunder.\25\
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\23\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(iii).
\24\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
\25\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii). As required under Rule19b-
4(f)(6)(iii), the Exchange provided the Commission with written
notice of its intent to file the proposed rule change, along with a
brief description and text of the proposed rule change, at least
five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule
change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission.
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A proposed rule change filed under Rule 19b-4(f)(6) \26\ normally
does not become operative prior to 30 days after the date of the
filing. However, pursuant to Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii),\27\ the Commission
may designate a shorter time if such action is consistent with the
protection of investors and the public interest. The Exchange has asked
the Commission to waive the 30-day operative delay so that the proposal
may become operative immediately upon filing. The Exchange states that
waiver of the 30-day delayed operative date is consistent with the
protection of investors and the public interest because the Commission
has previously approved an exception from requirements set forth in
Commentary .01(b) relating to municipal securities similar to those
proposed with respect to the Fund.\28\ Additionally, the Exchange
asserts that the waiver will permit the prompt listing and trading of
an additional issue of Managed Fund Shares that principally holds
municipal securities, which will enhance competition among issuers,
investment advisers and other market participants with respect to
listing and trading of issues of Managed Fund Shares that hold
municipal securities. The Commission believes that waiver of the 30-day
operative delay is consistent with the protection of investors and the
public interest because the proposed continued listing standards for
the Shares are substantially similar to those applicable to others
approved by the Commission for similar funds. Accordingly, the
Commission hereby waives the 30-day operative delay and designates the
proposed rule change operative upon filing.\29\
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\26\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6).
\27\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
\28\ See supra note 17 and accompanying text.
\29\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay,
the Commission has also considered the proposed rule's impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C.
78c(f).
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At any time within 60 days of the filing of such proposed rule
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. If the Commission
takes such action, the Commission shall institute proceedings under
Section 19(b)(2)(B) \30\ of the Act to determine whether the proposed
rule change should be approved or disapproved.
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\30\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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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:
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an email to [email protected]. Please include
File Number SR-NYSEArca-2018-62 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.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2018-62. 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 website (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
[[Page 45175]]
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 website 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
a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All
comments received will be posted without change. Persons submitting
comments are cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal
identifying information from comment submissions. You should submit
only information that you wish to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2018-62, and should
be submitted on or before September 26, 2018.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\31\
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\31\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-19146 Filed 9-4-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P