Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade Shares of the iShares California Short Maturity Muni Bond ETF of the iShares U.S. ETF Trust Under Rule 14.11(i), Managed Fund Shares, 38689-38696 [2019-16855]
Download as PDF
Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 7, 2019 / Notices
Dated: August 2, 2019.
Vanessa A. Countryman,
Secretary.
Management Procedures and revised
Unsecured Credit Limits Procedures
(the ‘‘Initial Filing’’). Amendment No. 1
is intended to amend a defined term in
the confidential Unsecured Credit
Limits Procedures in Exhibit 5. The
proposed rule changes in the Initial
Filing are otherwise unchanged.
[FR Doc. 2019–16901 Filed 8–6–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–86539; File No. SR–ICEEU–
2019–012]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; ICE
Clear Europe Limited; Notice of Filing
of Partial Amendment No. 1 to
Proposed Rule Change To Revise the
ICE Clear Europe Treasury and
Banking Services Policy, Liquidity
Management Procedures, Investment
Management Procedures and
Unsecured Credit Limits Procedures
August 1, 2019.
jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
On July 5, 2019, ICE Clear Europe
Limited (‘‘ICE Clear Europe’’) filed with
the Securities and Exchange
Commission (‘‘Commission’’), pursuant
to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Act’’) 1 and Rule
19b–4 thereunder,2 proposed rule
change SR–ICEEU 2019–012 to adopt a
new Treasury and Banking Services
Policy, new Liquidity Management
Procedures, new Investment
Management Procedures, and revised
Unsecured Credit Limits Procedures.
The proposed rule change was
published for comment in the Federal
Register on July 25, 2019.3 On July 30,
2019, ICE Clear Europe filed Partial
Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule
change.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Act 4 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder 5 the
Commission is publishing notice of this
Partial Amendment No.1 to the
proposed rule change as described in
Item I below. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
comment on Partial Amendment No. 1
from interested persons.
I. Clearing Agency’s Statement of the
Terms of Substance of Partial
Amendments to the Proposed Rule
Change
ICE Clear Europe submits this partial
amendment (‘‘Amendment No. 1’’) to its
previously submitted rule changes to
adopt a new Treasury and Banking
Services Policy, new Liquidity
Management Procedures and Investment
1 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
CFR 240.19b–4.
3 Securities Exchange Act Release No. 34–86413
(July 19, 2019), 84 FR 35892 (July 25, 2019) (SR–
ICEEU–2019–012).
4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
5 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
2 17
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II. 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:
(A) By order approve or disapprove
the proposed rule change or
(B) institute proceedings to determine
whether the proposed rule change
should be disapproved.
III. 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–
ICEEU–2019–012 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–ICEEU–2019–012. 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
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38689
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 such
filings will also be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of ICE Clear Europe and on ICE
Clear Europe’s website at https://
www.theice.com/clear-europe/
regulation.
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–ICEEU–2019–012
and should be submitted on or before
August 28, 2019.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.6
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019–16853 Filed 8–6–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–86546; File No. SR–
CboeBZX–2019–068]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe
BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of
a Proposed Rule Change To List and
Trade Shares of the iShares California
Short Maturity Muni Bond ETF of the
iShares U.S. ETF Trust Under Rule
14.11(i), Managed Fund Shares
August 1, 2019.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the
‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,2
notice is hereby given that on July 19,
2019, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the
‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘BZX’’) filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(the ‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
change as described in Items I, II and III
below, which Items have been prepared
by the Exchange. The Commission is
publishing this notice to solicit
comments on the proposed rule change
from interested persons.
6 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
1 15
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 7, 2019 / Notices
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes a rule change
to list and trade shares of the iShares
California Short Maturity Muni Bond
ETF (the ‘‘Fund’’) of the iShares U.S.
ETF Trust (the ‘‘Trust’’ or the ‘‘Issuer’’)
under Rule 14.11(i) (‘‘Managed Fund
Shares’’). The shares of the Fund are
referred to herein as the ‘‘Shares.’’
The text of the proposed rule change
is also available on the Exchange’s
website (https://markets.cboe.com/us/
equities/regulation/rule_filings/bzx/), at
the Exchange’s Office of the Secretary,
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
Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for
the proposed rule change and discussed
any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of these
statements may be examined at the
places specified in Item IV below. The
Exchange has prepared summaries, set
forth in sections A, B, and C below, of
the most significant aspects of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to list and
trade the Shares under Rule 14.11(i),
which governs the listing and trading of
Managed Fund Shares on the
Exchange.3 The Fund will be an actively
managed fund. The Shares will be
offered by the Trust, which was
established as a Delaware statutory trust
on June 21, 2011. The Trust is registered
with the Commission as an open-end
investment company and has filed a
registration statement on behalf of the
Fund on Form N–1A (‘‘Registration
Statement’’) with the Commission.4
3 The Commission approved Rule 14.11(i) in
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 65225 (August
30, 2011), 76 FR 55148 (September 6, 2011) (SR–
BATS–2011–018).
4 See Registration Statement on Form N–1A for
the Trust, filed on April 11, 2019 (File Nos. 333–
179904 and 811–22649). The description of the
Fund and the Shares contained herein are based, in
part, on information in the Registration Statement.
The Commission has issued an order granting
certain exemptive relief to the Trust under the
Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–
1) (‘‘1940 Act’’) (the ‘‘Exemptive Order’’). See
Investment Company Act Release No. 29571
(January 24, 2011) (File No. 812–13601).
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Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(a) requires that
component fixed income securities that,
in the aggregate, account for at least
75% of the fixed income weight of the
portfolio must each have a minimum
principal amount outstanding of $100
million or more. The Exchange submits
this proposal because the Fund will not
meet this requirement. The Fund will,
however, meet all of the other
requirements of Rule 14.11(i).5
Description of the Shares and the Fund
BlackRock Fund Advisors is the
investment adviser (‘‘BFA’’ or
‘‘Adviser’’) to the Fund.6 State Street
Bank and Trust Company is the
administrator, custodian, and transfer
agent (‘‘Administrator,’’ ‘‘Custodian,’’
and ‘‘Transfer Agent,’’ respectively) for
the Trust. BlackRock Investments, LLC
serves as the distributor (‘‘Distributor’’)
for the Trust.
Rule 14.11(i)(7) 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
5 The Exchange notes that the Commission has
approved several proposals related to the listing
and trading of index-based municipal bond funds
focused solely on issuers from California as well as
several other single-state index-based municipal
bond funds. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act
Release Nos. 72464 (June 25, 2014), 79 FR 37373
(July 1, 2014) (SR–NYSEArca–2014–45) (order
approving proposed rule change governing the
continued listing and trading of shares of the
PowerShares Insured California Municipal Bond
Portfolio, PowerShares Insured National Municipal
Bond Portfolio, and PowerShares Insured New York
Municipal Bond Portfolio); and 82295 (December
12, 2017), 82 FR 60056 (December 18, 2017) (SR–
NYSEArca–2017–56) (order approving proposed
rule change to list and trade shares of twelve series
of investment company units, including the iShares
California Muni Bond ETF and the iShares New
York Muni Bond ETF).
6 BFA is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of
BlackRock, Inc.
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
PO 00000
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Sfmt 4703
addition, Rule 14.11(i)(7) further
requires that personnel who make
decisions on the investment company’s
portfolio composition must be subject to
procedures designed to prevent the use
and dissemination of material
nonpublic information regarding the
applicable investment company
portfolio. Rule 14.11(i)(7) is similar to
Rule 14.11(b)(5)(A)(i), however, Rule
14.11(i)(7) in connection with the
establishment of a ‘‘fire wall’’ between
the investment adviser and the brokerdealer reflects the applicable open-end
fund’s portfolio, not an underlying
benchmark index, as is the case with
index-based funds. The Adviser is not a
registered broker-dealer, but is affiliated
with multiple broker-dealers and has
implemented ‘‘fire walls’’ with respect
to such broker-dealers regarding access
to information concerning the
composition and/or changes to the
Fund’s portfolio. In addition, Adviser
personnel who make decisions
regarding the Fund’s portfolio are
subject to procedures designed to
prevent the use and dissemination of
material nonpublic information
regarding the Fund’s portfolio. In the
event that (a) the Adviser becomes
registered as a broker-dealer or newly
affiliated with another broker-dealer, or
(b) any new adviser or sub-adviser is a
registered broker-dealer or becomes
affiliated with a broker-dealer, it will
implement a fire wall with respect to its
relevant personnel or such broker-dealer
affiliate, as applicable, regarding access
to information concerning the
composition and/or changes to the
portfolio, and will be subject to
procedures designed to prevent the use
and dissemination of material nonpublic information regarding such
portfolio.
iShares California Short Maturity Muni
Bond ETF
According to the Registration
Statement, the Fund will seek to
maximize tax-free current income from
a portfolio composed of short maturity,
investment-grade municipal bonds
issued in the State of California. To
achieve its objective, the Fund will
invest, under Normal Market
Conditions,8 at least 80% of its net
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.
8 The term ‘‘Normal Market Conditions’’ includes,
but is not limited to, the absence of trading halts
in the applicable financial markets generally;
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 7, 2019 / Notices
assets in Municipal Securities, as
defined below, issued in the State of
California by or on behalf of California
state or local governments or agencies,
whose interest payments are exempt
from U.S. federal, including the federal
alternative minimum tax, and California
state income taxes. The Fund will be
classified as a ‘‘non-diversified’’
investment company under the 1940
Act.9
The Fund intends to qualify each year
as a regulated investment company (a
‘‘RIC’’) under Subchapter M of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended. The Fund will invest its
assets, and otherwise conduct its
operations, in a manner that is intended
to satisfy the qualifying income,
diversification and distribution
requirements necessary to establish and
maintain RIC qualification under
Subchapter M.
jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Principal Holdings—Municipal
Securities
To achieve its objective, the Fund will
invest, under Normal Market
Conditions, in U.S.-dollar denominated
investment-grade short-term fixed- and
floating-rate Municipal Securities, as
defined below, with remaining
maturities of five years or less.
Investment-grade securities are rated
BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings
and/or Fitch Ratings, Inc., or Baa3 or
higher by Moody’s Investors Service,
Inc., or if unrated, determined by the
Adviser to be of equivalent quality.10
Under Normal Market Conditions, the
Fund will seek to maintain a weighted
average maturity that is less than three
years.11
Municipal securities (‘‘Municipal
Securities’’) are fixed and variable rate
securities issued in the U.S. by U.S.
states and territories, municipalities and
operational issues causing dissemination of
inaccurate market information or system failures; or
force majeure type events such as natural or manmade disaster, act of God, armed conflict, act of
terrorism, riot or labor disruption, or any similar
intervening circumstance.
9 The diversification standard is set forth in
Section 5(b)(1) of the 1940 Act.
10 According to the Adviser, BFA may determine
that unrated securities are of ‘‘equivalent quality’’
based on such credit quality factors that it deems
appropriate, which may include among other
things, performing an analysis similar, to the extent
possible, to that performed by a nationally
recognized statistical ratings organization when
rating similar securities and issuers. In making such
a determination, BFA may consider internal
analyses and risk ratings, third party research and
analysis, and other sources of information, as
deemed appropriate by the Adviser.
11 Weighted average maturity is a U.S. dollarweighted average of the remaining term to maturity
of the underlying securities in the Fund’s portfolio.
For the purposes of determining the Fund’s
weighted average maturity, a security’s final
maturity date will be used for calculation purposes.
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other political subdivisions, agencies,
authorities, and instrumentalities of
states and multi-state agencies and
authorities and will include only the
following instruments: General
obligation bonds,12 limited obligation
bonds (or revenue bonds),13 municipal
notes,14 municipal commercial paper,15
tender option bonds,16 variable rate
demand notes and demand obligations
(‘‘VRDOs’’),17 municipal lease
obligations,18 stripped securities,19
structured securities,20 zero coupon
securities,21 and exchange traded and
12 General obligation bonds are obligations
involving the credit of an issuer possessing taxing
power and are payable from such issuer’s general
revenues and not from any particular source.
13 Limited obligation bonds are payable only from
the revenues derived from a particular facility or
class of facilities or, in some cases, from the
proceeds of a special excise or other specific
revenue source, and also include industrial
development bonds issued pursuant to former U.S.
federal tax law. Industrial development bonds
generally are also revenue bonds and thus are not
payable from the issuer’s general revenues. The
credit and quality of industrial development bonds
are usually related to the credit of the corporate
user of the facilities. Payment of interest on and
repayment of principal of such bonds is the
responsibility of the corporate user (and/or any
guarantor).
14 Municipal notes are shorter-term municipal
debt obligations that may provide interim financing
in anticipation of tax collection, receipt of grants,
bond sales, or revenue receipts.
15 Municipal commercial paper is generally
unsecured debt that is issued to meet short-term
financing needs.
16 Tender option bonds are synthetic floating-rate
or variable-rate securities issued when long-term
bonds are purchased in the primary or secondary
market and then deposited into a trust. Custodial
receipts are then issued to investors, such as the
Fund, evidencing ownership interests in the trust.
17 VRDOs are tax-exempt obligations that contain
a floating or variable interest rate adjustment
formula and a right of demand on the part of the
holder thereof to receive payment of the unpaid
principal balance plus accrued interest upon a short
notice period not to exceed seven days.
18 Municipal lease obligations include certificates
of participation issued by government authorities or
entities to finance the acquisition or construction of
equipment, land, and/or facilities.
19 Stripped securities are created when an issuer
separates the interest and principal components of
an instrument and sells them as separate securities.
In general, one security is entitled to receive the
interest payments on the underlying assets and the
other to receive the principal payments.
20 Structured securities are privately negotiated
debt obligations where the principal and/or interest
is determined by reference to the performance of an
underlying investment, index, or reference
obligation, and may be issued by governmental
agencies. While structured securities are part of the
principal holdings of the Fund, the Issuer
represents that such securities, when combined
with those instruments held as part of the other
portfolio holdings described below, will not exceed
20% of the Fund’s net assets.
21 Zero coupon securities are securities that are
sold at a discount to par value and do not pay
interest during the life of the security. The discount
approximates the total amount of interest the
security will accrue and compound over the period
until maturity at a rate of interest reflecting the
market rate of the security at the time of issuance.
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38691
non-exchange traded investment
companies (including investment
companies advised by BFA or its
affiliates) that invest in such Municipal
Securities.22
In the absence of Normal Market
Conditions, the Fund may temporarily
depart from its normal investment
process, provided that such departure
is, in the opinion of the Adviser,
consistent with the Fund’s investment
objective and in the best interest of the
Fund. For example, the Fund may hold
a higher than normal proportion of its
assets in cash in response to adverse
market, economic or political
conditions.
The Fund intends to qualify each year
as a regulated investment company (a
‘‘RIC’’) under Subchapter M of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended.23 The Fund will invest its
assets, and otherwise conduct its
operations, in a manner that is intended
to satisfy the qualifying income,
diversification and distribution
requirements necessary to establish and
maintain RIC qualification under
Subchapter M.
Other Portfolio Holdings
The Fund may also, to a limited
extent (under Normal Market
Conditions, less than 20% of the Fund’s
net assets), invest in certain futures,
options and swap contracts,24 cash and
cash equivalents, including shares of
money market funds advised by BFA or
its affiliates, as well as in Municipal
Securities of issuers located outside of
California whose interest payments are
exempt from regular federal income
taxes.25 The Fund’s investments will be
consistent with its investment objective
and will not be used to achieve
leveraged returns (i.e. two times or three
Upon maturity, the holder of a zero coupon security
is entitled to receive the par value of the security.
22 The Fund currently anticipates investing in
only registered open-end investment companies,
including mutual funds and the open-end
investment company funds described in Rule 14.11.
The Fund may invest in the securities of other
investment companies to the extent permitted by
law.
23 26 U.S.C. 851.
24 Such futures, options and swap contracts will
include only the following: Interest rate futures,
interest rate options, and interest rate swaps. The
derivatives will be centrally cleared and they will
be collateralized. At least 90% of the Fund’s net
assets that are invested in listed derivatives will be
invested in instruments that trade in markets that
are members or affiliates of members of the
Intermarket Surveillance Group (‘‘ISG’’) or are
parties to a comprehensive surveillance sharing
with the Exchange.
25 Issuers located outside of California may be
states, territories and possessions of the U.S.,
including the District of Columbia, and their
political subdivisions, agencies and
instrumentalities.
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 7, 2019 / Notices
times the Fund’s benchmark, as
described in the Registration Statement).
The Fund may also enter into
repurchase and reverse repurchase
agreements for Municipal Securities
(collectively, ‘‘Repurchase
Agreements’’). Repurchase Agreements
involve the sale of securities with an
agreement to repurchase the securities
at an agreed-upon price, date and
interest payment and have the
characteristics of borrowing as part of
the Fund’s principal holdings.26
The Fund may also invest in shortterm instruments (‘‘Short-Term
Instruments’’),27 which includes
exchange traded and non-exchange
traded investment companies (including
investment companies advised by BFA
or its affiliates) that invest in money
market instruments.
Investment Restrictions
jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
The Fund may hold up to an aggregate
amount of 15% of its net assets in
illiquid assets (calculated at the time of
investment), as deemed illiquid by the
26 The Fund’s exposure to reverse repurchase
agreements will be covered by liquid assets having
a value equal to or greater than such commitments.
The use of reverse repurchase agreements is a form
of leverage because the proceeds derived from
reverse repurchase agreements may be invested in
additional securities. As further stated below, the
Fund’s investments will be consistent with its
investment objective and will not be used to
achieve leveraged returns.
27 The Fund may invest in Short-Term
Instruments, including money market instruments,
on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity or for other
reasons. Money market instruments are generally
short-term investments that include only the
following: (i) Shares of money market funds
(including those advised by BFA or otherwise
affiliated with BFA); (ii) obligations issued or
guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or
instrumentalities (including government-sponsored
enterprises); (iii) negotiable certificates of deposit
(‘‘CDs’’), bankers’ acceptances, fixed-time deposits
and other obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. banks
(including non-U.S. branches) and similar
institutions; (iv) commercial paper, including assetbacked commercial paper; (v) non-convertible
corporate debt securities (e.g., bonds and
debentures) with remaining maturities at the date
of purchase of not more than 397 days and that
satisfy the rating requirements set forth in Rule 2a–
7 under the 1940 Act; and (vi) short-term U.S.
dollar-denominated obligations of non-U.S. banks
(including U.S. branches) that, in the opinion of
BFA, are of comparable quality to obligations of
U.S. banks which may be purchased by the Fund.
All money market securities acquired by the Fund
will be rated investment grade. The Fund does not
intend to invest in any unrated money market
securities. However, it may do so, to a limited
extent, such as where a rated money market
security becomes unrated, if such money market
security is determined by the Adviser to be of
comparable quality. BFA may determine that
unrated securities are of comparable quality based
on such credit quality factors that it deems
appropriate, which may include, among other
things, performing an analysis similar, to the extent
possible, to that performed by a nationally
recognized statistical rating organization rating
similar securities and issuers.
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16:49 Aug 06, 2019
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Adviser 28 under the 1940 Act.29 The
Fund will monitor its portfolio liquidity
on an ongoing basis to determine
whether, in light of current
circumstances, an adequate level of
liquidity is being maintained, and will
consider taking appropriate steps in
order to maintain adequate liquidity if,
through a change in values, net assets,
or other circumstances, more than 15%
of the Fund’s net assets are held in
illiquid assets. Illiquid assets are
defined by Rule 22e–4.
The Fund will launch with at least
500,000 Shares outstanding. The
portfolio will hold a minimum of 15
different Municipal Securities from at
least 15 unique issuers. No single
obligor will account for more than 10%
of the weight of the Fund’s portfolio and
no 10 obligors will account for more
than 75% of the weight of the Fund’s
portfolio. The Exchange notes that the
California AMT-Free municipal bond
market value is estimated to be ∼$151
billion and is the second largest as
measured by state. As of June 5, 2019,
California represented 21.02% of all
issuances in the U.S.30 Additionally, as
a registered investment company, no
more than 50% of the Fund’s assets will
28 In reaching liquidity decisions, the Adviser
may consider factors including: The frequency of
trades and quotes for the security; the number of
dealers wishing to purchase or sell the security and
the number of other potential purchasers; dealer
undertakings to make a market in the security; the
nature of the security and the nature of the
marketplace trades (e.g., the time needed to dispose
of the security, the method of soliciting offers, and
the mechanics of transfer); any legal or contractual
restrictions on the ability to transfer the security or
asset; significant developments involving the issuer
or counterparty specifically (e.g., default,
bankruptcy, etc.) or the securities markets generally;
and settlement practices, registration procedures,
limitations on currency conversion or repatriation,
and transfer limitations (for foreign securities or
other assets).
29 The Commission has stated that long-standing
Commission guidelines have required open-end
funds to hold no more than 15% of their net assets
in illiquid securities and other illiquid assets. See
Investment Company Act Release No. 28193 (March
11, 2008), 73 FR 14618 (March 18, 2008), footnote
34. See also, Investment Company Act Release No.
5847 (October 21, 1969), 35 FR 19989 (December
31, 1970) (Statement Regarding ‘‘Restricted
Securities’’); Investment Company Act Release No.
18612 (March 12, 1992), 57 FR 9828 (March 20,
1992) (Revisions of Guidelines to Form N–1A). A
fund’s portfolio security is illiquid if it cannot be
disposed of in the ordinary course of business
within seven days at approximately the value
ascribed to it by the fund. See Investment Company
Act Release No. 14983 (March 12, 1986), 51 FR
9773 (March 21, 1986) (adopting amendments to
Rule 2a–7 under the 1940 Act); Investment
Company Act Release No. 17452 (April 23, 1990),
55 FR 17933 (April 30, 1990) (adopting Rule 144A
under the Securities Act of 1933).
30 Statistics are based on the universe included in
the S&P National AMT-Free Muni Bond Index. New
York ($160b) is the largest municipal bond market
by state, registering 22.07% of all issuances in the
U.S.
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be invested in issuers that are more than
5% of the value of the Fund’s assets. In
addition, the Fund will not invest more
than 25% of its assets in any single
issuer. As noted above, the Fund will
satisfy all of the generic listing
requirements for Managed Fund Shares
that hold fixed income securities, except
for the minimum principal amount
outstanding requirement in
14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(a).
Availability of Information
The Fund’s website, which will be
publicly available prior to the public
offering of Shares, will include a form
of the prospectus for the Fund that may
be downloaded. The website will
include additional quantitative
information updated on a daily basis,
including: (1) The prior business day’s
reported NAV, daily trading volume,
and a calculation of the premium and
discount of the Bid/Ask Price against
the NAV; and (2) data in chart format
displaying the frequency distribution of
discounts and premiums of the daily
Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, within
appropriate ranges, for each of the four
previous calendar quarters. Daily
trading volume information for the
Shares will also be available in the
financial section of newspapers, through
subscription services such as
Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, and
International Data Corporation, which
can be accessed by authorized
participants and other investors, as well
as through other electronic services,
including major public websites. On
each business day, the Fund will
disclose on its website the identities and
quantities of the portfolio of securities
and other assets in the daily disclosed
portfolio held by the Fund that formed
the basis for the Fund’s calculation of
NAV at the end of the previous business
day. The daily disclosed portfolio will
include, as applicable: The ticker
symbol; CUSIP number or other
identifier, if any; a description of the
holding (including the type of holding,
such as the type of swap); the identity
of the security, index or other asset or
instrument underlying the holding, if
any; for options, the option strike price;
quantity held (as measured by, for
example, par value, notional value or
number of shares, contracts, or units);
maturity date, if any; coupon rate, if
any; effective date, if any; market value
of the holding; and the percentage
weighting of the holding in the Fund’s
portfolio. The website and information
will be publicly available at no charge.
In addition, an estimated value,
defined in BZX Rule (i)(4)(B)(i) as the
intraday indicative value (the ‘‘IIV’’)
that reflects an estimated intraday value
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of the Fund’s portfolio, will be
disseminated. Moreover, the IIV will be
based upon the current value for the
components of the daily disclosed
portfolio and will be updated and
widely disseminated by one or more
major market data vendors at least every
15 seconds during the Exchange’s
Regular Trading Hours.31 In addition,
the quotations of certain of the Fund’s
holdings may not be updated during
U.S. trading hours if updated prices
cannot be ascertained.
The dissemination of the IIV, together
with the daily disclosed portfolio, will
allow investors to determine the value
of the underlying portfolio of the Fund
on a daily basis and provide a close
estimate of that value throughout the
trading day.
Quotation and last sale information
for the Shares will be available via the
CTA high speed line. Price information
regarding Municipal Securities and
other non-exchange traded assets
including certain derivatives, money
market funds and other instruments,
and repurchase agreements is available
from third party pricing services and
major market data vendors. Price
information regarding Municipal
Securities can also be obtained from the
Municipal Securities Rulemaking
Board’s Electronic Municipal Market
Access (‘‘EMMA’’) system. For
exchange-traded assets, including
futures, and certain options, such
intraday information is available
directly from the applicable listing
exchange. In addition, price information
for U.S. exchange-traded options will be
available from the Options Price
Reporting Authority.
Initial and Continued Listing
The Shares will be subject to Rule
14.11(i), which sets forth the initial and
continued listing criteria applicable to
Managed Fund Shares. The Exchange
represents that, for initial and/or
continued listing, the Fund must be in
compliance with Rule 10A–3 under the
Act.32 A minimum of 100,000 Shares of
the Fund 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 Trust is required to comply with
Rule 10A–3 under the Act for the initial
31 Currently, it is the Exchange’s understanding
that several major market data vendors display and/
or make widely available IIVs published via the
CTA or other data feeds.
32 See 17 CFR 240.10A–3.
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and continued listing of the Shares of
the Fund. In addition, the Exchange
represents that the Shares of the Fund
will continue to comply with all other
requirements applicable to Managed
Fund Shares, which include the
dissemination of key information such
as the Disclosed Portfolio,33 Net Asset
Value,34 and the Intraday Indicative
Value,35 suspension of trading or
removal,36 trading halts,37
surveillance,38 minimum price variation
for quoting and order entry,39 the
information circular,40 and firewalls 41
as set forth in Exchange rules applicable
to Managed Fund Shares and the orders
approving such rules. All statements
and representations made in this filing
regarding the description of the
portfolio or reference assets, limitations
on portfolio holdings or reference assets,
dissemination and availability of
reference asset and intraday indicative
values (as applicable), or the
applicability of Exchange listing rules
specified in this filing shall constitute
continued listing requirements for the
Shares. The Fund has represented to the
Exchange that it will advise the
Exchange of any failure by the Fund or
Shares to comply with the continued
listing requirements, and, pursuant to
its obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of
the Act, the Exchange will surveil for
compliance with the continued listing
requirements. The Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority (‘‘FINRA’’)
conducts certain 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. If the
Fund is not in compliance with the
applicable listing requirements, the
Exchange will commence delisting
procedures with respect to the Fund
under Exchange Rule 14.12.
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. The Exchange will halt
trading in the Shares under the
conditions specified in Rule 11.18.
Trading may be halted because of
market conditions or for reasons that, in
the view of the Exchange, make trading
33 See
Rule 14.11(i)(4)(A)(ii) and 14.11(i)(4)(B)(ii).
Rule 14.11(i)(4)(A)(ii).
35 See Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(i).
36 See Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(iii).
37 See Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(iv).
38 See Rule 14.11(i)(2)(C).
39 See Rule 14.11(i)(2)(B).
40 See Rule 14.11(i)(6).
41 See Rule 14.11(i)(7).
34 See
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38693
in the Shares inadvisable. These may
include: (1) The extent to which trading
is not occurring in the securities and/or
the financial instruments composing the
Disclosed Portfolio of the Fund; or (2)
whether other unusual conditions or
circumstances detrimental to the
maintenance of a fair and orderly
market are present. Trading in the
Shares also will be subject to Rule
14.11(i)(4)(B)(iv), which sets forth
circumstances under which trading in
the Shares of the Fund may be halted.
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. The Exchange will
allow trading in the Shares from 8:00
a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The
Exchange has appropriate rules to
facilitate transactions in the Shares
during all trading sessions. As provided
in Rule 11.11(a), the minimum price
variation for quoting and entry of orders
in Managed Fund Shares traded on the
Exchange is $0.01, with the exception of
securities that are priced less than
$1.00, for which the minimum price
variation for order entry is $0.0001.
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.
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 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
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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 FINRA’s Trade Reporting
and Compliance Engine (‘‘TRACE’’).
FINRA also can access data obtained
from the Municipal Securities
Rulemaking Board’s EMMA system
relating to municipal bond trading
activity for surveillance purposes in
connection with trading in the Shares.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the
proposal is consistent with Section 6(b)
of the Act 42 in general and Section
6(b)(5) of the Act 43 in particular in that
it is designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, to
promote just and equitable principles of
trade, to foster cooperation and
coordination with persons engaged in
facilitating transactions in securities, to
remove impediments to and perfect the
mechanism of a free and open market
and a national market system and, in
general, to protect investors and the
public interest.
The 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 Rule 14.11(i). The
Exchange believes that its surveillance
procedures are adequate to properly
monitor the trading of the Shares on the
Exchange during all trading sessions
and to deter and detect violations of
Exchange rules and the applicable
federal securities laws. Rule 14.11(i)(7)
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. The Adviser is not a
registered broker-dealer, but is affiliated
with multiple broker-dealers and has
implemented ‘‘fire walls’’ with respect
to such broker-dealers regarding access
to information concerning the
composition and/or changes to a Fund’s
42 15
43 15
U.S.C. 78f.
U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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portfolio. In addition, Adviser personnel
who make decisions regarding a Fund’s
portfolio are subject to procedures
designed to prevent the use and
dissemination of material nonpublic
information regarding the Fund’s
portfolio. The Exchange may obtain
information regarding trading in the
Shares and the underlying shares in
exchange traded equity securities via
the ISG, from other exchanges that are
members or affiliates of the ISG, or with
which the Exchange has entered into a
comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement. In addition, the Exchange, or
FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, is
able to access, as needed, trade
information for certain fixed income
instruments reported to TRACE and
Municipal Securities reported to MSRB.
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 Fund will launch with
at least 500,000 Shares outstanding. The
portfolio will hold a minimum of 15
different Municipal Securities from at
least 15 unique issuers. No single
obligor will account for more than 10%
of the weight of the Fund’s portfolio and
no 10 obligors will account for more
than 75% of the weight of the Fund’s
portfolio. The Exchange notes that the
California AMT-Free municipal bond
market value is estimated to be ∼$151
billion and is the second largest as
measured by state. As of June 5, 2019,
California represented 21.02% of all
issuances in the U.S.44 Additionally, as
a registered investment company, no
more than 50% of the Fund’s assets will
be invested in issuers that are more than
5% of the value of the Fund’s assets. In
addition, the Fund will not invest more
than 25% of its assets in any single
issuer.
Further, the Exchange represents that:
(1) Except for Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(a),
the Fund will satisfy all of the generic
listing standards under Rule 14.11(i)(4);
(2) the continued listing standards
under Rule 14.11(i), as applicable to
Managed Fund Shares that hold fixed
income securities, will apply to the
Shares of the Fund; and (3) the issuer of
the Fund is required to comply with
Rule 10A–3 45 under the Act for the
initial and continued listing of the
Shares. In addition, the Exchange
represents that the Fund will meet and
be subject to all other requirements of
the Generic Listing Rules and other
44 Statistics are based on the universe included in
the S&P National AMT-Free Muni Bond Index. New
York ($160b) is the largest municipal bond market
by state, registering 22.07% of all issuances in the
U.S.
45 17 CFR 240.10A–3.
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applicable continued listing
requirements for Managed Fund Shares
under Exchange Rule 14.11(i), including
those requirements regarding the
Disclosed Portfolio (as defined in the
Exchange rules) and the requirement
that the Disclosed Portfolio and the net
asset value (‘‘NAV’’) will be made
available to all market participants at
the same time,46 intraday indicative
value,47 suspension of trading or
removal,48 trading halts,49 disclosure,50
and firewalls.51 Further, at least 100,000
Shares will be outstanding upon the
commencement of trading of the
Fund.52
The Fund will invest, under Normal
Market Conditions, at least 80% of its
net assets in Municipal Securities, as
defined below, issued in the State of
California by or on behalf of California
state or local governments or agencies,
whose interest payments are exempt
from U.S. federal, including the federal
alternative minimum tax, and California
state income taxes. Additionally, the
Fund may hold up to an aggregate
amount of 15% of its net assets in
illiquid assets (calculated at the time of
investment), as deemed illiquid by the
Adviser under the 1940 Act. The Fund
will monitor its portfolio liquidity on an
ongoing basis to determine whether, in
light of current circumstances, an
adequate level of liquidity is being
maintained, and will consider taking
appropriate steps in order to maintain
adequate liquidity if, through a change
in values, net assets, or other
circumstances, more than 15% of the
Fund’s net assets are held in illiquid
assets. Illiquid assets are defined by
Rule 22e–4.
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. Moreover, the
Intraday Indicative Value will be
disseminated by one or more major
market data vendors at least every 15
seconds during Regular Trading Hours.
46 See Exchange Rules 14.11(i)(4)(A)(ii) and
14.11(i)(4)(B)(ii).
47 See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(i).
48 See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(iii).
49 See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(iv).
50 See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(6).
51 See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(7).
52 See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(4)(A)(i).
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Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 152 / Wednesday, August 7, 2019 / Notices
On each business day, before
commencement of trading in Shares
during Regular Trading Hours, the Fund
will disclose on its website the
Disclosed Portfolio that will form the
basis for the Fund’s calculation of NAV
at the end of the business day. Pricing
information will include additional
quantitative information updated on a
daily basis, including, for the Fund: (1)
The prior business day’s NAV and the
market closing price or mid-point of the
Bid/Ask Price,53 and a calculation of the
premium or discount of the market
closing price or Bid/Ask Price against
the NAV; and (2) data in chart format
displaying the frequency distribution of
discounts and premiums of the daily
market closing price or Bid/Ask Price
against the NAV, within appropriate
ranges, for each of the four previous
calendar quarters. Additionally,
information regarding market price and
trading of the Shares will be continually
available on a real-time basis throughout
the day on brokers’ computer screens
and other electronic services, and
quotation and last sale information for
the Shares will be available on the
facilities of the CTA. The website for the
Fund will include a form of the
prospectus for the Fund and additional
data relating to NAV and other
applicable quantitative information.
Trading in Shares of a Fund will be
halted under the conditions specified in
Rule 11.18. Trading may also be halted
because of market conditions or for
reasons that, in the view of the
Exchange, make trading in the Shares
inadvisable. Finally, trading in the
Shares will be subject to Rule
14.11(i)(4)(B)(iv), which sets forth
circumstances under which Shares may
be halted. In addition, as noted above,
investors will have ready access to
information regarding the Fund’s
holdings, the Intraday Indicative Value,
the Disclosed Portfolio, and quotation
and last sale information for the Shares.
Intraday, executable price quotations
on assets held by the Fund are available
from major broker-dealer firms and for
exchange-traded assets, including
investment companies, such intraday
information is available directly from
the applicable listing exchange. All such
intraday price information is available
through subscription services, such as
Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and
International Data Corporation, which
can be accessed by authorized
participants and other investors.
53 The Bid/Ask Price of a Fund will be
determined using the highest bid and the lowest
offer on the Exchange as of the time of calculation
of the Fund’s NAV. The records relating to Bid/Ask
Prices will be retained by the Fund or its service
providers.
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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
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, the Exchange, or
FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, is
able to access, as needed, trade
information for certain fixed income
instruments reported to TRACE and
Municipal Securities reported to MSRB.
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. As noted above, investors
will also have ready access to
information regarding the Fund’s
holdings, the Intraday Indicative Value,
the Disclosed Portfolio, and quotation
and last sale information for the Shares.
For the above reasons, the Exchange
believes that the proposed rule change
is consistent with the requirements of
Section 6(b)(5) of the Act.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that
the proposed rule change will impose
any burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purpose of the Act. The Exchange
notes that the proposed rule change will
facilitate the listing and trading of an
additional actively-managed exchangetraded product 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
The Exchange has neither solicited
nor received written comments on the
proposed rule change.
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
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38695
to be appropriate and publishes its
reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which
the Exchange consents, the Commission
will:
A. by order approve or disapprove
such proposed rule change, or
B. institute proceedings to determine
whether the proposed rule change
should be 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 Comment
• 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–
CboeBZX–2019–068 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–CboeBZX–2019–068. 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
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submissions should refer to File
Number SR–CboeBZX–2019–068 and
should be submitted on or before
August 28, 2019.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.54
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019–16855 Filed 8–6–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–86550; File No. SR–NYSE–
2019–41]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; New
York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of
Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of
Proposed Rule Change To Amend the
Exchange’s Price List Related to Colocation Services
August 1, 2019.
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 July 18,
2019, New York Stock Exchange LLC
(‘‘NYSE’’ or the ‘‘Exchange’’) 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.
jspears on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to amend the
Exchange’s Price List related to colocation services to amend the Partial
Cabinet Solution bundles. 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
54 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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:49 Aug 06, 2019
Jkt 247001
on the proposed rule change. The text
of those statements may be examined at
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 amend the
Price List related to co-location 4
services offered by the Exchange to
amend two of the Partial Cabinet
Solution (‘‘PCS’’) bundles that the
Exchange offers Users.5 The proposed
change would have the effect of
lowering the latency in the Liquidity
Center Network (‘‘LCN’’) connection
included in two of the PCS bundles.
This is not a fee filing: There is no
proposed change to the fee for the PCS
bundles.
The Exchange plans to implement the
change during the fourth quarter of
2019. It will announce the
implementation date through a
customer notice.
Proposed Change to the Option C and
Option D PCS Bundles
There are four PCS bundles, Options
A through D. Each PCS bundle option
includes a partial cabinet; access to the
LCN and internet protocol (‘‘IP’’)
network, the local area networks
available in the data center; two fiber
cross connections; and connectivity to
one of two time feeds.6 The PCS
bundles were designed to attract smaller
4 The Exchange initially filed rule changes
relating to its co-location services with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) in 2010. See Securities Exchange
Act Release No. 62960 (September 21, 2010), 75 FR
59310 (September 27, 2010) (SR–NYSE–2010–56).
The Exchange operates a data center in Mahwah,
New Jersey (the ‘‘data center’’) from which it
provides co-location services to Users.
5 For purposes of the Exchange’s co-location
services, a ‘‘User’’ means any market participant
that requests to receive co-location services directly
from the Exchange. See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 76008 (September 29, 2015), 80 FR
60190 (October 5, 2015) (SR–NYSE–2015–40). As
specified in the Price List, a User that incurs colocation fees for a particular co-location service
pursuant thereto would not be subject to co-location
fees for the same co-location service charged by the
Exchange’s affiliates NYSE American LLC (‘‘NYSE
American’’), NYSE Arca, Inc. (‘‘NYSE Arca’’), and
NYSE National, Inc. (‘‘NYSE National’’ and together
with NYSE American, NYSE Arca, and NYSE
Chicago, Inc., the ‘‘Affiliate SROs’’). See Securities
Exchange Act Release No. 70206 (August 15, 2013),
78 FR 51765 (August 21, 2013) (SR–NYSE–2013–
59).
6 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 77072
(February 5, 2016), 81 FR 7394 (February 11, 2016)
(SR–NYSE–2015–53).
PO 00000
Frm 00110
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
Users, including those with minimal
power or cabinet space demands or
those for which the costs attendant with
having a dedicated cabinet or greater
network connection bandwidth are too
burdensome.7
Currently, the Options C and D PCS
bundles include 10 Gigabit (‘‘Gb’’) LCN
connections. The Exchange proposes to
change each 10 Gb LCN connection to
a lower-latency 10 Gb LCN connection,
referred to as the ‘‘LCN 10 Gb LX.’’ 8 As
a result of this change, Users will
benefit from a lower latency LCN
connection in the Options C and D PCS
bundles at the same cost.
The sole change to the Price List
would be to add ‘‘LX’’ to the reference
to the 10 Gb LCN connection in the
description of Option C and Option D in
the Price List. The revised text would
read as follows (proposed additions
underlined):
• For Option C: 1 kW partial cabinet,
1 LCN connection (10 Gb LX), 1 IP
network connection (10 Gb), 2 fiber
cross connections and either the
Network Time Protocol Feed or
Precision Timing Protocol.
• For Option D: 2 kW partial cabinet,
1 LCN connection (10 Gb LX), 1 IP
network connection (10 Gb), 2 fiber
cross connections and either the
Network Time Protocol Feed or
Precision Timing Protocol.
Application and Impact of the Proposed
Change
The proposed change would apply to
all Option C and Option D PCS bundles,
including those that Users currently
have.9 Those current Users would
benefit immediately from the lower
latency connection. The Exchange
believes that would be the only
consequence for them, as (a) the current
Users would not be required to change
their equipment to accommodate the
change, and so would not incur
equipment costs, and (b) there would be
no change in the prices they pay for
their Option C and Option D PCS
bundles.
The proposed change would not
apply differently to distinct types or
sizes of market participants. Rather, it
would apply to all Users equally. All
Users that order an Option C or D
7 Id.,
at 7396.
Securities Exchange Act Release No. 70888
(November 15, 2013), 78 FR 69907 (November 21,
2013) (SR–NYSE–2013–73) (notice of filing and
immediate effectiveness of proposed rule change to
offer LCN 10 Gb LX connection).
9 The Exchange does not propose to make a
change to the Option A or B PCS bundles. The
Option A and B PCS bundles include 1 Gb LCN
connections, and the Exchange does not offer a 1
Gb LCN connection with a lower latency than that
in the current bundles.
8 See
E:\FR\FM\07AUN1.SGM
07AUN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 7, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38689-38696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-16855]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-86546; File No. SR-CboeBZX-2019-068]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of
Filing of a Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade Shares of the
iShares California Short Maturity Muni Bond ETF of the iShares U.S. ETF
Trust Under Rule 14.11(i), Managed Fund Shares
August 1, 2019.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(the ``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given
that on July 19, 2019, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. (the ``Exchange'' or
``BZX'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the
``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II
and III below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the
proposed rule change from interested persons.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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[[Page 38690]]
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes a rule change to list and trade shares of the
iShares California Short Maturity Muni Bond ETF (the ``Fund'') of the
iShares U.S. ETF Trust (the ``Trust'' or the ``Issuer'') under Rule
14.11(i) (``Managed Fund Shares''). The shares of the Fund are referred
to herein as the ``Shares.''
The text of the proposed rule change is also available on the
Exchange's website (https://markets.cboe.com/us/equities/regulation/rule_filings/bzx/), at the Exchange's Office of the Secretary, 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 Exchange included statements
concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and
discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The
text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in
Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in
sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such
statements.
A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to list and trade the Shares under Rule
14.11(i), which governs the listing and trading of Managed Fund Shares
on the Exchange.\3\ The Fund will be an actively managed fund. The
Shares will be offered by the Trust, which was established as a
Delaware statutory trust on June 21, 2011. The Trust is registered with
the Commission as an open-end investment company and has filed a
registration statement on behalf of the Fund on Form N-1A
(``Registration Statement'') with the Commission.\4\
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\3\ The Commission approved Rule 14.11(i) in Securities Exchange
Act Release No. 65225 (August 30, 2011), 76 FR 55148 (September 6,
2011) (SR-BATS-2011-018).
\4\ See Registration Statement on Form N-1A for the Trust, filed
on April 11, 2019 (File Nos. 333-179904 and 811-22649). The
description of the Fund and the Shares contained herein are based,
in part, on information in the Registration Statement. The
Commission has issued an order granting certain exemptive relief to
the Trust under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1)
(``1940 Act'') (the ``Exemptive Order''). See Investment Company Act
Release No. 29571 (January 24, 2011) (File No. 812-13601).
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Rule 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(a) requires that component fixed income
securities that, in the aggregate, account for at least 75% of the
fixed income weight of the portfolio must each have a minimum principal
amount outstanding of $100 million or more. The Exchange submits this
proposal because the Fund will not meet this requirement. The Fund
will, however, meet all of the other requirements of Rule 14.11(i).\5\
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\5\ The Exchange notes that the Commission has approved several
proposals related to the listing and trading of index-based
municipal bond funds focused solely on issuers from California as
well as several other single-state index-based municipal bond funds.
See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 72464 (June 25,
2014), 79 FR 37373 (July 1, 2014) (SR-NYSEArca-2014-45) (order
approving proposed rule change governing the continued listing and
trading of shares of the PowerShares Insured California Municipal
Bond Portfolio, PowerShares Insured National Municipal Bond
Portfolio, and PowerShares Insured New York Municipal Bond
Portfolio); and 82295 (December 12, 2017), 82 FR 60056 (December 18,
2017) (SR-NYSEArca-2017-56) (order approving proposed rule change to
list and trade shares of twelve series of investment company units,
including the iShares California Muni Bond ETF and the iShares New
York Muni Bond ETF).
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Description of the Shares and the Fund
BlackRock Fund Advisors is the investment adviser (``BFA'' or
``Adviser'') to the Fund.\6\ State Street Bank and Trust Company is the
administrator, custodian, and transfer agent (``Administrator,''
``Custodian,'' and ``Transfer Agent,'' respectively) for the Trust.
BlackRock Investments, LLC serves as the distributor (``Distributor'')
for the Trust.
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\6\ BFA is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of BlackRock,
Inc.
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Rule 14.11(i)(7) 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, Rule 14.11(i)(7) further
requires that personnel who make decisions on the investment company's
portfolio composition must be subject to procedures designed to prevent
the use and dissemination of material nonpublic information regarding
the applicable investment company portfolio. Rule 14.11(i)(7) is
similar to Rule 14.11(b)(5)(A)(i), however, Rule 14.11(i)(7) in
connection with the establishment of a ``fire wall'' between the
investment adviser and the broker-dealer reflects the applicable open-
end fund's portfolio, not an underlying benchmark index, as is the case
with index-based funds. The Adviser is not a registered broker-dealer,
but is affiliated with multiple broker-dealers and has implemented
``fire walls'' with respect to such broker-dealers regarding access to
information concerning the composition and/or changes to the Fund's
portfolio. In addition, Adviser personnel who make decisions regarding
the Fund's portfolio are subject to procedures designed to prevent the
use and dissemination of material nonpublic information regarding the
Fund's portfolio. In the event that (a) the Adviser becomes registered
as a broker-dealer or newly affiliated with another broker-dealer, or
(b) any new adviser or sub-adviser is a registered broker-dealer or
becomes affiliated with a broker-dealer, it will implement a fire wall
with respect to its relevant personnel or such broker-dealer affiliate,
as applicable, regarding access to information concerning the
composition and/or changes to the 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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iShares California Short Maturity Muni Bond ETF
According to the Registration Statement, the Fund will seek to
maximize tax-free current income from a portfolio composed of short
maturity, investment-grade municipal bonds issued in the State of
California. To achieve its objective, the Fund will invest, under
Normal Market Conditions,\8\ at least 80% of its net
[[Page 38691]]
assets in Municipal Securities, as defined below, issued in the State
of California by or on behalf of California state or local governments
or agencies, whose interest payments are exempt from U.S. federal,
including the federal alternative minimum tax, and California state
income taxes. The Fund will be classified as a ``non-diversified''
investment company under the 1940 Act.\9\
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\8\ The term ``Normal Market Conditions'' includes, but is not
limited to, the absence of trading halts in the applicable financial
markets generally; operational issues causing dissemination of
inaccurate market information or system failures; or force majeure
type events such as natural or man-made disaster, act of God, armed
conflict, act of terrorism, riot or labor disruption, or any similar
intervening circumstance.
\9\ The diversification standard is set forth in Section 5(b)(1)
of the 1940 Act.
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The Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment
company (a ``RIC'') under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended. The Fund will invest its assets, and otherwise
conduct its operations, in a manner that is intended to satisfy the
qualifying income, diversification and distribution requirements
necessary to establish and maintain RIC qualification under Subchapter
M.
Principal Holdings--Municipal Securities
To achieve its objective, the Fund will invest, under Normal Market
Conditions, in U.S.-dollar denominated investment-grade short-term
fixed- and floating-rate Municipal Securities, as defined below, with
remaining maturities of five years or less. Investment-grade securities
are rated BBB- or higher by S&P Global Ratings and/or Fitch Ratings,
Inc., or Baa3 or higher by Moody's Investors Service, Inc., or if
unrated, determined by the Adviser to be of equivalent quality.\10\
Under Normal Market Conditions, the Fund will seek to maintain a
weighted average maturity that is less than three years.\11\
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\10\ According to the Adviser, BFA may determine that unrated
securities are of ``equivalent quality'' based on such credit
quality factors that it deems appropriate, which may include among
other things, performing an analysis similar, to the extent
possible, to that performed by a nationally recognized statistical
ratings organization when rating similar securities and issuers. In
making such a determination, BFA may consider internal analyses and
risk ratings, third party research and analysis, and other sources
of information, as deemed appropriate by the Adviser.
\11\ Weighted average maturity is a U.S. dollar-weighted average
of the remaining term to maturity of the underlying securities in
the Fund's portfolio. For the purposes of determining the Fund's
weighted average maturity, a security's final maturity date will be
used for calculation purposes.
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Municipal securities (``Municipal Securities'') are fixed and
variable rate securities issued in the U.S. by U.S. states and
territories, municipalities and other political subdivisions, agencies,
authorities, and instrumentalities of states and multi-state agencies
and authorities and will include only the following instruments:
General obligation bonds,\12\ limited obligation bonds (or revenue
bonds),\13\ municipal notes,\14\ municipal commercial paper,\15\ tender
option bonds,\16\ variable rate demand notes and demand obligations
(``VRDOs''),\17\ municipal lease obligations,\18\ stripped
securities,\19\ structured securities,\20\ zero coupon securities,\21\
and exchange traded and non-exchange traded investment companies
(including investment companies advised by BFA or its affiliates) that
invest in such Municipal Securities.\22\
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\12\ General obligation bonds are obligations involving the
credit of an issuer possessing taxing power and are payable from
such issuer's general revenues and not from any particular source.
\13\ Limited obligation bonds are payable only from the revenues
derived from a particular facility or class of facilities or, in
some cases, from the proceeds of a special excise or other specific
revenue source, and also include industrial development bonds issued
pursuant to former U.S. federal tax law. Industrial development
bonds generally are also revenue bonds and thus are not payable from
the issuer's general revenues. The credit and quality of industrial
development bonds are usually related to the credit of the corporate
user of the facilities. Payment of interest on and repayment of
principal of such bonds is the responsibility of the corporate user
(and/or any guarantor).
\14\ Municipal notes are shorter-term municipal debt obligations
that may provide interim financing in anticipation of tax
collection, receipt of grants, bond sales, or revenue receipts.
\15\ Municipal commercial paper is generally unsecured debt that
is issued to meet short-term financing needs.
\16\ Tender option bonds are synthetic floating-rate or
variable-rate securities issued when long-term bonds are purchased
in the primary or secondary market and then deposited into a trust.
Custodial receipts are then issued to investors, such as the Fund,
evidencing ownership interests in the trust.
\17\ VRDOs are tax-exempt obligations that contain a floating or
variable interest rate adjustment formula and a right of demand on
the part of the holder thereof to receive payment of the unpaid
principal balance plus accrued interest upon a short notice period
not to exceed seven days.
\18\ Municipal lease obligations include certificates of
participation issued by government authorities or entities to
finance the acquisition or construction of equipment, land, and/or
facilities.
\19\ Stripped securities are created when an issuer separates
the interest and principal components of an instrument and sells
them as separate securities. In general, one security is entitled to
receive the interest payments on the underlying assets and the other
to receive the principal payments.
\20\ Structured securities are privately negotiated debt
obligations where the principal and/or interest is determined by
reference to the performance of an underlying investment, index, or
reference obligation, and may be issued by governmental agencies.
While structured securities are part of the principal holdings of
the Fund, the Issuer represents that such securities, when combined
with those instruments held as part of the other portfolio holdings
described below, will not exceed 20% of the Fund's net assets.
\21\ Zero coupon securities are securities that are sold at a
discount to par value and do not pay interest during the life of the
security. The discount approximates the total amount of interest the
security will accrue and compound over the period until maturity at
a rate of interest reflecting the market rate of the security at the
time of issuance. Upon maturity, the holder of a zero coupon
security is entitled to receive the par value of the security.
\22\ The Fund currently anticipates investing in only registered
open-end investment companies, including mutual funds and the open-
end investment company funds described in Rule 14.11. The Fund may
invest in the securities of other investment companies to the extent
permitted by law.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In the absence of Normal Market Conditions, the Fund may
temporarily depart from its normal investment process, provided that
such departure is, in the opinion of the Adviser, consistent with the
Fund's investment objective and in the best interest of the Fund. For
example, the Fund may hold a higher than normal proportion of its
assets in cash in response to adverse market, economic or political
conditions.
The Fund intends to qualify each year as a regulated investment
company (a ``RIC'') under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended.\23\ The Fund will invest its assets, and otherwise
conduct its operations, in a manner that is intended to satisfy the
qualifying income, diversification and distribution requirements
necessary to establish and maintain RIC qualification under Subchapter
M.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\23\ 26 U.S.C. 851.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Other Portfolio Holdings
The Fund may also, to a limited extent (under Normal Market
Conditions, less than 20% of the Fund's net assets), invest in certain
futures, options and swap contracts,\24\ cash and cash equivalents,
including shares of money market funds advised by BFA or its
affiliates, as well as in Municipal Securities of issuers located
outside of California whose interest payments are exempt from regular
federal income taxes.\25\ The Fund's investments will be consistent
with its investment objective and will not be used to achieve leveraged
returns (i.e. two times or three
[[Page 38692]]
times the Fund's benchmark, as described in the Registration
Statement).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\24\ Such futures, options and swap contracts will include only
the following: Interest rate futures, interest rate options, and
interest rate swaps. The derivatives will be centrally cleared and
they will be collateralized. At least 90% of the Fund's net assets
that are invested in listed derivatives will be invested in
instruments that trade in markets that are members or affiliates of
members of the Intermarket Surveillance Group (``ISG'') or are
parties to a comprehensive surveillance sharing with the Exchange.
\25\ Issuers located outside of California may be states,
territories and possessions of the U.S., including the District of
Columbia, and their political subdivisions, agencies and
instrumentalities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fund may also enter into repurchase and reverse repurchase
agreements for Municipal Securities (collectively, ``Repurchase
Agreements''). Repurchase Agreements involve the sale of securities
with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price,
date and interest payment and have the characteristics of borrowing as
part of the Fund's principal holdings.\26\
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\26\ The Fund's exposure to reverse repurchase agreements will
be covered by liquid assets having a value equal to or greater than
such commitments. The use of reverse repurchase agreements is a form
of leverage because the proceeds derived from reverse repurchase
agreements may be invested in additional securities. As further
stated below, the Fund's investments will be consistent with its
investment objective and will not be used to achieve leveraged
returns.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fund may also invest in short-term instruments (``Short-Term
Instruments''),\27\ which includes exchange traded and non-exchange
traded investment companies (including investment companies advised by
BFA or its affiliates) that invest in money market instruments.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\27\ The Fund may invest in Short-Term Instruments, including
money market instruments, on an ongoing basis to provide liquidity
or for other reasons. Money market instruments are generally short-
term investments that include only the following: (i) Shares of
money market funds (including those advised by BFA or otherwise
affiliated with BFA); (ii) obligations issued or guaranteed by the
U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities (including
government-sponsored enterprises); (iii) negotiable certificates of
deposit (``CDs''), bankers' acceptances, fixed-time deposits and
other obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. banks (including non-U.S.
branches) and similar institutions; (iv) commercial paper, including
asset-backed commercial paper; (v) non-convertible corporate debt
securities (e.g., bonds and debentures) with remaining maturities at
the date of purchase of not more than 397 days and that satisfy the
rating requirements set forth in Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act; and
(vi) short-term U.S. dollar-denominated obligations of non-U.S.
banks (including U.S. branches) that, in the opinion of BFA, are of
comparable quality to obligations of U.S. banks which may be
purchased by the Fund. All money market securities acquired by the
Fund will be rated investment grade. The Fund does not intend to
invest in any unrated money market securities. However, it may do
so, to a limited extent, such as where a rated money market security
becomes unrated, if such money market security is determined by the
Adviser to be of comparable quality. BFA may determine that unrated
securities are of comparable quality based on such credit quality
factors that it deems appropriate, which may include, among other
things, performing an analysis similar, to the extent possible, to
that performed by a nationally recognized statistical rating
organization rating similar securities and issuers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investment Restrictions
The Fund may hold up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net
assets in illiquid assets (calculated at the time of investment), as
deemed illiquid by the Adviser \28\ under the 1940 Act.\29\ The Fund
will monitor its portfolio liquidity on an ongoing basis to determine
whether, in light of current circumstances, an adequate level of
liquidity is being maintained, and will consider taking appropriate
steps in order to maintain adequate liquidity if, through a change in
values, net assets, or other circumstances, more than 15% of the Fund's
net assets are held in illiquid assets. Illiquid assets are defined by
Rule 22e-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\28\ In reaching liquidity decisions, the Adviser may consider
factors including: The frequency of trades and quotes for the
security; the number of dealers wishing to purchase or sell the
security and the number of other potential purchasers; dealer
undertakings to make a market in the security; the nature of the
security and the nature of the marketplace trades (e.g., the time
needed to dispose of the security, the method of soliciting offers,
and the mechanics of transfer); any legal or contractual
restrictions on the ability to transfer the security or asset;
significant developments involving the issuer or counterparty
specifically (e.g., default, bankruptcy, etc.) or the securities
markets generally; and settlement practices, registration
procedures, limitations on currency conversion or repatriation, and
transfer limitations (for foreign securities or other assets).
\29\ The Commission has stated that long-standing Commission
guidelines have required open-end funds to hold no more than 15% of
their net assets in illiquid securities and other illiquid assets.
See Investment Company Act Release No. 28193 (March 11, 2008), 73 FR
14618 (March 18, 2008), footnote 34. See also, Investment Company
Act Release No. 5847 (October 21, 1969), 35 FR 19989 (December 31,
1970) (Statement Regarding ``Restricted Securities''); Investment
Company Act Release No. 18612 (March 12, 1992), 57 FR 9828 (March
20, 1992) (Revisions of Guidelines to Form N-1A). A fund's portfolio
security is illiquid if it cannot be disposed of in the ordinary
course of business within seven days at approximately the value
ascribed to it by the fund. See Investment Company Act Release No.
14983 (March 12, 1986), 51 FR 9773 (March 21, 1986) (adopting
amendments to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act); Investment Company Act
Release No. 17452 (April 23, 1990), 55 FR 17933 (April 30, 1990)
(adopting Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fund will launch with at least 500,000 Shares outstanding. The
portfolio will hold a minimum of 15 different Municipal Securities from
at least 15 unique issuers. No single obligor will account for more
than 10% of the weight of the Fund's portfolio and no 10 obligors will
account for more than 75% of the weight of the Fund's portfolio. The
Exchange notes that the California AMT-Free municipal bond market value
is estimated to be ~$151 billion and is the second largest as measured
by state. As of June 5, 2019, California represented 21.02% of all
issuances in the U.S.\30\ Additionally, as a registered investment
company, no more than 50% of the Fund's assets will be invested in
issuers that are more than 5% of the value of the Fund's assets. In
addition, the Fund will not invest more than 25% of its assets in any
single issuer. As noted above, the Fund will satisfy all of the generic
listing requirements for Managed Fund Shares that hold fixed income
securities, except for the minimum principal amount outstanding
requirement in 14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(a).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\30\ Statistics are based on the universe included in the S&P
National AMT-Free Muni Bond Index. New York ($160b) is the largest
municipal bond market by state, registering 22.07% of all issuances
in the U.S.
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Availability of Information
The Fund's website, which will be publicly available prior to the
public offering of Shares, will include a form of the prospectus for
the Fund that may be downloaded. The website will include additional
quantitative information updated on a daily basis, including: (1) The
prior business day's reported NAV, daily trading volume, and a
calculation of the premium and discount of the Bid/Ask Price against
the NAV; and (2) data in chart format displaying the frequency
distribution of discounts and premiums of the daily Bid/Ask Price
against the NAV, within appropriate ranges, for each of the four
previous calendar quarters. Daily trading volume information for the
Shares will also be available in the financial section of newspapers,
through subscription services such as Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters, and
International Data Corporation, which can be accessed by authorized
participants and other investors, as well as through other electronic
services, including major public websites. On each business day, the
Fund will disclose on its website the identities and quantities of the
portfolio of securities and other assets in the daily disclosed
portfolio held by the Fund that formed the basis for the Fund's
calculation of NAV at the end of the previous business day. The daily
disclosed portfolio will include, as applicable: The ticker symbol;
CUSIP number or other identifier, if any; a description of the holding
(including the type of holding, such as the type of swap); the identity
of the security, index or other asset or instrument underlying the
holding, if any; for options, the option strike price; quantity held
(as measured by, for example, par value, notional value or number of
shares, contracts, or units); maturity date, if any; coupon rate, if
any; effective date, if any; market value of the holding; and the
percentage weighting of the holding in the Fund's portfolio. The
website and information will be publicly available at no charge.
In addition, an estimated value, defined in BZX Rule (i)(4)(B)(i)
as the intraday indicative value (the ``IIV'') that reflects an
estimated intraday value
[[Page 38693]]
of the Fund's portfolio, will be disseminated. Moreover, the IIV will
be based upon the current value for the components of the daily
disclosed portfolio and will be updated and widely disseminated by one
or more major market data vendors at least every 15 seconds during the
Exchange's Regular Trading Hours.\31\ In addition, the quotations of
certain of the Fund's holdings may not be updated during U.S. trading
hours if updated prices cannot be ascertained.
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\31\ Currently, it is the Exchange's understanding that several
major market data vendors display and/or make widely available IIVs
published via the CTA or other data feeds.
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The dissemination of the IIV, together with the daily disclosed
portfolio, will allow investors to determine the value of the
underlying portfolio of the Fund on a daily basis and provide a close
estimate of that value throughout the trading day.
Quotation and last sale information for the Shares will be
available via the CTA high speed line. Price information regarding
Municipal Securities and other non-exchange traded assets including
certain derivatives, money market funds and other instruments, and
repurchase agreements is available from third party pricing services
and major market data vendors. Price information regarding Municipal
Securities can also be obtained from the Municipal Securities
Rulemaking Board's Electronic Municipal Market Access (``EMMA'')
system. For exchange-traded assets, including futures, and certain
options, such intraday information is available directly from the
applicable listing exchange. In addition, price information for U.S.
exchange-traded options will be available from the Options Price
Reporting Authority.
Initial and Continued Listing
The Shares will be subject to Rule 14.11(i), which sets forth the
initial and continued listing criteria applicable to Managed Fund
Shares. The Exchange represents that, for initial and/or continued
listing, the Fund must be in compliance with Rule 10A-3 under the
Act.\32\ A minimum of 100,000 Shares of the Fund 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.
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\32\ See 17 CFR 240.10A-3.
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The Trust is required to comply with Rule 10A-3 under the Act for
the initial and continued listing of the Shares of the Fund. In
addition, the Exchange represents that the Shares of the Fund will
continue to comply with all other requirements applicable to Managed
Fund Shares, which include the dissemination of key information such as
the Disclosed Portfolio,\33\ Net Asset Value,\34\ and the Intraday
Indicative Value,\35\ suspension of trading or removal,\36\ trading
halts,\37\ surveillance,\38\ minimum price variation for quoting and
order entry,\39\ the information circular,\40\ and firewalls \41\ as
set forth in Exchange rules applicable to Managed Fund Shares and the
orders approving such rules. All statements and representations made in
this filing regarding the description of the portfolio or reference
assets, limitations on portfolio holdings or reference assets,
dissemination and availability of reference asset and intraday
indicative values (as applicable), or the applicability of Exchange
listing rules specified in this filing shall constitute continued
listing requirements for the Shares. The Fund has represented to the
Exchange that it will advise the Exchange of any failure by the Fund or
Shares to comply with the continued listing requirements, and, pursuant
to its obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of the Act, the Exchange will
surveil for compliance with the continued listing requirements. The
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (``FINRA'') conducts certain
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. If the Fund is
not in compliance with the applicable listing requirements, the
Exchange will commence delisting procedures with respect to the Fund
under Exchange Rule 14.12.
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\33\ See Rule 14.11(i)(4)(A)(ii) and 14.11(i)(4)(B)(ii).
\34\ See Rule 14.11(i)(4)(A)(ii).
\35\ See Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(i).
\36\ See Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(iii).
\37\ See Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(iv).
\38\ See Rule 14.11(i)(2)(C).
\39\ See Rule 14.11(i)(2)(B).
\40\ See Rule 14.11(i)(6).
\41\ See Rule 14.11(i)(7).
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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. The Exchange will halt trading in
the Shares under the conditions specified in Rule 11.18. Trading may be
halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of
the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable. These may
include: (1) The extent to which trading is not occurring in the
securities and/or the financial instruments composing the Disclosed
Portfolio of the Fund; or (2) whether other unusual conditions or
circumstances detrimental to the maintenance of a fair and orderly
market are present. Trading in the Shares also will be subject to Rule
14.11(i)(4)(B)(iv), which sets forth circumstances under which trading
in the Shares of the Fund may be halted.
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. The Exchange will
allow trading in the Shares from 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Eastern
Time. The Exchange has appropriate rules to facilitate transactions in
the Shares during all trading sessions. As provided in Rule 11.11(a),
the minimum price variation for quoting and entry of orders in Managed
Fund Shares traded on the Exchange is $0.01, with the exception of
securities that are priced less than $1.00, for which the minimum price
variation for order entry is $0.0001.
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.
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 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
[[Page 38694]]
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
FINRA's Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (``TRACE''). FINRA also
can access data obtained from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking
Board's EMMA system relating to municipal bond trading activity for
surveillance purposes in connection with trading in the Shares.
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposal is consistent with Section
6(b) of the Act \42\ in general and Section 6(b)(5) of the Act \43\ in
particular in that it is designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable
principles of trade, to foster cooperation and coordination with
persons engaged in facilitating transactions in securities, to remove
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and
a national market system and, in general, to protect investors and the
public interest.
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\42\ 15 U.S.C. 78f.
\43\ 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 Rule 14.11(i). The Exchange
believes that its surveillance procedures are adequate to properly
monitor the trading of the Shares on the Exchange during all trading
sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and the
applicable federal securities laws. Rule 14.11(i)(7) 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. The
Adviser is not a registered broker-dealer, but is affiliated with
multiple broker-dealers and has implemented ``fire walls'' with respect
to such broker-dealers regarding access to information concerning the
composition and/or changes to a Fund's portfolio. In addition, Adviser
personnel who make decisions regarding a Fund's portfolio are subject
to procedures designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material
nonpublic information regarding the Fund's portfolio. The Exchange may
obtain information regarding trading in the Shares and the underlying
shares in exchange traded equity securities via the ISG, from other
exchanges that are members or affiliates of the ISG, or with which the
Exchange has entered into a comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement. In addition, the Exchange, or FINRA, on behalf of the
Exchange, is able to access, as needed, trade information for certain
fixed income instruments reported to TRACE and Municipal Securities
reported to MSRB. 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 Fund will launch with at
least 500,000 Shares outstanding. The portfolio will hold a minimum of
15 different Municipal Securities from at least 15 unique issuers. No
single obligor will account for more than 10% of the weight of the
Fund's portfolio and no 10 obligors will account for more than 75% of
the weight of the Fund's portfolio. The Exchange notes that the
California AMT-Free municipal bond market value is estimated to be
~$151 billion and is the second largest as measured by state. As of
June 5, 2019, California represented 21.02% of all issuances in the
U.S.\44\ Additionally, as a registered investment company, no more than
50% of the Fund's assets will be invested in issuers that are more than
5% of the value of the Fund's assets. In addition, the Fund will not
invest more than 25% of its assets in any single issuer.
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\44\ Statistics are based on the universe included in the S&P
National AMT-Free Muni Bond Index. New York ($160b) is the largest
municipal bond market by state, registering 22.07% of all issuances
in the U.S.
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Further, the Exchange represents that: (1) Except for Rule
14.11(i)(4)(C)(ii)(a), the Fund will satisfy all of the generic listing
standards under Rule 14.11(i)(4); (2) the continued listing standards
under Rule 14.11(i), as applicable to Managed Fund Shares that hold
fixed income securities, will apply to the Shares of the Fund; and (3)
the issuer of the Fund is required to comply with Rule 10A-3 \45\ under
the Act for the initial and continued listing of the Shares. In
addition, the Exchange represents that the Fund will meet and be
subject to all other requirements of the Generic Listing Rules and
other applicable continued listing requirements for Managed Fund Shares
under Exchange Rule 14.11(i), including those requirements regarding
the Disclosed Portfolio (as defined in the Exchange rules) and the
requirement that the Disclosed Portfolio and the net asset value
(``NAV'') will be made available to all market participants at the same
time,\46\ intraday indicative value,\47\ suspension of trading or
removal,\48\ trading halts,\49\ disclosure,\50\ and firewalls.\51\
Further, at least 100,000 Shares will be outstanding upon the
commencement of trading of the Fund.\52\
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\45\ 17 CFR 240.10A-3.
\46\ See Exchange Rules 14.11(i)(4)(A)(ii) and
14.11(i)(4)(B)(ii).
\47\ See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(i).
\48\ See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(iii).
\49\ See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(4)(B)(iv).
\50\ See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(6).
\51\ See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(7).
\52\ See Exchange Rule 14.11(i)(4)(A)(i).
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The Fund will invest, under Normal Market Conditions, at least 80%
of its net assets in Municipal Securities, as defined below, issued in
the State of California by or on behalf of California state or local
governments or agencies, whose interest payments are exempt from U.S.
federal, including the federal alternative minimum tax, and California
state income taxes. Additionally, the Fund may hold up to an aggregate
amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid assets (calculated at the
time of investment), as deemed illiquid by the Adviser under the 1940
Act. The Fund will monitor its portfolio liquidity on an ongoing basis
to determine whether, in light of current circumstances, an adequate
level of liquidity is being maintained, and will consider taking
appropriate steps in order to maintain adequate liquidity if, through a
change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, more than 15% of
the Fund's net assets are held in illiquid assets. Illiquid assets are
defined by Rule 22e-4.
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. Moreover, the Intraday
Indicative Value will be disseminated by one or more major market data
vendors at least every 15 seconds during Regular Trading Hours.
[[Page 38695]]
On each business day, before commencement of trading in Shares during
Regular Trading Hours, the Fund will disclose on its website the
Disclosed Portfolio that will form the basis for the Fund's calculation
of NAV at the end of the business day. Pricing information will include
additional quantitative information updated on a daily basis,
including, for the Fund: (1) The prior business day's NAV and the
market closing price or mid-point of the Bid/Ask Price,\53\ and a
calculation of the premium or discount of the market closing price or
Bid/Ask Price against the NAV; and (2) data in chart format displaying
the frequency distribution of discounts and premiums of the daily
market closing price or Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, within
appropriate ranges, for each of the four previous calendar quarters.
Additionally, information regarding market price and trading of the
Shares will be continually available on a real-time basis throughout
the day on brokers' computer screens and other electronic services, and
quotation and last sale information for the Shares will be available on
the facilities of the CTA. The website for the Fund will include a form
of the prospectus for the Fund and additional data relating to NAV and
other applicable quantitative information. Trading in Shares of a Fund
will be halted under the conditions specified in Rule 11.18. Trading
may also be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in
the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable.
Finally, trading in the Shares will be subject to Rule
14.11(i)(4)(B)(iv), which sets forth circumstances under which Shares
may be halted. In addition, as noted above, investors will have ready
access to information regarding the Fund's holdings, the Intraday
Indicative Value, the Disclosed Portfolio, and quotation and last sale
information for the Shares.
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\53\ The Bid/Ask Price of a Fund will be determined using the
highest bid and the lowest offer on the Exchange as of the time of
calculation of the Fund's NAV. The records relating to Bid/Ask
Prices will be retained by the Fund or its service providers.
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Intraday, executable price quotations on assets held by the Fund
are available from major broker-dealer firms and for exchange-traded
assets, including investment companies, such intraday information is
available directly from the applicable listing exchange. All such
intraday price information is available through subscription services,
such as Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and International Data Corporation,
which can be accessed by authorized participants and other investors.
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
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, the Exchange, or FINRA, on
behalf of the Exchange, is able to access, as needed, trade information
for certain fixed income instruments reported to TRACE and Municipal
Securities reported to MSRB. 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. As noted above,
investors will also have ready access to information regarding the
Fund's holdings, the Intraday Indicative Value, the Disclosed
Portfolio, and quotation and last sale information for the Shares.
For the above reasons, the Exchange believes that the proposed rule
change is consistent with the requirements of Section 6(b)(5) of the
Act.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate
in furtherance of the purpose of the Act. The Exchange notes that the
proposed rule change will facilitate the listing and trading of an
additional actively-managed exchange-traded product 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
The Exchange has neither solicited nor received written comments on
the proposed rule change.
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 Exchange consents, the Commission will:
A. by order approve or disapprove such proposed rule change, or
B. institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule
change should be 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 Comment
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-CboeBZX-2019-068 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-CboeBZX-2019-068. 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
[[Page 38696]]
submissions should refer to File Number SR-CboeBZX-2019-068 and should
be submitted on or before August 28, 2019.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\54\
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\54\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-16855 Filed 8-6-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P