Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade Shares of the American Century Sustainable Growth ETF, 29810-29817 [2021-11610]
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29810
Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 105 / Thursday, June 3, 2021 / Notices
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
Sean Robinson, 202–268–8405.
The
United States Postal Service® hereby
gives notice that, pursuant to 39 U.S.C.
3642 and 3632(b)(3), on May 26, 2021,
it filed with the Postal Regulatory
Commission a USPS Request to Add
Priority Mail Contract 702 to
Competitive Product List. Documents
are available at www.prc.gov, Docket
Nos. MC2021–94, CP2021–97.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Sean Robinson,
Attorney, Corporate and Postal Business Law.
[FR Doc. 2021–11699 Filed 6–2–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710–12–P
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SUMMARY:
DATES:
Date of required notice: June 3,
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FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sean Robinson, 202–268–8405.
The
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it filed with the Postal Regulatory
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Sean Robinson,
Attorney, Corporate and Postal Business Law.
[FR Doc. 2021–11698 Filed 6–2–21; 8:45 am]
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BILLING CODE 7710–12–P
[Release No. 34–92052; File No. SR–
NYSEArca–2021–44]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE
Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing and
Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed
Rule Change To List and Trade Shares
of the American Century Sustainable
Growth ETF
May 27, 2021.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) 1 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(‘‘Act’’),2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3
notice is hereby given that on May 21,
2021, NYSE Arca, Inc. (‘‘NYSE Arca’’ or
the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule
change as described in Items I and II
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.
I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Terms of Substance of
the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to list and
trade shares of the American Century
Sustainable Growth ETF under NYSE
Arca Rule 8.601–E. The proposed rule
change is available on the Exchange’s
website at www.nyse.com, at the
principal office of the Exchange, and at
the Commission’s Public Reference
Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule
Change
In its filing with the Commission, the
self-regulatory organization included
statements concerning the purpose of,
and basis for, the proposed rule change
and discussed any comments it received
on the proposed rule change. The text
of those statements may be examined at
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 has adopted NYSE
Arca Rule 8.601–E for the purpose of
1 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
U.S.C. 78a.
3 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
2 15
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permitting the listing and trading, or
trading pursuant to unlisted trading
privileges (‘‘UTP’’), of Active Proxy
Portfolio Shares, which are securities
issued by an actively managed open-end
investment management company.4
Commentary .01 to Rule 8.601–E
requires the Exchange to file separate
proposals under Section 19(b) of the Act
before listing and trading any series of
Active Proxy Portfolio Shares on the
Exchange. Therefore, the Exchange is
submitting this proposal in order to list
and trade shares (‘‘Shares’’) as Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares of the American
Century® Sustainable Growth ETF (the
‘‘Fund’’) under Rule 8.601–E.
Key Features of Active Proxy Portfolio
Shares
While funds issuing Active Proxy
Portfolio Shares will be actively
managed and, to that extent, will be
similar to Managed Fund Shares, Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares differ from
Managed Fund Shares in the following
important respects. First, in contrast to
Managed Fund Shares, which are
actively-managed funds listed and
traded under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–E 5
4 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 89185
(June 29, 2020), 85 FR 40328 (July 6, 2020) (SR–
NYSEArca–2019–95). Rule 8.601–E(c)(1) provides
that ‘‘[t]he term ‘‘Active Proxy Portfolio Share’’
means a security that (a) is issued by a investment
company registered under the Investment Company
Act of 1940 (‘‘Investment Company’’) organized as
an open-end management investment company that
invests in a portfolio of securities selected by the
Investment Company’s investment adviser
consistent with the Investment Company’s
investment objectives and policies; (b) is issued in
a specified minimum number of shares, or
multiples thereof, in return for a deposit by the
purchaser of the Proxy Portfolio and/or cash with
a value equal to the next determined net asset value
(‘‘NAV’’); (c) when aggregated in the same specified
minimum number of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares,
or multiples thereof, may be redeemed at a holder’s
request in return for the Proxy Portfolio and/or cash
to the holder by the issuer with a value equal to
the next determined NAV; and (d) the portfolio
holdings for which are disclosed within at least 60
days following the end of every fiscal quarter.’’ Rule
8.601–E(c)(2) provides that ‘‘[t]he term ‘‘Actual
Portfolio’’ means the identities and quantities of the
securities and other assets held by the Investment
Company that shall form the basis for the
Investment Company’s calculation of NAV at the
end of the business day.’’ Rule 8.601–E(c)(3)
provides that ‘‘[t]he term ‘‘Proxy Portfolio’’ means
a specified portfolio of securities, other financial
instruments and/or cash designed to track closely
the daily performance of the Actual Portfolio of a
series of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares as provided
in the exemptive relief pursuant to the Investment
Company Act of 1940 applicable to such series.’’
5 The Commission has previously approved
listing and trading on the Exchange of a number of
issues of Managed Fund Shares under NYSE Arca
Rule 8.600–E. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act
Release Nos. 57801 (May 8, 2008), 73 FR 27878
(May 14, 2008) (SR–NYSEArca–2008–31) (order
approving Exchange listing and trading of twelve
actively-managed funds of the WisdomTree Trust);
60460 (August 7, 2009), 74 FR 41468 (August 17,
2009) (SR–NYSEArca–2009–55) (order approving
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and for which a ‘‘Disclosed Portfolio’’ is
required to be disseminated at least
once daily,6 the portfolio for each series
of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares will be
publicly disclosed within at least 60
days following the end of every fiscal
quarter in accordance with normal
disclosure requirements otherwise
applicable to open-end management
investment companies registered under
the Investment Company Act of 1940
(the ‘‘1940 Act’’).7 The composition of
the portfolio of each series of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares will not be
available at commencement of Exchange
listing and trading. Second, in
connection with the creation and
redemption of Active Proxy Portfolio
Shares, such creation or redemption
may be exchanged for a Proxy Portfolio
and/or cash with a value equal to the
next-determined NAV. A series of
Active Proxy Portfolio Shares will
disclose the Proxy Portfolio on a daily
basis, which, as described above, is
designed to track closely the daily
performance of the Actual Portfolio of a
series of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares,
instead of the actual holdings of the
listing of Dent Tactical ETF); 63076 (October 12,
2010), 75 FR 63874 (October 18, 2010) (SR–
NYSEArca–2010–79) (order approving Exchange
listing and trading of Cambria Global Tactical ETF);
63802 (January 31, 2011), 76 FR 6503 (February 4,
2011) (SR–NYSEArca–2010–118) (order approving
Exchange listing and trading of the SiM Dynamic
Allocation Diversified Income ETF and SiM
Dynamic Allocation Growth Income ETF). The
Commission also has approved a proposed rule
change relating to generic listing standards for
Managed Fund Shares. See Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 78397 (July 22, 2016), 81 FR 49320
(July 27, 2016 (SR–NYSEArca–2015–110)
(amending NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 to adopt
generic listing standards for Managed Fund Shares).
6 NYSE Arca Rule 8.600–E(c)(2) defines the term
‘‘Disclosed Portfolio’’ as the identities and
quantities of the securities and other assets held by
the Investment Company that will form the basis for
the Investment Company’s calculation of net asset
value at the end of the business day. NYSE Arca
Rule 8.600–E(d)(2)(B)(i) requires that the Disclosed
Portfolio will be disseminated at least once daily
and will be made available to all market
participants at the same time.
7 A mutual fund is required to file with the
Commission its complete portfolio schedules for the
second and fourth fiscal quarters on Form N–CSR
under the 1940 Act. Information reported on Form
N–PORT for the third month of the Fund’s fiscal
quarter will be made publicly available 60 days
after the end of the Fund’s fiscal quarter. Form
N–PORT requires reporting of the Fund’s complete
portfolio holdings on a position-by-position basis
on a quarterly basis within 60 days after fiscal
quarter end. Investors can obtain the Fund’s
Statement of Additional Information (‘‘SAI’’), its
Shareholder Reports, its Form N–CSR, filed twice
a year, and its Form N–CEN, filed annually. The
Fund’s SAI and Shareholder Reports will be
available free upon request from the Investment
Company, and those documents and the Form
N–PORT, Form N–CSR, and Form N–CEN may be
viewed on-screen or downloaded from the
Commission’s website at www.sec.gov.
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Investment Company, as provided by a
series of Managed Fund Shares.
The Commission has previously
approved listing and trading on the
Exchange of series of Active Proxy
Portfolio Shares under NYSE Arca Rule
8.601–E.8 The Fund is a series of the
American Century ETF Trust (the
‘‘Trust’’), a Delaware statutory trust.9
The investment adviser for the Fund
will be American Century Investment
Management, Inc. (‘‘Adviser’’). State
Street Bank and Trust Company will
serve as the Fund’s transfer agent,
custodian, and will conduct certain
administrative functions. Foreside Fund
8 See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 89185
(June 29, 2020), 85 FR 40328 (July 6, 2020) (SR–
NYSEArca–2019–95) (Notice of Filing of
Amendment No. 6 and Order Granting Accelerated
Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified
by Amendment No. 6, to Adopt NYSE Arca Rule
8.601–E to Permit the Listing and Trading of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares and To List and Trade
Shares of the Natixis U.S. Equity Opportunities ETF
Under Proposed NYSE Arca Rule 8.601–E) (‘‘Natixis
Order’’); 89192 (June 30, 2020), 85 FR 40699 (July
7, 2020)(SR–NYSEArca–2019–96) (Notice of Filing
of Amendment No. 5 and Order Granting
Accelerated Approval of a Proposed Rule Change,
as Modified by Amendment No. 5, to List and Trade
Two Series of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares Issued
by the American Century ETF Trust under NYSE
Arca Rule 8.601–E) (‘‘American Century Order’’);
89191 (June 30, 2020), 85 FR 40358 (July 6,
2020)(SR–NYSEArca–2019–92) (Notice of Filing of
Amendment No. 3 and Order Granting Accelerated
Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified
by Amendment No. 3, to List and Trade Four Series
of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares Issued by T. Rowe
Price Exchange-Traded Funds, Inc. under NYSE
Arca Rule 8.601–E) (‘‘T. Rowe Price Approval
Order’’); 89438 (July 31, 2020), 85 FR 47821 (August
6, 2020) (SR–NYSEArca–2020–51) (Order Granting
Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified
by Amendment No. 2, to List and Trade Shares of
Natixis Vaughan Nelson Select ETF and Natixis
Vaughan Nelson MidCap ETF under NYSE Arca
Rule 8.601–E). See also Securities Exchange Act
Release No. 88887 (May 15, 2020), 85 FR 30990
(May 21, 2020)(SR–CboeBZX–2019–107) (Notice of
Filing of Amendment No. 5 and Order Granting
Accelerated Approval of a Proposed Rule Change,
as Modified by Amendment No. 5, to Adopt Rule
14.11(m), Tracking Fund Shares, and to List and
Trade Shares of the Fidelity Blue Chip Value ETF,
Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF, and Fidelity New
Millennium ETF).
9 The Trust is registered under the 1940 Act. On
April 15, 2021, the Trust filed a registration
statement on Form N–1A under the Securities Act
of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a) and under the 1940 Act
relating to the Fund (File Nos. 333–221045 and
811–23305 (the ‘‘Registration Statement’’). The
Trust filed an application for an order under
Section 6(c) of the 1940 Act for exemptions from
various provisions of the 1940 Act and rules
thereunder (File No. 812–15082), dated April 9,
2020 (‘‘Application’’). On May 12, 2020, the
Commission issued an order (‘‘Exemptive Order’’)
under the 1940 Act granting the exemptions
requested in the Application (Investment Company
Act Release No. 33862, May 12, 2020). Investments
made by the Fund will comply with the conditions
set forth in the Application and the Exemptive
Order. The description of the operation of the Fund
herein is based, in part, on the Registration
Statement and the Application. The Exchange will
not commence trading in Shares of the Fund until
the Registration Statement is effective.
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29811
Services, LLC, a registered broker
dealer, will serve as the distributor
(‘‘Distributor’’) of the Shares.
Commentary .04 to NYSE Arca Rule
8.601–E provides that, if the investment
adviser to the Investment Company
issuing Active Proxy Portfolio Shares is
registered as a broker-dealer or is
affiliated with a broker-dealer, such
investment adviser will erect and
maintain a ‘‘fire wall’’ between the
investment adviser and personnel of the
broker-dealer or broker-dealer affiliate,
as applicable, with respect to access to
information concerning the composition
and/or changes to such Investment
Company’s Actual Portfolio and/or
Proxy Portfolio. Any person related to
the investment adviser or Investment
Company who makes decisions
pertaining to the Investment Company’s
Actual Portfolio and/or Proxy Portfolio
or has access to non-public information
regarding the Investment Company’s
Actual Portfolio and/or Proxy Portfolio
or changes thereto must be subject to
procedures reasonably designed to
prevent the use and dissemination of
material non-public information
regarding the Actual Portfolio and/or
Proxy Portfolio or changes thereto.
Commentary .04 is similar to
Commentary .03(a)(i) and (iii) to NYSE
Arca Rule 5.2–E(j)(3); however,
Commentary .04, 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.10 Commentary .04 is
also similar to Commentary .06 to Rule
8.600–E related to Managed Fund
Shares, except that Commentary .04
10 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 will be
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
violations, 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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relates to establishment and
maintenance of a ‘‘fire wall’’ between
the investment adviser and personnel of
the broker-dealer or broker-dealer
affiliate, as applicable, applicable to an
Investment Company’s Actual Portfolio
and/or Proxy Portfolio or changes
thereto, and not just to the underlying
portfolio, as is the case with Managed
Fund Shares.
In addition, Commentary .05 to Rule
8.601–E provides that any person or
entity, including a custodian, Reporting
Authority, distributor, or administrator,
who has access to non-public
information regarding the Investment
Company’s Actual Portfolio or the Proxy
Portfolio or changes thereto, must be
subject to procedures reasonably
designed to prevent the use and
dissemination of material non-public
information regarding the applicable
Investment Company Actual Portfolio or
the Proxy Portfolio or changes thereto.
Moreover, if any such person or entity
is registered as a broker-dealer or
affiliated with a broker-dealer, such
person or entity will erect and maintain
a ‘‘fire wall’’ between the person or
entity and the broker-dealer with
respect to access to information
concerning the composition and/or
changes to such Investment Company
Actual Portfolio or Proxy Portfolio.
The Adviser is not registered as a
broker-dealer but is affiliated with a
broker-dealer. The Adviser has
implemented and will maintain a ‘‘fire
wall’’ with respect to such broker-dealer
affiliate regarding access to information
concerning the composition of and/or
changes to the Fund’s Actual Portfolio
and/or Proxy Portfolio. In the event (a)
the Adviser becomes registered as a
broker-dealer or newly affiliated with a
broker-dealer, or (b) any new adviser or
sub-adviser is or becomes a registered
broker-dealer or affiliated with a brokerdealer, it will implement and maintain
a fire wall with respect to its relevant
personnel or its broker-dealer affiliate
regarding access to information
concerning the composition and/or
changes to the Fund’s Actual Portfolio
and/or Proxy Portfolio, and will be
subject to procedures designed to
prevent the use and dissemination of
material non-public information
regarding the Fund’s Actual Portfolio
and/or Proxy Portfolio or changes
thereto. Any person related to the
Adviser or the Fund who makes
decisions pertaining to the Fund’s
Actual Portfolio or Proxy Portfolio or
has access to non-public information
regarding the Fund’s Actual Portfolio
and/or the Proxy Portfolio or changes
thereto is subject to procedures
reasonably designed to prevent the use
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and dissemination of material nonpublic information regarding the Fund’s
Actual Portfolio and/or the Proxy
Portfolio or changes thereto.
In addition, any person or entity,
including any service provider for the
Fund, who has access to non-public
information regarding the Fund’s Actual
Portfolio or the Proxy Portfolio or
changes thereto, will be subject to
procedures reasonably designed to
prevent the use and dissemination of
material non-public information
regarding the Fund’s Actual Portfolio
and/or the Proxy Portfolio or changes
thereto. Moreover, if any such person or
entity is registered as a broker-dealer or
affiliated with a broker-dealer, such
person or entity has erected and will
maintain a ‘‘fire wall’’ between the
person or entity and the broker-dealer
with respect to access to information
concerning the composition and/or
changes to the Fund’s Actual Portfolio
and/or Proxy Portfolio.
Description of the Fund
According to the Registration
Statement, each ‘‘Business Day’’ 11
before commencement of the trading of
Shares, the Fund will publish on its
website a Proxy Portfolio designed to
closely track the daily performance of
the Fund but the Proxy Portfolio will
not be the Fund’s Actual Portfolio.
The Proxy Portfolio will be designed
to closely track the daily performance of
the Actual Portfolio and to reflect the
economic exposures and risk
characteristics of the Fund’s actual
holdings on each trading day. According
to the Registration Statement, this
would be achieved by performing an
analysis of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio
(‘‘Factor Model’’). The Factor Model is
comprised of three sets of factors or
analytical metrics: Market-based factors,
fundamental factors, and industry/
sector factors. The Fund will have a
universe of securities (the ‘‘Model
Universe’’) that will be used to generate
its Proxy Portfolio. The Model Universe
will be comprised solely of securities
that the Fund can purchase and will be
a financial index or stated portfolio of
securities from which Fund investments
will be selected. The results of the
Factor Model analysis of the Fund’s
Actual Portfolio are then applied to the
Fund’s Model Universe. The daily
rebalanced Proxy Portfolio is then
generated as a result of this Model
Universe analysis with the Proxy
Portfolio being a small sub-set of the
11 ‘‘Business Day’’ is defined to mean any day that
the Exchange is open, including any day when the
Fund satisfies redemption requests as required by
Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act.
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Model Universe. The Factor Model is
applied to both the Actual Portfolio and
the Model Universe to construct the
Fund’s Proxy Portfolio that performs in
a manner substantially identical to the
performance of its Actual Portfolio.
The identity and quantity of Proxy
Portfolio component investments and
the overlap between the holdings of the
prior Business Day’s Proxy Portfolio
compared to the Actual Portfolio
(‘‘Proxy Overlap’’) will be publicly
available on the Fund’s website before
the commencement of trading in Shares
on each Business Day. The Proxy
Portfolio published on the Fund’s
website each Business Day will include
the following information for each
portfolio holding in the Proxy Portfolio:
(1) Ticker symbol; (2) CUSIP or other
identifier; (3) description of holding; (4)
quantity of each security or other asset
held; and (5) percentage weight of the
holding in the Proxy Portfolio. The
Fund’s website will note that the Proxy
Overlap is calculated based on the
Proxy Portfolio and Actual Portfolio
holdings as of the prior Business Day.
The Proxy Overlap will be calculated by
taking the lesser weight of each asset
held in common between the Actual
Portfolio and the Proxy Portfolio and
adding the totals.
The Proxy Portfolio aims to allow
market participants to assess the
intraday value and associated risk of the
Fund’s Actual Portfolio. The Proxy
Portfolio will only include securities
that are allowed to be held in the Actual
Portfolio.
The Fund’s holdings will conform to
the permissible investments as set forth
in the Application and Exemptive
Order, and the holdings will be
consistent with all requirements in the
Application and Exemptive Order.12
12 The Application and Exemptive Order
incorporates by reference the terms and conditions
of a previous order granting the same relief, as that
order may be amended from time to time. See
Natixis ETF Trust II, et al., Investment Company
Act Rel. Nos. 33684 (November 14, 2019) (notice)
and 33711 (December 10, 2019) (order) (the
‘‘Reference Order’’). Pursuant to the Reference
Order as incorporated by reference into the
Application and Exemptive Order, the permissible
investments for the Fund include only the
following instruments: ETFs; exchange-traded notes
(‘‘ETNs’’); exchange-traded common stocks;
exchange-traded preferred stocks; exchange-traded
American Depositary Receipts (‘‘ADRs’’); exchangetraded real estate investment trusts (‘‘REITs’’);
exchange-traded commodity pools; exchange-traded
metals trusts; exchange-traded currency trusts;
common stocks listed on a foreign exchange that
trade on such exchange synchronously with the
Shares (‘‘foreign common stocks’’) in the
Exchange’s Core Trading Session (normally 9:30
a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time (‘‘E.T.’’)); exchangetraded futures that trade synchronously with the
Fund’s Shares as well as cash and cash equivalents.
With the exception of foreign common stocks and
cash and cash equivalents, all holdings of the Fund
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Any foreign common stocks held by the
Fund will be traded on an exchange that
is a member of the Intermarket
Surveillance Group (‘‘ISG’’) or with
which the Exchange has in place a
comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement.
According to the Registration
Statement, the Fund’s investment
objective is to seek capital appreciation.
The Fund will generally invest in
exchange-traded common stocks of large
capitalization companies. Under normal
circumstances, the Fund will invest at
least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in
sustainable securities, defined as
securities to which the Adviser’s
proprietary model assigns an
environmental, social, and governance
(‘‘ESG’’) score that is in the top three
quartiles of the ESG scores the model
assigns to all of the securities in the
Fund’s benchmark, the Russell 1000
Growth Index.
Investment Restrictions
The Shares of the Fund will conform
to the initial and continued listing
criteria under Rule 8.601–E. The Fund’s
holdings will be limited to and
consistent with permissible holdings as
described in the Application and
Exemptive Order and all requirements
in the Application and Exemptive
Order.13
The Fund’s investments, including
derivatives, will be consistent with their
investment objectives and will not be
used to enhance leverage (although
certain derivatives and other
investments may result in leverage).
That is, the Fund’s investments will not
be used to seek performance that is the
multiple or inverse multiple (e.g., 2X or
–3X) of the Fund’s primary broad-based
securities benchmark index (as defined
in Form N–1A).
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Purchases and Redemptions of Shares
According to the Registration
Statement, the Trust will offer, issue
and sell Shares of the Fund to investors
only in specified minimum size
‘‘Creation Units’’ through the Distributor
on a continuous basis at the NAV per
Share next determined after an order in
proper form is received. The NAV of the
Fund is expected to be determined as of
4:00 p.m. E.T. on each Business Day.
will be listed on a U.S. national securities exchange
or a U.S. futures exchange. For purposes of this
filing, cash equivalents are short-term U.S. Treasury
securities, government money market funds, and
repurchase agreements. The Fund will not hold
short positions or invest in derivatives other than
U.S. exchange-traded futures, will not borrow for
investment purposes, and will not purchase any
securities that are illiquid investments at the time
of purchase.
13 See notes 9 & 12, supra.
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The Trust will sell and redeem Creation
Units of the Fund only on a Business
Day. A Creation Unit will generally
consist of at least 10,000 Shares.
According to the Registration
Statement, Shares will be purchased
and redeemed in Creation Units and
generally on an in-kind basis of a
designated portfolio of securities
(including any portion of such securities
for which cash may be substituted) and
the ‘‘Cash Component,’’ which is an
amount equal to the difference between
the NAV of the Shares (per Creation
Unit) and the ‘‘Deposit Amount,’’ which
is an amount equal to the market value
of the Deposit Securities, and serves to
compensate for any differences between
the NAV per Creation Unit and the
Deposit Amount. Together, the Deposit
Securities and the Cash Component
constitute the ‘‘Fund Deposit,’’ which
will be applicable (subject to possible
amendment or correction) to creation
requests received in proper form. The
Fund Deposit represents the minimum
initial and subsequent investment
amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund.
The names and quantities of the
instruments that constitute the Fund
Deposit will be the same as the Fund’s
Proxy Portfolio, except to the extent
purchases and redemptions are made
entirely or in part on a cash basis.14 If
there is a difference between the NAV
attributable to a Creation Unit and the
aggregate market value of the Creation
Basket exchanged for the Creation Unit,
the party conveying instruments with
the lower value will also pay to the
other an amount in cash equal to that
difference (the ‘‘Cash Amount’’).
Each Business Day, before the open of
trading on the Exchange (9:30 a.m. E.T.),
the Fund will cause to be published
through the National Securities Clearing
Corporation (‘‘NSCC’’) the names and
the required number of shares of each
Deposit Security and the amount of the
Cash Component (if any) to be included
in the current Fund Deposit (based on
information as of the end of the
previous Business Day for the Fund).
All orders to purchase and redeem
Creation Units must be placed with the
Distributor by or through an authorized
participant, which has a written
agreement with the Distributor that
allows the authorized participant to
place orders for the purchase and
redemption of Creation Units
(‘‘Authorized Participant’’). Only an
Authorized Participant may create or
redeem Creation Units directly with the
Fund.
Validly submitted orders to purchase
or redeem Creation Units on each
14 [sic]
PO 00000
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29813
Business Day will be accepted until the
end of the Core Trading Session (the
‘‘Closing Time’’), generally 4:00 p.m.
E.T., on the Business Day that the order
is placed (the ‘‘Transmittal Date’’). All
Creation Unit orders must be received
by the Distributor no later than two
hours prior to the Closing Time
(normally 2 p.m. E.T.) in order to
receive the NAV determined on the
Transmittal Date. When the Exchange
closes earlier than normal, the Fund
may require orders for Creation Units to
be placed earlier in the Business Day.
Availability of Information
The Fund’s website
(www.americancenturyetfs.com), 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 Fund’s
website will include on a daily basis,
per Share for the Fund, the prior
Business Day’s NAV and the ‘‘Closing
Price’’ or ‘‘Bid/Ask Price,’’ 15 and a
calculation of the premium/discount of
the Closing Price or Bid/Ask Price
against such NAV.16 The Adviser has
represented that the Fund’s website will
also provide: (1) Any other information
regarding premiums/discounts as may
be required for other ETFs under Rule
6c–11 under the 1940 Act, as amended,
and (2) any information regarding the
bid/ask spread for the Fund as may be
required for other ETFs under Rule 6c–
11 under the 1940 Act, as amended. The
website and information will be
publicly available at no charge. The
website also will disclose the
information required under Rule 8.601–
E(c)(3).17
The Proxy Portfolio holdings
(including the identity and quantity of
investments in the Proxy Portfolio) will
15 The records relating to Bid/Ask Prices will be
retained by the Fund or its service providers. The
‘‘Bid/Ask Price’’ is the midpoint of the highest bid
and lowest offer based upon the National Best Bid
and Offer as of the time of calculation of the Fund’s
NAV. The ‘‘National Best Bid and Offer’’ is the
current national best bid and national best offer as
disseminated by the Consolidated Quotation
System or UTP Plan Securities Information
Processor. The ‘‘Closing Price’’ of Shares is the
official closing price of the Shares on the Exchange.
16 The ‘‘premium/discount’’ refers to the
premium or discount to NAV at the end of a trading
day and will be calculated based on the last Bid/
Ask Price or the Closing Price on a given trading
day.
17 See note 4, supra. Rule 8.601–E(c)(3) provides
that the website for each series of Active Proxy
Portfolio Shares shall disclose the information
regarding the Proxy Portfolio as provided in the
exemptive relief pursuant to the Investment
Company Act of 1940 applicable to such series,
including the following, to the extent applicable: (i)
Ticker symbol; (ii) CUSIP or other identifier; (iii)
Description of holding; (iv) Quantity of each
security or other asset held; and (v) Percentage
weighting of the holding in the Proxy Portfolio.
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be publicly available on the Fund’s
website before the commencement of
trading in Shares on each Business Day.
Typical mutual fund-style annual,
semi-annual and quarterly disclosures
contained in the Fund’s Commission
filings will be provided on the Fund’s
website on a current basis.18 Thus, the
Fund will publish the portfolio contents
of its Actual Portfolio on a periodic
basis within at least 60 days following
the end of every fiscal quarter.
Investors can also obtain the Fund’s
prospectus, SAI, shareholder reports,
Form N–CSR, Form N–PORT and Form
N–CEN. Investors may access complete
portfolio schedules for the Fund on
Form N–CSR and Form N–PORT. The
prospectus, SAI and shareholder reports
will be available free upon request from
the Fund, and those documents and the
Form N–CSR, Form N–PORT and Form
N–CEN may be viewed on-screen or
downloaded from the Commission’s
website at https://www.sec.gov. The
Exchange also notes that pursuant to the
Application, the Fund must comply
with Regulation Fair Disclosure, which
prohibits selective disclosure of any
material non-public information.
Information regarding the market
price of Shares and trading volume in
Shares, will be continually available on
a real-time basis throughout the day on
brokers’ computer screens and other
electronic services. The previous day’s
closing price and trading volume
information for the Shares will be
published daily in the financial section
of newspapers.
Quotation and last sale information
for the Shares and U.S. exchange-traded
instruments (excluding futures
contracts) will be available via the
Consolidated Tape Association (‘‘CTA’’)
high-speed line, from the exchanges on
which such securities trade, or through
major market data vendors or
subscription services. Intraday price
information for all exchange-traded
instruments, which include all eligible
instruments and futures contracts but
not cash and cash equivalents, will be
available from the exchanges on which
they trade, or through major market data
vendors or subscription services.
Intraday price information for cash
equivalents is available through major
market data vendors, subscription
services and/or pricing services.
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
18 See
note 7, supra.
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17:23 Jun 02, 2021
the Fund.19 Trading in Shares of the
Fund will be halted if the circuit breaker
parameters in NYSE Arca Rule 7.12–E
have been reached. Trading also may be
halted because of market conditions or
for reasons that, in the view of the
Exchange, make trading in the Shares
inadvisable. Trading in the Shares will
be subject to NYSE Arca Rule 8.601–
E(d)(2)(D), which sets forth
circumstances under which Shares of
the Fund will be halted.
Specifically, Rule 8.601–E(d)(2)(D)
provides that the Exchange may
consider all relevant factors in
exercising its discretion to halt trading
in a series of Active Proxy Portfolio
Shares. Trading may be halted because
of market conditions or for reasons that,
in the view of the Exchange, make
trading in the series of Active Proxy
Portfolio Shares inadvisable. These may
include: (a) The extent to which trading
is not occurring in the securities and/or
the financial instruments composing the
Proxy Portfolio and/or Actual Portfolio;
or (b) whether other unusual conditions
or circumstances detrimental to the
maintenance of a fair and orderly
market are present.
In addition, if the Exchange becomes
aware that the NAV, Proxy Portfolio or
Actual Portfolio with respect to a series
of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares is not
disseminated to all market participants
at the same time, the Exchange shall
halt trading in such series until such
time as the NAV, Proxy Portfolio or
Actual Portfolio is available to all
market participants at the same time.
Trading Rules
The Exchange deems the Shares to be
equity securities, thus rendering trading
in the Shares subject to the Exchange’s
existing rules governing the trading of
equity securities. Shares will trade on
the NYSE Arca Marketplace in all
trading sessions in accordance with
NYSE Arca Rule 7.34–E(a). As provided
in NYSE Arca Rule 7.6–E, the minimum
price variation (‘‘MPV’’) for quoting and
entry of orders in equity securities
traded on the NYSE Arca Marketplace is
$0.01, with the exception of securities
that are priced less than $1.00 for which
the MPV for order entry is $0.0001.
The Shares will conform to the initial
and continued listing criteria under
NYSE Arca Rule 8.601–E. The Exchange
has appropriate rules to facilitate
trading in the Shares during all trading
sessions.
A minimum of 100,000 Shares for the
Fund will be outstanding at the
commencement of trading on the
Exchange. In addition, pursuant to Rule
19 See
Jkt 253001
PO 00000
NYSE Arca Rule 7.12–E.
Frm 00078
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
8.601–E(d)(1)(B), the Exchange, prior to
commencement of trading in the Shares,
will obtain a representation from the
Trust that the NAV per Share will be
calculated daily and that the NAV,
Proxy Portfolio and the Actual Portfolio
for the Fund will be made available to
all market participants at the same time.
With respect to Active Proxy Portfolio
Shares, all of the Exchange member
obligations relating to product
description and prospectus delivery
requirements will continue to apply in
accordance with Exchange rules and
federal securities laws, and the
Exchange and the Financial Industry
Regulatory Authority, Inc. (‘‘FINRA’’)
will continue to monitor Exchange
members for compliance with such
requirements.
Surveillance
The Exchange represents that trading
in the Shares will be subject to the
existing trading surveillances,
administered by the Exchange, as well
as cross market surveillances
administered by FINRA on behalf of the
Exchange, which are designed to detect
violations of Exchange rules and
applicable federal securities laws.20 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.
FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or
the Exchange or both will communicate
as needed regarding trading in the
Shares and underlying exchange-traded
instruments with other markets and
other entities that are members of the
ISG, and FINRA, on behalf of the
Exchange, or the Exchange or both may
obtain trading information regarding
trading such securities and exchangetraded instruments from such markets
and other entities. In addition, the
Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in such securities and
exchange-traded instruments from
20 FINRA conducts cross-market surveillances on
behalf of the Exchange pursuant to a regulatory
services agreement. The Exchange is responsible for
FINRA’s performance under this regulatory services
agreement.
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markets and other entities that are
members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement.21
The Advisor will make available daily
to FINRA and the Exchange the Actual
Portfolio of the Fund, upon request, in
order to facilitate the performance of the
surveillances referred to above.
In addition, the Exchange also has a
general policy prohibiting the
distribution of material, non-public
information by its employees.
Commentary .03 to NYSE Arca Rule
8.601–E provides that the Exchange will
implement and maintain written
surveillance procedures for Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares. As part of these
surveillance procedures, the Investment
Company’s investment adviser will
upon request by the Exchange or
FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, make
available to the Exchange or FINRA the
daily Actual Portfolio holdings of each
series of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares.
The Exchange believes that the ability to
access the information on an as needed
basis will provide it with sufficient
information to perform the necessary
regulatory functions associated with
listing and trading series of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares on the Exchange,
including the ability to monitor
compliance with the initial and
continued listing requirements as well
as the ability to surveil for manipulation
of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares.
The Exchange will utilize its existing
procedures to monitor the Fund’s
compliance with the requirements of
Rule 8.601–E. For example, the
Exchange will continue to use intraday
alerts that will notify Exchange
personnel of trading activity throughout
the day that may indicate that unusual
conditions or circumstances are present
that could be detrimental to the
maintenance of a fair and orderly
market. The Exchange will require from
the Trust, upon initial listing and
periodically thereafter, a representation
that it is in compliance with Rule
8.601–E. The Exchange notes that
Commentary .01 to Rule 8.601–E
requires the issuer of shares to notify the
Exchange of any failure to comply with
the continued listing requirements of
Rule 8.601–E. In addition, the Exchange
will require the Trust to represent that
it will notify the Exchange of any failure
to comply with the terms of applicable
exemptive and no-action relief. As part
of its surveillance procedures, the
Exchange will rely on the foregoing
procedures to become aware of any non21 For a list of the current members of ISG, see
www.isgportal.org.
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17:23 Jun 02, 2021
Jkt 253001
compliance with the requirements of
Rule 8.601–E.
With respect to the Fund, all
statements and representations made in
this filing regarding (a) the description
of the portfolio or reference asset, (b)
limitations on portfolio holdings or
reference assets, or (c) the applicability
of Exchange listing rules specified in
this rule filing shall constitute
continued listing requirements for
listing the Shares on the Exchange. The
Exchange will obtain a representation
from the Trust, prior to commencement
of trading in the Shares of the Fund, that
it will advise the Exchange of any
failure by the Fund to comply with the
continued listing requirements, and,
pursuant to its obligations under
Section 19(g)(1) of the Act, the Exchange
will monitor for compliance with the
continued listing requirements. If the
Fund is not in compliance with the
applicable listing requirements, the
Exchange will commence delisting
procedures under NYSE Arca Rule 5.5–
E(m).
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the
proposed rule change is consistent with
Section 6(b) of the Act,22 in general, and
furthers the objectives of Section 6(b)(5)
of the Act,23 in particular, in that it is
designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, to
promote just and equitable principles of
trade, to remove impediments to and
perfect the mechanism of a free and
open market and a national market
system, and, in general, to protect
investors and the public interest.24
With respect to the proposed listing
and trading of Shares of the Fund, the
Exchange believes that the proposed
rule change is designed to prevent
fraudulent and manipulative acts and
practices in that the Shares will be
listed and traded on the Exchange
pursuant to the initial and continued
listing criteria in NYSE Arca Rule
8.601–E. One hundred percent of the
value of the Fund’s Actual Portfolio
(except for cash and cash equivalents) at
the time of purchase will be listed on
U.S. or foreign securities exchanges (or,
in the limited case of futures contracts,
U.S. futures exchanges). The listing and
trading of such U.S. securities is subject
to rules of the exchanges on which they
are listed and traded, as approved by the
Commission.
22 15
U.S.C. 78f(b).
U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
24 The Exchange represents that, for initial and
continued listing, the Fund will be in compliance
with Rule 10A–3 under the Act, as provided by
NYSE Arca Rule 5.3–E.
23 15
PO 00000
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Fmt 4703
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29815
The Fund’s holdings will conform to
the permissible investments as set forth
in the Application and Exemptive Order
and the holdings will be consistent with
all requirements in the Application and
Exemptive Order.25
The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of
the Exchange, or both, will
communicate as needed regarding
trading in the Shares and underlying
exchange-traded instruments 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 such securities and
exchange-traded instruments from such
markets and other entities. In addition,
the Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in the Shares and
exchange-traded instruments from
markets and other entities that are
members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement. Any
foreign common stocks held by the
Fund will be traded on an exchange that
is a member of the ISG or with which
the Exchange has in place a
comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement.
The daily dissemination of the
identity and quantity of Proxy Portfolio
component investments, together with
the right of Authorized Participants to
create and redeem each day at the NAV,
will be sufficient for market participants
to value and trade Shares in a manner
that will not lead to significant
deviations between the Bid/Ask Price
and NAV of the Shares.
The Fund’s investments, including
derivatives, will be consistent with its
investment objective and will not be
used to enhance leverage (although
certain derivatives and other
investments may result in leverage).
That is, the Fund’s investments will not
be used to seek performance that is the
multiple or inverse multiple (e.g., 2X or
–3X) of the Fund’s primary broad-based
securities benchmark index (as defined
in Form N–1A).
With respect to the Fund, 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 Trust,
prior to commencement of trading in the
Shares, that the NAV per Share of the
Fund will be calculated daily and that
the NAV, Proxy Portfolio and Actual
Portfolio for the Fund will be made
available to all market participants at
the same time. Investors can also obtain
the Fund’s SAI, shareholder reports, and
25 See
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note 9, supra.
03JNN1
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its Form N–CSR, Form N–PORT and
Form N–CEN. The Fund’s SAI and
shareholder reports will be available
free upon request from the Fund, and
those documents and the Form N–CSR,
Form N–PORT and Form N–CEN may
be viewed on-screen or downloaded
from the Commission’s website.
Commentary .03 to NYSE Arca Rule
8.601–E provides that the Exchange will
implement and maintain written
surveillance procedures for Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares. As part of these
surveillance procedures, the Investment
Company’s investment adviser will,
upon request by the Exchange or
FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, make
available to the Exchange or FINRA the
daily portfolio holdings of each series of
Active Proxy Portfolio Shares. The
Exchange believes that the ability to
access the information on an as needed
basis will provide it with sufficient
information to perform the necessary
regulatory functions associated with
listing and trading series of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares on the Exchange,
including the ability to monitor
compliance with the initial and
continued listing requirements as well
as the ability to surveil for manipulation
of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares. With
respect to the Fund, the Adviser will
make available daily to FINRA and the
Exchange the portfolio holdings of the
Fund upon request in order to facilitate
the performance of the surveillances
referred to above.
The Exchange will utilize its existing
procedures to monitor compliance with
the requirements of Rule 8.601–E. For
example, the Exchange will continue to
use intraday alerts that will notify
Exchange personnel of trading activity
throughout the day that may indicate
that unusual conditions or
circumstances are present that could be
detrimental to the maintenance of a fair
and orderly market. The Exchange will
require from the Trust, upon initial
listing and periodically thereafter, a
representation that it is in compliance
with Rule 8.601–E. The Exchange notes
that Commentary .01 to Rule 8.601–E
requires the issuer of shares to notify the
Exchange of any failure to comply with
the continued listing requirements of
Rule 8.601–E. In addition, the Exchange
will require the Trust to represent that
it will notify the Exchange of any failure
to comply with the terms of applicable
exemptive and no-action relief. The
Exchange will rely on the foregoing
procedures to become aware of any noncompliance with the requirements of
Rule 8.601–E.
In addition, with respect to the Fund,
a large amount of information will be
publicly available regarding the Fund
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17:23 Jun 02, 2021
Jkt 253001
and the Shares, thereby promoting
market transparency.
Quotation and last sale information
for the Shares and U.S. exchange-traded
instruments (excluding futures
contracts) will be available via the CTA
high-speed line, from the exchanges on
which such securities trade, or through
major market data vendors or
subscription services. Intraday price
information for all exchange-traded
instruments, which include all eligible
instruments and futures contracts but
not cash and cash equivalents, will be
available from the exchanges on which
they trade, or through major market data
vendors or subscription services.
Intraday price information for cash
equivalents is available through major
market data vendors, subscription
services and/or pricing services.
The website for the Fund will include
a form of the prospectus that may be
downloaded, and additional data
relating to NAV and other applicable
quantitative information, updated on a
daily basis. Trading in Shares of the
Fund will be halted if the circuit breaker
parameters in NYSE Arca Rule 7.12–E
have been reached or because of market
conditions or for reasons that, in the
view of the Exchange, make trading in
the Shares inadvisable. Trading in the
Shares will be subject to NYSE Arca
Rule 8.601–E(d)(2)(D), which sets forth
circumstances under which Shares of
the Fund may be halted. In addition, as
noted above, investors will have ready
access to the Proxy Portfolio, and
quotation and last sale information for
the Shares. The Proxy Portfolio holdings
for the Fund (including the identity and
quantity of investments in the Proxy
Portfolio) will be publicly available on
the Fund’s website before the
commencement of trading in Shares on
each Business Day. The Shares will
conform to the initial and continued
listing criteria under Rule 8.601–E.
The Fund’s holdings will conform to
the permissible investments as set forth
in the Application and Exemptive Order
and the holdings will be consistent with
all requirements in the Application and
Exemptive Order.26 Any foreign
common stocks held by the Fund will
be traded on an exchange that is a
member of the ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement.
The components of the Fund’s Actual
Portfolio will (a) be listed on an
exchange and the primary trading
session of such exchange will trade
synchronously with the Exchange’s Core
Trading Session, as defined in Rule
7.34–E(a); (b) with respect to exchange26 See
PO 00000
note 9, supra.
Frm 00080
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
traded futures, be listed on a U.S.
futures exchange; or (c) consist of cash
and cash equivalents.
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. The Exchange will
obtain a representation from the Trust,
prior to commencement of trading in the
Shares of the Fund, that it will advise
the Exchange of any failure by the Fund
to comply with the continued listing
requirements, and, pursuant to its
obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of the
Act, the Exchange will monitor for
compliance with the continued listing
requirements. If the Fund is not in
compliance with the applicable listing
requirements, the Exchange will
commence delisting procedures under
NYSE Arca Rule 5.5–E(m).
As noted above, with respect to the
Fund, the Exchange has in place
surveillance procedures relating to
trading in the Shares and may obtain
information via ISG from other
exchanges that are members of ISG or
with which the Exchange has entered
into a comprehensive surveillance
sharing agreement. In addition, as noted
above, with respect to the Fund,
investors will have ready access to
information regarding the Proxy
Portfolio and quotation and last sale
information for the Shares.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that
the proposed rule change will impose
any burden on competition that is not
necessary or appropriate in furtherance
of the purposes of the Act. The
Exchange believes the proposed rule
change would permit listing and trading
of another type of actively-managed ETF
that has characteristics different from
existing actively-managed and index
ETFs and would introduce additional
competition among various ETF
products to the benefit of investors.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s
Statement on Comments on the
Proposed Rule Change Received From
Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited
or received with respect to the proposed
rule change.
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III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule
change does not: (i) Significantly affect
the protection of investors or the public
interest; (ii) impose any significant
burden on competition; and (iii) become
operative for 30 days from the date on
which it was filed, or such shorter time
as the Commission may designate, it has
become effective pursuant to Section
19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 27 and Rule 19b–
4(f)(6) thereunder.28
A proposed rule change filed
pursuant to Rule 19b–4(f)(6) under the
Act normally does not become operative
for 30 days after the date of its filing.
However, Rule 19b–4(f)(6)(iii) 29 permits
the Commission to designate a shorter
time if such action is consistent with the
protection of investors and the public
interest. The Exchange has requested
that the Commission waive the 30-day
operative delay so that the proposal may
become operative immediately upon
filing. The Exchange states that the
Commission has previously approved
proposed rule changes to permit listing
and trading on the Exchange of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares similar to the
Fund.30 The Exchange also states that
the Commission has previously issued a
notice of filing and immediate
effectiveness for a proposed rule change
relating to the proposed listing on a
national securities exchange of other
issues of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares
similar to the Fund.31 For these reasons,
the Commission believes that waiver of
the 30-day operative delay is consistent
with the protection of investors and the
public interest. Accordingly, the
Commission hereby waives the 30-day
operative delay and designates the
proposed rule change operative upon
filing.32
27 15
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b–
4(f)(6) requires a self-regulatory organization to give
the Commission written notice of its intent to file
the proposed rule change at least five business days
prior to the date of filing of the proposed rule
change, or such shorter time as designated by the
Commission. The Exchange has satisfied this
requirement.
29 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6)(iii).
30 See supra note.
31 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90686
(December 16, 2020), 85 FR 83657 (December 22,
2020) (SR–CboeBZX–2020–090) (Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule to
List and Trade Shares of the Invesco Real Assets
ESG ETF and the Invesco US Large Cap Core ESG
ETF, Each a Series of the Invesco Actively Managed
Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, under Rule 14.11(m)
(Tracking Fund Shares)).
32 For purposes only of waiving the 30-day
operative delay, the Commission has also
considered the proposed rule’s impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See
15 U.S.C. 78c(f).
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
28 17
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:23 Jun 02, 2021
Jkt 253001
29817
At any time within 60 days of the
filing of the proposed rule change, the
Commission summarily may
temporarily suspend such rule change if
it appears to the Commission that such
action is necessary or appropriate in the
public interest, for the protection of
investors, or otherwise in furtherance of
the purposes of the Act.
submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NYSEArca–2021–44 and
should be submitted on or before June
24, 2021.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
[FR Doc. 2021–11610 Filed 6–2–21; 8:45 am]
Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rule-comments@
sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–
NYSEArca–2021–44 on the subject line.
Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe
Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Designation
of a Longer Period for Commission
Action on Proceedings To Determine
Whether To Approve or Disapprove a
Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by
Amendment No. 1, To Amend Its Rules
Regarding the Minimum Increments for
Electronic Bids and Offers and
Exercise Prices of Certain FLEX
Options and Clarify in the Rules How
the System Ranks FLEX Option Bids
and Offers for Allocation Purposes
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–NYSEArca–2021–44. 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
PO 00000
Frm 00081
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.33
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
[Release No. 34–92040; File No. SR–CBOE–
2020–106]
May 27, 2021.
On November 16, 2020, Cboe
Exchange, Inc. filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission
(‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section
19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act
of 1934 (‘‘Exchange Act’’) 1 and Rule
19b–4 thereunder,2 a proposed rule
change to amend its rules regarding the
minimum increments for electronic bids
and offers and exercise prices of certain
FLEX options and clarify how the
system ranks FLEX option bids and
offers for allocation purposes. On
November 30, 2020, the Exchange filed
Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule
change, which amended and replaced
the proposed rule change in its entirety.
The Commission published notice of the
proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 1, in the Federal
Register on December 4, 2020.3 On
January 14, 2021, pursuant to Section
19(b)(2) of the Exchange Act,4 the
Commission designated a longer period
within which to approve the proposed
rule change, disapprove the proposed
33 17
CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).
U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
2 17 CFR 240.19b–4.
3 See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90536
(November 30, 2020), 85 FR 78381 (‘‘Notice’’).
Comments received on the proposed rule change
are available on the Commission’s website at:
https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-cboe-2020-106/
srcboe2020106.htm.
4 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
1 15
E:\FR\FM\03JNN1.SGM
03JNN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 105 (Thursday, June 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29810-29817]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11610]
=======================================================================
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-92052; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2021-44]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing
and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade
Shares of the American Century Sustainable Growth ETF
May 27, 2021.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) \1\ of the Securities Exchange Act of
1934 (``Act''),\2\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\3\ notice is hereby given
that on May 21, 2021, NYSE Arca, Inc. (``NYSE Arca'' or the
``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I and
II 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 15 U.S.C. 78a.
\3\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance
of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to list and trade shares of the American
Century Sustainable Growth ETF under NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E. The
proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's website at
www.nyse.com, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at the
Commission's Public Reference Room.
II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization
included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the
proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the
proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at
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 has adopted NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E for the purpose of
permitting the listing and trading, or trading pursuant to unlisted
trading privileges (``UTP''), of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares, which
are securities issued by an actively managed open-end investment
management company.\4\ Commentary .01 to Rule 8.601-E requires the
Exchange to file separate proposals under Section 19(b) of the Act
before listing and trading any series of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares
on the Exchange. Therefore, the Exchange is submitting this proposal in
order to list and trade shares (``Shares'') as Active Proxy Portfolio
Shares of the American Century[supreg] Sustainable Growth ETF (the
``Fund'') under Rule 8.601-E.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\4\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 89185 (June 29,
2020), 85 FR 40328 (July 6, 2020) (SR-NYSEArca-2019-95). Rule 8.601-
E(c)(1) provides that ``[t]he term ``Active Proxy Portfolio Share''
means a security that (a) is issued by a investment company
registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``Investment
Company'') organized as an open-end management investment company
that invests in a portfolio of securities selected by the Investment
Company's investment adviser consistent with the Investment
Company's investment objectives and policies; (b) is issued in a
specified minimum number of shares, or multiples thereof, in return
for a deposit by the purchaser of the Proxy Portfolio and/or cash
with a value equal to the next determined net asset value (``NAV'');
(c) when aggregated in the same specified minimum number of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares, or multiples thereof, may be redeemed at a
holder's request in return for the Proxy Portfolio and/or cash to
the holder by the issuer with a value equal to the next determined
NAV; and (d) the portfolio holdings for which are disclosed within
at least 60 days following the end of every fiscal quarter.'' Rule
8.601-E(c)(2) provides that ``[t]he term ``Actual Portfolio'' means
the identities and quantities of the securities and other assets
held by the Investment Company that shall form the basis for the
Investment Company's calculation of NAV at the end of the business
day.'' Rule 8.601-E(c)(3) provides that ``[t]he term ``Proxy
Portfolio'' means a specified portfolio of securities, other
financial instruments and/or cash designed to track closely the
daily performance of the Actual Portfolio of a series of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares as provided in the exemptive relief pursuant
to the Investment Company Act of 1940 applicable to such series.''
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Key Features of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares
While funds issuing Active Proxy Portfolio Shares will be actively
managed and, to that extent, will be similar to Managed Fund Shares,
Active Proxy Portfolio Shares differ from Managed Fund Shares in the
following important respects. First, in contrast to Managed Fund
Shares, which are actively-managed funds listed and traded under NYSE
Arca Rule 8.600-E \5\
[[Page 29811]]
and for which a ``Disclosed Portfolio'' is required to be disseminated
at least once daily,\6\ the portfolio for each series of Active Proxy
Portfolio Shares will be publicly disclosed within at least 60 days
following the end of every fiscal quarter in accordance with normal
disclosure requirements otherwise applicable to open-end management
investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of
1940 (the ``1940 Act'').\7\ The composition of the portfolio of each
series of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares will not be available at
commencement of Exchange listing and trading. Second, in connection
with the creation and redemption of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares, such
creation or redemption may be exchanged for a Proxy Portfolio and/or
cash with a value equal to the next-determined NAV. A series of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares will disclose the Proxy Portfolio on a daily
basis, which, as described above, is designed to track closely the
daily performance of the Actual Portfolio of a series of Active Proxy
Portfolio Shares, instead of the actual holdings of the Investment
Company, as provided by a series of Managed Fund Shares.
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\5\ The Commission has previously approved listing and trading
on the Exchange of a number of issues of Managed Fund Shares under
NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release
Nos. 57801 (May 8, 2008), 73 FR 27878 (May 14, 2008) (SR-NYSEArca-
2008-31) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of twelve
actively-managed funds of the WisdomTree Trust); 60460 (August 7,
2009), 74 FR 41468 (August 17, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-55) (order
approving listing of Dent Tactical ETF); 63076 (October 12, 2010),
75 FR 63874 (October 18, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-79) (order
approving Exchange listing and trading of Cambria Global Tactical
ETF); 63802 (January 31, 2011), 76 FR 6503 (February 4, 2011) (SR-
NYSEArca-2010-118) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of
the SiM Dynamic Allocation Diversified Income ETF and SiM Dynamic
Allocation Growth Income ETF). The Commission also has approved a
proposed rule change relating to generic listing standards for
Managed Fund Shares. See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 78397
(July 22, 2016), 81 FR 49320 (July 27, 2016 (SR-NYSEArca-2015-110)
(amending NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 to adopt generic listing
standards for Managed Fund Shares).
\6\ NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E(c)(2) defines the term ``Disclosed
Portfolio'' as the identities and quantities of the securities and
other assets held by the Investment Company that will form the basis
for the Investment Company's calculation of net asset value at the
end of the business day. NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E(d)(2)(B)(i) requires
that the Disclosed Portfolio will be disseminated at least once
daily and will be made available to all market participants at the
same time.
\7\ A mutual fund is required to file with the Commission its
complete portfolio schedules for the second and fourth fiscal
quarters on Form N-CSR under the 1940 Act. Information reported on
Form N-PORT for the third month of the Fund's fiscal quarter will be
made publicly available 60 days after the end of the Fund's fiscal
quarter. Form N-PORT requires reporting of the Fund's complete
portfolio holdings on a position-by-position basis on a quarterly
basis within 60 days after fiscal quarter end. Investors can obtain
the Fund's Statement of Additional Information (``SAI''), its
Shareholder Reports, its Form N-CSR, filed twice a year, and its
Form N-CEN, filed annually. The Fund's SAI and Shareholder Reports
will be available free upon request from the Investment Company, and
those documents and the Form N-PORT, Form N-CSR, and Form N-CEN may
be viewed on-screen or downloaded from the Commission's website at
www.sec.gov.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Commission has previously approved listing and trading on the
Exchange of series of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares under NYSE Arca
Rule 8.601-E.\8\ The Fund is a series of the American Century ETF Trust
(the ``Trust''), a Delaware statutory trust.\9\ The investment adviser
for the Fund will be American Century Investment Management, Inc.
(``Adviser''). State Street Bank and Trust Company will serve as the
Fund's transfer agent, custodian, and will conduct certain
administrative functions. Foreside Fund Services, LLC, a registered
broker dealer, will serve as the distributor (``Distributor'') of the
Shares.
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\8\ See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 89185 (June 29,
2020), 85 FR 40328 (July 6, 2020) (SR-NYSEArca-2019-95) (Notice of
Filing of Amendment No. 6 and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of
a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 6, to Adopt
NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E to Permit the Listing and Trading of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares and To List and Trade Shares of the Natixis
U.S. Equity Opportunities ETF Under Proposed NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E)
(``Natixis Order''); 89192 (June 30, 2020), 85 FR 40699 (July 7,
2020)(SR-NYSEArca-2019-96) (Notice of Filing of Amendment No. 5 and
Order Granting Accelerated Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as
Modified by Amendment No. 5, to List and Trade Two Series of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares Issued by the American Century ETF Trust
under NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E) (``American Century Order''); 89191
(June 30, 2020), 85 FR 40358 (July 6, 2020)(SR-NYSEArca-2019-92)
(Notice of Filing of Amendment No. 3 and Order Granting Accelerated
Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 3,
to List and Trade Four Series of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares
Issued by T. Rowe Price Exchange-Traded Funds, Inc. under NYSE Arca
Rule 8.601-E) (``T. Rowe Price Approval Order''); 89438 (July 31,
2020), 85 FR 47821 (August 6, 2020) (SR-NYSEArca-2020-51) (Order
Granting Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by
Amendment No. 2, to List and Trade Shares of Natixis Vaughan Nelson
Select ETF and Natixis Vaughan Nelson MidCap ETF under NYSE Arca
Rule 8.601-E). See also Securities Exchange Act Release No. 88887
(May 15, 2020), 85 FR 30990 (May 21, 2020)(SR-CboeBZX-2019-107)
(Notice of Filing of Amendment No. 5 and Order Granting Accelerated
Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 5,
to Adopt Rule 14.11(m), Tracking Fund Shares, and to List and Trade
Shares of the Fidelity Blue Chip Value ETF, Fidelity Blue Chip
Growth ETF, and Fidelity New Millennium ETF).
\9\ The Trust is registered under the 1940 Act. On April 15,
2021, the Trust filed a registration statement on Form N-1A under
the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a) and under the 1940 Act
relating to the Fund (File Nos. 333-221045 and 811-23305 (the
``Registration Statement''). The Trust filed an application for an
order under Section 6(c) of the 1940 Act for exemptions from various
provisions of the 1940 Act and rules thereunder (File No. 812-
15082), dated April 9, 2020 (``Application''). On May 12, 2020, the
Commission issued an order (``Exemptive Order'') under the 1940 Act
granting the exemptions requested in the Application (Investment
Company Act Release No. 33862, May 12, 2020). Investments made by
the Fund will comply with the conditions set forth in the
Application and the Exemptive Order. The description of the
operation of the Fund herein is based, in part, on the Registration
Statement and the Application. The Exchange will not commence
trading in Shares of the Fund until the Registration Statement is
effective.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary .04 to NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E provides that, if the
investment adviser to the Investment Company issuing Active Proxy
Portfolio Shares is registered as a broker-dealer or is affiliated with
a broker-dealer, such investment adviser will erect and maintain a
``fire wall'' between the investment adviser and personnel of the
broker-dealer or broker-dealer affiliate, as applicable, with respect
to access to information concerning the composition and/or changes to
such Investment Company's Actual Portfolio and/or Proxy Portfolio. Any
person related to the investment adviser or Investment Company who
makes decisions pertaining to the Investment Company's Actual Portfolio
and/or Proxy Portfolio or has access to non-public information
regarding the Investment Company's Actual Portfolio and/or Proxy
Portfolio or changes thereto must be subject to procedures reasonably
designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material non-public
information regarding the Actual Portfolio and/or Proxy Portfolio or
changes thereto. Commentary .04 is similar to Commentary .03(a)(i) and
(iii) to NYSE Arca Rule 5.2-E(j)(3); however, Commentary .04, 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.\10\ Commentary .04 is also similar to
Commentary .06 to Rule 8.600-E related to Managed Fund Shares, except
that Commentary .04
[[Page 29812]]
relates to establishment and maintenance of a ``fire wall'' between the
investment adviser and personnel of the broker-dealer or broker-dealer
affiliate, as applicable, applicable to an Investment Company's Actual
Portfolio and/or Proxy Portfolio or changes thereto, and not just to
the underlying portfolio, as is the case with Managed Fund Shares.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\10\ 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 will be
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
violations, 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.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
In addition, Commentary .05 to Rule 8.601-E provides that any
person or entity, including a custodian, Reporting Authority,
distributor, or administrator, who has access to non-public information
regarding the Investment Company's Actual Portfolio or the Proxy
Portfolio or changes thereto, must be subject to procedures reasonably
designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material non-public
information regarding the applicable Investment Company Actual
Portfolio or the Proxy Portfolio or changes thereto. Moreover, if any
such person or entity is registered as a broker-dealer or affiliated
with a broker-dealer, such person or entity will erect and maintain a
``fire wall'' between the person or entity and the broker-dealer with
respect to access to information concerning the composition and/or
changes to such Investment Company Actual Portfolio or Proxy Portfolio.
The Adviser is not registered as a broker-dealer but is affiliated
with a broker-dealer. The Adviser has implemented and will maintain a
``fire wall'' with respect to such broker-dealer affiliate regarding
access to information concerning the composition of and/or changes to
the Fund's Actual Portfolio and/or Proxy Portfolio. In the event (a)
the Adviser becomes registered as a broker-dealer or newly affiliated
with a broker-dealer, or (b) any new adviser or sub-adviser is or
becomes a registered broker-dealer or affiliated with a broker-dealer,
it will implement and maintain a fire wall with respect to its relevant
personnel or its broker-dealer affiliate regarding access to
information concerning the composition and/or changes to the Fund's
Actual Portfolio and/or Proxy Portfolio, and will be subject to
procedures designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material
non-public information regarding the Fund's Actual Portfolio and/or
Proxy Portfolio or changes thereto. Any person related to the Adviser
or the Fund who makes decisions pertaining to the Fund's Actual
Portfolio or Proxy Portfolio or has access to non-public information
regarding the Fund's Actual Portfolio and/or the Proxy Portfolio or
changes thereto is subject to procedures reasonably designed to prevent
the use and dissemination of material non-public information regarding
the Fund's Actual Portfolio and/or the Proxy Portfolio or changes
thereto.
In addition, any person or entity, including any service provider
for the Fund, who has access to non-public information regarding the
Fund's Actual Portfolio or the Proxy Portfolio or changes thereto, will
be subject to procedures reasonably designed to prevent the use and
dissemination of material non-public information regarding the Fund's
Actual Portfolio and/or the Proxy Portfolio or changes thereto.
Moreover, if any such person or entity is registered as a broker-dealer
or affiliated with a broker-dealer, such person or entity has erected
and will maintain a ``fire wall'' between the person or entity and the
broker-dealer with respect to access to information concerning the
composition and/or changes to the Fund's Actual Portfolio and/or Proxy
Portfolio.
Description of the Fund
According to the Registration Statement, each ``Business Day'' \11\
before commencement of the trading of Shares, the Fund will publish on
its website a Proxy Portfolio designed to closely track the daily
performance of the Fund but the Proxy Portfolio will not be the Fund's
Actual Portfolio.
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\11\ ``Business Day'' is defined to mean any day that the
Exchange is open, including any day when the Fund satisfies
redemption requests as required by Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Proxy Portfolio will be designed to closely track the daily
performance of the Actual Portfolio and to reflect the economic
exposures and risk characteristics of the Fund's actual holdings on
each trading day. According to the Registration Statement, this would
be achieved by performing an analysis of the Fund's Actual Portfolio
(``Factor Model''). The Factor Model is comprised of three sets of
factors or analytical metrics: Market-based factors, fundamental
factors, and industry/sector factors. The Fund will have a universe of
securities (the ``Model Universe'') that will be used to generate its
Proxy Portfolio. The Model Universe will be comprised solely of
securities that the Fund can purchase and will be a financial index or
stated portfolio of securities from which Fund investments will be
selected. The results of the Factor Model analysis of the Fund's Actual
Portfolio are then applied to the Fund's Model Universe. The daily
rebalanced Proxy Portfolio is then generated as a result of this Model
Universe analysis with the Proxy Portfolio being a small sub-set of the
Model Universe. The Factor Model is applied to both the Actual
Portfolio and the Model Universe to construct the Fund's Proxy
Portfolio that performs in a manner substantially identical to the
performance of its Actual Portfolio.
The identity and quantity of Proxy Portfolio component investments
and the overlap between the holdings of the prior Business Day's Proxy
Portfolio compared to the Actual Portfolio (``Proxy Overlap'') will be
publicly available on the Fund's website before the commencement of
trading in Shares on each Business Day. The Proxy Portfolio published
on the Fund's website each Business Day will include the following
information for each portfolio holding in the Proxy Portfolio: (1)
Ticker symbol; (2) CUSIP or other identifier; (3) description of
holding; (4) quantity of each security or other asset held; and (5)
percentage weight of the holding in the Proxy Portfolio. The Fund's
website will note that the Proxy Overlap is calculated based on the
Proxy Portfolio and Actual Portfolio holdings as of the prior Business
Day. The Proxy Overlap will be calculated by taking the lesser weight
of each asset held in common between the Actual Portfolio and the Proxy
Portfolio and adding the totals.
The Proxy Portfolio aims to allow market participants to assess the
intraday value and associated risk of the Fund's Actual Portfolio. The
Proxy Portfolio will only include securities that are allowed to be
held in the Actual Portfolio.
The Fund's holdings will conform to the permissible investments as
set forth in the Application and Exemptive Order, and the holdings will
be consistent with all requirements in the Application and Exemptive
Order.\12\
[[Page 29813]]
Any foreign common stocks held by the Fund will be traded on an
exchange that is a member of the Intermarket Surveillance Group
(``ISG'') or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement.
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\12\ The Application and Exemptive Order incorporates by
reference the terms and conditions of a previous order granting the
same relief, as that order may be amended from time to time. See
Natixis ETF Trust II, et al., Investment Company Act Rel. Nos. 33684
(November 14, 2019) (notice) and 33711 (December 10, 2019) (order)
(the ``Reference Order''). Pursuant to the Reference Order as
incorporated by reference into the Application and Exemptive Order,
the permissible investments for the Fund include only the following
instruments: ETFs; exchange-traded notes (``ETNs''); exchange-traded
common stocks; exchange-traded preferred stocks; exchange-traded
American Depositary Receipts (``ADRs''); exchange-traded real estate
investment trusts (``REITs''); exchange-traded commodity pools;
exchange-traded metals trusts; exchange-traded currency trusts;
common stocks listed on a foreign exchange that trade on such
exchange synchronously with the Shares (``foreign common stocks'')
in the Exchange's Core Trading Session (normally 9:30 a.m. to 4:00
p.m. Eastern time (``E.T.'')); exchange-traded futures that trade
synchronously with the Fund's Shares as well as cash and cash
equivalents. With the exception of foreign common stocks and cash
and cash equivalents, all holdings of the Fund will be listed on a
U.S. national securities exchange or a U.S. futures exchange. For
purposes of this filing, cash equivalents are short-term U.S.
Treasury securities, government money market funds, and repurchase
agreements. The Fund will not hold short positions or invest in
derivatives other than U.S. exchange-traded futures, will not borrow
for investment purposes, and will not purchase any securities that
are illiquid investments at the time of purchase.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
According to the Registration Statement, the Fund's investment
objective is to seek capital appreciation. The Fund will generally
invest in exchange-traded common stocks of large capitalization
companies. Under normal circumstances, the Fund will invest at least
80% of the Fund's net assets in sustainable securities, defined as
securities to which the Adviser's proprietary model assigns an
environmental, social, and governance (``ESG'') score that is in the
top three quartiles of the ESG scores the model assigns to all of the
securities in the Fund's benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index.
Investment Restrictions
The Shares of the Fund will conform to the initial and continued
listing criteria under Rule 8.601-E. The Fund's holdings will be
limited to and consistent with permissible holdings as described in the
Application and Exemptive Order and all requirements in the Application
and Exemptive Order.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\13\ See notes 9 & 12, supra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fund's investments, including derivatives, will be consistent
with their investment objectives and will not be used to enhance
leverage (although certain derivatives and other investments may result
in leverage). That is, the Fund's investments will not be used to seek
performance that is the multiple or inverse multiple (e.g., 2X or -3X)
of the Fund's primary broad-based securities benchmark index (as
defined in Form N-1A).
Purchases and Redemptions of Shares
According to the Registration Statement, the Trust will offer,
issue and sell Shares of the Fund to investors only in specified
minimum size ``Creation Units'' through the Distributor on a continuous
basis at the NAV per Share next determined after an order in proper
form is received. The NAV of the Fund is expected to be determined as
of 4:00 p.m. E.T. on each Business Day. The Trust will sell and redeem
Creation Units of the Fund only on a Business Day. A Creation Unit will
generally consist of at least 10,000 Shares.
According to the Registration Statement, Shares will be purchased
and redeemed in Creation Units and generally on an in-kind basis of a
designated portfolio of securities (including any portion of such
securities for which cash may be substituted) and the ``Cash
Component,'' which is an amount equal to the difference between the NAV
of the Shares (per Creation Unit) and the ``Deposit Amount,'' which is
an amount equal to the market value of the Deposit Securities, and
serves to compensate for any differences between the NAV per Creation
Unit and the Deposit Amount. Together, the Deposit Securities and the
Cash Component constitute the ``Fund Deposit,'' which will be
applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to creation
requests received in proper form. The Fund Deposit represents the
minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of
the Fund. The names and quantities of the instruments that constitute
the Fund Deposit will be the same as the Fund's Proxy Portfolio, except
to the extent purchases and redemptions are made entirely or in part on
a cash basis.\14\ If there is a difference between the NAV attributable
to a Creation Unit and the aggregate market value of the Creation
Basket exchanged for the Creation Unit, the party conveying instruments
with the lower value will also pay to the other an amount in cash equal
to that difference (the ``Cash Amount'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\14\ [sic]
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Each Business Day, before the open of trading on the Exchange (9:30
a.m. E.T.), the Fund will cause to be published through the National
Securities Clearing Corporation (``NSCC'') the names and the required
number of shares of each Deposit Security and the amount of the Cash
Component (if any) to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on
information as of the end of the previous Business Day for the Fund).
All orders to purchase and redeem Creation Units must be placed
with the Distributor by or through an authorized participant, which has
a written agreement with the Distributor that allows the authorized
participant to place orders for the purchase and redemption of Creation
Units (``Authorized Participant''). Only an Authorized Participant may
create or redeem Creation Units directly with the Fund.
Validly submitted orders to purchase or redeem Creation Units on
each Business Day will be accepted until the end of the Core Trading
Session (the ``Closing Time''), generally 4:00 p.m. E.T., on the
Business Day that the order is placed (the ``Transmittal Date''). All
Creation Unit orders must be received by the Distributor no later than
two hours prior to the Closing Time (normally 2 p.m. E.T.) in order to
receive the NAV determined on the Transmittal Date. When the Exchange
closes earlier than normal, the Fund may require orders for Creation
Units to be placed earlier in the Business Day.
Availability of Information
The Fund's website (www.americancenturyetfs.com), 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
Fund's website will include on a daily basis, per Share for the Fund,
the prior Business Day's NAV and the ``Closing Price'' or ``Bid/Ask
Price,'' \15\ and a calculation of the premium/discount of the Closing
Price or Bid/Ask Price against such NAV.\16\ The Adviser has
represented that the Fund's website will also provide: (1) Any other
information regarding premiums/discounts as may be required for other
ETFs under Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act, as amended, and (2) any
information regarding the bid/ask spread for the Fund as may be
required for other ETFs under Rule 6c-11 under the 1940 Act, as
amended. The website and information will be publicly available at no
charge. The website also will disclose the information required under
Rule 8.601-E(c)(3).\17\
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\15\ The records relating to Bid/Ask Prices will be retained by
the Fund or its service providers. The ``Bid/Ask Price'' is the
midpoint of the highest bid and lowest offer based upon the National
Best Bid and Offer as of the time of calculation of the Fund's NAV.
The ``National Best Bid and Offer'' is the current national best bid
and national best offer as disseminated by the Consolidated
Quotation System or UTP Plan Securities Information Processor. The
``Closing Price'' of Shares is the official closing price of the
Shares on the Exchange.
\16\ The ``premium/discount'' refers to the premium or discount
to NAV at the end of a trading day and will be calculated based on
the last Bid/Ask Price or the Closing Price on a given trading day.
\17\ See note 4, supra. Rule 8.601-E(c)(3) provides that the
website for each series of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares shall
disclose the information regarding the Proxy Portfolio as provided
in the exemptive relief pursuant to the Investment Company Act of
1940 applicable to such series, including the following, to the
extent applicable: (i) Ticker symbol; (ii) CUSIP or other
identifier; (iii) Description of holding; (iv) Quantity of each
security or other asset held; and (v) Percentage weighting of the
holding in the Proxy Portfolio.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Proxy Portfolio holdings (including the identity and quantity
of investments in the Proxy Portfolio) will
[[Page 29814]]
be publicly available on the Fund's website before the commencement of
trading in Shares on each Business Day.
Typical mutual fund-style annual, semi-annual and quarterly
disclosures contained in the Fund's Commission filings will be provided
on the Fund's website on a current basis.\18\ Thus, the Fund will
publish the portfolio contents of its Actual Portfolio on a periodic
basis within at least 60 days following the end of every fiscal
quarter.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\18\ See note 7, supra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Investors can also obtain the Fund's prospectus, SAI, shareholder
reports, Form N-CSR, Form N-PORT and Form N-CEN. Investors may access
complete portfolio schedules for the Fund on Form N-CSR and Form N-
PORT. The prospectus, SAI and shareholder reports will be available
free upon request from the Fund, and those documents and the Form N-
CSR, Form N-PORT and Form N-CEN may be viewed on-screen or downloaded
from the Commission's website at https://www.sec.gov. The Exchange also
notes that pursuant to the Application, the Fund must comply with
Regulation Fair Disclosure, which prohibits selective disclosure of any
material non-public information.
Information regarding the market price of Shares and trading volume
in Shares, will be continually available on a real-time basis
throughout the day on brokers' computer screens and other electronic
services. The previous day's closing price and trading volume
information for the Shares will be published daily in the financial
section of newspapers.
Quotation and last sale information for the Shares and U.S.
exchange-traded instruments (excluding futures contracts) will be
available via the Consolidated Tape Association (``CTA'') high-speed
line, from the exchanges on which such securities trade, or through
major market data vendors or subscription services. Intraday price
information for all exchange-traded instruments, which include all
eligible instruments and futures contracts but not cash and cash
equivalents, will be available from the exchanges on which they trade,
or through major market data vendors or subscription services. Intraday
price information for cash equivalents is available through major
market data vendors, subscription services and/or pricing services.
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.\19\ Trading in Shares of the Fund
will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Rule
7.12-E have been reached. Trading also may be halted because of market
conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make
trading in the Shares inadvisable. Trading in the Shares will be
subject to NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E(d)(2)(D), which sets forth
circumstances under which Shares of the Fund will be halted.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\19\ See NYSE Arca Rule 7.12-E.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Specifically, Rule 8.601-E(d)(2)(D) provides that the Exchange may
consider all relevant factors in exercising its discretion to halt
trading in a series of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares. Trading may be
halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of
the Exchange, make trading in the series of Active Proxy Portfolio
Shares inadvisable. These may include: (a) The extent to which trading
is not occurring in the securities and/or the financial instruments
composing the Proxy Portfolio and/or Actual Portfolio; or (b) whether
other unusual conditions or circumstances detrimental to the
maintenance of a fair and orderly market are present.
In addition, if the Exchange becomes aware that the NAV, Proxy
Portfolio or Actual Portfolio with respect to a series of Active Proxy
Portfolio Shares is not disseminated to all market participants at the
same time, the Exchange shall halt trading in such series until such
time as the NAV, Proxy Portfolio or Actual Portfolio is available to
all market participants at the same time.
Trading Rules
The Exchange deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus
rendering trading in the Shares subject to the Exchange's existing
rules governing the trading of equity securities. Shares will trade on
the NYSE Arca Marketplace in all trading sessions in accordance with
NYSE Arca Rule 7.34-E(a). As provided in NYSE Arca Rule 7.6-E, the
minimum price variation (``MPV'') for quoting and entry of orders in
equity securities traded on the NYSE Arca Marketplace is $0.01, with
the exception of securities that are priced less than $1.00 for which
the MPV for order entry is $0.0001.
The Shares will conform to the initial and continued listing
criteria under NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E. The Exchange has appropriate
rules to facilitate trading in the Shares during all trading sessions.
A minimum of 100,000 Shares for the Fund will be outstanding at the
commencement of trading on the Exchange. In addition, pursuant to Rule
8.601-E(d)(1)(B), the Exchange, prior to commencement of trading in the
Shares, will obtain a representation from the Trust that the NAV per
Share will be calculated daily and that the NAV, Proxy Portfolio and
the Actual Portfolio for the Fund will be made available to all market
participants at the same time.
With respect to Active Proxy Portfolio Shares, all of the Exchange
member obligations relating to product description and prospectus
delivery requirements will continue to apply in accordance with
Exchange rules and federal securities laws, and the Exchange and the
Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (``FINRA'') will continue
to monitor Exchange members for compliance with such requirements.
Surveillance
The Exchange represents that trading in the Shares will be subject
to the existing trading surveillances, administered by the Exchange, as
well as cross market surveillances administered by FINRA on behalf of
the Exchange, which are designed to detect violations of Exchange rules
and applicable federal securities laws.\20\ The Exchange represents
that these procedures are adequate to properly monitor Exchange trading
of the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect
violations of Exchange rules and federal securities laws applicable to
trading on the Exchange.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\20\ FINRA conducts cross-market surveillances on behalf of the
Exchange pursuant to a regulatory services agreement. The Exchange
is responsible for FINRA's performance under this regulatory
services agreement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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.
FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or the Exchange or both will
communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares and underlying
exchange-traded instruments with other markets and other entities that
are members of the ISG, and FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or the
Exchange or both may obtain trading information regarding trading such
securities and exchange-traded instruments from such markets and other
entities. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information regarding
trading in such securities and exchange-traded instruments from
[[Page 29815]]
markets and other entities that are members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing
agreement.\21\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\21\ For a list of the current members of ISG, see
www.isgportal.org.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Advisor will make available daily to FINRA and the Exchange the
Actual Portfolio of the Fund, upon request, in order to facilitate the
performance of the surveillances referred to above.
In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the
distribution of material, non-public information by its employees.
Commentary .03 to NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E provides that the Exchange
will implement and maintain written surveillance procedures for Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares. As part of these surveillance procedures, the
Investment Company's investment adviser will upon request by the
Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, make available to the
Exchange or FINRA the daily Actual Portfolio holdings of each series of
Active Proxy Portfolio Shares. The Exchange believes that the ability
to access the information on an as needed basis will provide it with
sufficient information to perform the necessary regulatory functions
associated with listing and trading series of Active Proxy Portfolio
Shares on the Exchange, including the ability to monitor compliance
with the initial and continued listing requirements as well as the
ability to surveil for manipulation of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares.
The Exchange will utilize its existing procedures to monitor the
Fund's compliance with the requirements of Rule 8.601-E. For example,
the Exchange will continue to use intraday alerts that will notify
Exchange personnel of trading activity throughout the day that may
indicate that unusual conditions or circumstances are present that
could be detrimental to the maintenance of a fair and orderly market.
The Exchange will require from the Trust, upon initial listing and
periodically thereafter, a representation that it is in compliance with
Rule 8.601-E. The Exchange notes that Commentary .01 to Rule 8.601-E
requires the issuer of shares to notify the Exchange of any failure to
comply with the continued listing requirements of Rule 8.601-E. In
addition, the Exchange will require the Trust to represent that it will
notify the Exchange of any failure to comply with the terms of
applicable exemptive and no-action relief. As part of its surveillance
procedures, the Exchange will rely on the foregoing procedures to
become aware of any non-compliance with the requirements of Rule 8.601-
E.
With respect to the Fund, all statements and representations made
in this filing regarding (a) the description of the portfolio or
reference asset, (b) limitations on portfolio holdings or reference
assets, or (c) the applicability of Exchange listing rules specified in
this rule filing shall constitute continued listing requirements for
listing the Shares on the Exchange. The Exchange will obtain a
representation from the Trust, prior to commencement of trading in the
Shares of the Fund, that it will advise the Exchange of any failure by
the Fund to comply with the continued listing requirements, and,
pursuant to its obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of the Act, the
Exchange will monitor for compliance with the continued listing
requirements. If the Fund is not in compliance with the applicable
listing requirements, the Exchange will commence delisting procedures
under NYSE Arca Rule 5.5-E(m).
2. Statutory Basis
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is consistent
with Section 6(b) of the Act,\22\ in general, and furthers the
objectives of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act,\23\ in particular, in that it
is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices,
to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove
impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and
a national market system, and, in general, to protect investors and the
public interest.\24\
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\22\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b).
\23\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
\24\ The Exchange represents that, for initial and continued
listing, the Fund will be in compliance with Rule 10A-3 under the
Act, as provided by NYSE Arca Rule 5.3-E.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
With respect to the proposed listing and trading of Shares of the
Fund, the Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is designed
to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices in that the
Shares will be listed and traded on the Exchange pursuant to the
initial and continued listing criteria in NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E. One
hundred percent of the value of the Fund's Actual Portfolio (except for
cash and cash equivalents) at the time of purchase will be listed on
U.S. or foreign securities exchanges (or, in the limited case of
futures contracts, U.S. futures exchanges). The listing and trading of
such U.S. securities is subject to rules of the exchanges on which they
are listed and traded, as approved by the Commission.
The Fund's holdings will conform to the permissible investments as
set forth in the Application and Exemptive Order and the holdings will
be consistent with all requirements in the Application and Exemptive
Order.\25\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\25\ See note 9, supra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, or both, will
communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares and underlying
exchange-traded instruments 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
such securities and exchange-traded instruments from such markets and
other entities. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information
regarding trading in the Shares and exchange-traded instruments from
markets and other entities that are members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.
Any foreign common stocks held by the Fund will be traded on an
exchange that is a member of the ISG or with which the Exchange has in
place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.
The daily dissemination of the identity and quantity of Proxy
Portfolio component investments, together with the right of Authorized
Participants to create and redeem each day at the NAV, will be
sufficient for market participants to value and trade Shares in a
manner that will not lead to significant deviations between the Bid/Ask
Price and NAV of the Shares.
The Fund's investments, including derivatives, will be consistent
with its investment objective and will not be used to enhance leverage
(although certain derivatives and other investments may result in
leverage). That is, the Fund's investments will not be used to seek
performance that is the multiple or inverse multiple (e.g., 2X or -3X)
of the Fund's primary broad-based securities benchmark index (as
defined in Form N-1A).
With respect to the Fund, 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 Trust, prior to commencement of trading in the
Shares, that the NAV per Share of the Fund will be calculated daily and
that the NAV, Proxy Portfolio and Actual Portfolio for the Fund will be
made available to all market participants at the same time. Investors
can also obtain the Fund's SAI, shareholder reports, and
[[Page 29816]]
its Form N-CSR, Form N-PORT and Form N-CEN. The Fund's SAI and
shareholder reports will be available free upon request from the Fund,
and those documents and the Form N-CSR, Form N-PORT and Form N-CEN may
be viewed on-screen or downloaded from the Commission's website.
Commentary .03 to NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E provides that the Exchange
will implement and maintain written surveillance procedures for Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares. As part of these surveillance procedures, the
Investment Company's investment adviser will, upon request by the
Exchange or FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, make available to the
Exchange or FINRA the daily portfolio holdings of each series of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares. The Exchange believes that the ability to
access the information on an as needed basis will provide it with
sufficient information to perform the necessary regulatory functions
associated with listing and trading series of Active Proxy Portfolio
Shares on the Exchange, including the ability to monitor compliance
with the initial and continued listing requirements as well as the
ability to surveil for manipulation of Active Proxy Portfolio Shares.
With respect to the Fund, the Adviser will make available daily to
FINRA and the Exchange the portfolio holdings of the Fund upon request
in order to facilitate the performance of the surveillances referred to
above.
The Exchange will utilize its existing procedures to monitor
compliance with the requirements of Rule 8.601-E. For example, the
Exchange will continue to use intraday alerts that will notify Exchange
personnel of trading activity throughout the day that may indicate that
unusual conditions or circumstances are present that could be
detrimental to the maintenance of a fair and orderly market. The
Exchange will require from the Trust, upon initial listing and
periodically thereafter, a representation that it is in compliance with
Rule 8.601-E. The Exchange notes that Commentary .01 to Rule 8.601-E
requires the issuer of shares to notify the Exchange of any failure to
comply with the continued listing requirements of Rule 8.601-E. In
addition, the Exchange will require the Trust to represent that it will
notify the Exchange of any failure to comply with the terms of
applicable exemptive and no-action relief. The Exchange will rely on
the foregoing procedures to become aware of any non-compliance with the
requirements of Rule 8.601-E.
In addition, with respect to the Fund, a large amount of
information will be publicly available regarding the Fund and the
Shares, thereby promoting market transparency.
Quotation and last sale information for the Shares and U.S.
exchange-traded instruments (excluding futures contracts) will be
available via the CTA high-speed line, from the exchanges on which such
securities trade, or through major market data vendors or subscription
services. Intraday price information for all exchange-traded
instruments, which include all eligible instruments and futures
contracts but not cash and cash equivalents, will be available from the
exchanges on which they trade, or through major market data vendors or
subscription services. Intraday price information for cash equivalents
is available through major market data vendors, subscription services
and/or pricing services.
The website for the Fund will include a form of the prospectus that
may be downloaded, and additional data relating to NAV and other
applicable quantitative information, updated on a daily basis. Trading
in Shares of the Fund will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters
in NYSE Arca Rule 7.12-E have been reached or because of market
conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make
trading in the Shares inadvisable. Trading in the Shares will be
subject to NYSE Arca Rule 8.601-E(d)(2)(D), which sets forth
circumstances under which Shares of the Fund may be halted. In
addition, as noted above, investors will have ready access to the Proxy
Portfolio, and quotation and last sale information for the Shares. The
Proxy Portfolio holdings for the Fund (including the identity and
quantity of investments in the Proxy Portfolio) will be publicly
available on the Fund's website before the commencement of trading in
Shares on each Business Day. The Shares will conform to the initial and
continued listing criteria under Rule 8.601-E.
The Fund's holdings will conform to the permissible investments as
set forth in the Application and Exemptive Order and the holdings will
be consistent with all requirements in the Application and Exemptive
Order.\26\ Any foreign common stocks held by the Fund will be traded on
an exchange that is a member of the ISG or with which the Exchange has
in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\26\ See note 9, supra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The components of the Fund's Actual Portfolio will (a) be listed on
an exchange and the primary trading session of such exchange will trade
synchronously with the Exchange's Core Trading Session, as defined in
Rule 7.34-E(a); (b) with respect to exchange-traded futures, be listed
on a U.S. futures exchange; or (c) consist of cash and cash
equivalents.
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. The Exchange will obtain a
representation from the Trust, prior to commencement of trading in the
Shares of the Fund, that it will advise the Exchange of any failure by
the Fund to comply with the continued listing requirements, and,
pursuant to its obligations under Section 19(g)(1) of the Act, the
Exchange will monitor for compliance with the continued listing
requirements. If the Fund is not in compliance with the applicable
listing requirements, the Exchange will commence delisting procedures
under NYSE Arca Rule 5.5-E(m).
As noted above, with respect to the Fund, the Exchange has in place
surveillance procedures relating to trading in the Shares and may
obtain information via ISG from other exchanges that are members of ISG
or with which the Exchange has entered into a comprehensive
surveillance sharing agreement. In addition, as noted above, with
respect to the Fund, investors will have ready access to information
regarding the Proxy Portfolio and quotation and last sale information
for the Shares.
B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will
impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate
in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange believes the
proposed rule change would permit listing and trading of another type
of actively-managed ETF that has characteristics different from
existing actively-managed and index ETFs and would introduce additional
competition among various ETF products to the benefit of investors.
C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others
No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the
proposed rule change.
[[Page 29817]]
III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule change does not: (i)
Significantly affect the protection of investors or the public
interest; (ii) impose any significant burden on competition; and (iii)
become operative for 30 days from the date on which it was filed, or
such shorter time as the Commission may designate, it has become
effective pursuant to Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act \27\ and Rule 19b-
4(f)(6) thereunder.\28\
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\27\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
\28\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6). In addition, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)
requires a self-regulatory organization to give the Commission
written notice of its intent to file the proposed rule change at
least five business days prior to the date of filing of the proposed
rule change, or such shorter time as designated by the Commission.
The Exchange has satisfied this requirement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
A proposed rule change filed pursuant to Rule 19b-4(f)(6) under the
Act normally does not become operative for 30 days after the date of
its filing. However, Rule 19b-4(f)(6)(iii) \29\ permits the Commission
to designate a shorter time if such action is consistent with the
protection of investors and the public interest. The Exchange has
requested that the Commission waive the 30-day operative delay so that
the proposal may become operative immediately upon filing. The Exchange
states that the Commission has previously approved proposed rule
changes to permit listing and trading on the Exchange of Active Proxy
Portfolio Shares similar to the Fund.\30\ The Exchange also states that
the Commission has previously issued a notice of filing and immediate
effectiveness for a proposed rule change relating to the proposed
listing on a national securities exchange of other issues of Active
Proxy Portfolio Shares similar to the Fund.\31\ For these reasons, the
Commission believes that waiver of the 30-day operative delay is
consistent with the protection of investors and the public interest.
Accordingly, the Commission hereby waives the 30-day operative delay
and designates the proposed rule change operative upon filing.\32\
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\29\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4(f)(6)(iii).
\30\ See supra note.
\31\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 90686 (December 16,
2020), 85 FR 83657 (December 22, 2020) (SR-CboeBZX-2020-090) (Notice
of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule to List and
Trade Shares of the Invesco Real Assets ESG ETF and the Invesco US
Large Cap Core ESG ETF, Each a Series of the Invesco Actively
Managed Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, under Rule 14.11(m) (Tracking
Fund Shares)).
\32\ For purposes only of waiving the 30-day operative delay,
the Commission has also considered the proposed rule's impact on
efficiency, competition, and capital formation. See 15 U.S.C.
78c(f).
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At any time within 60 days of the filing of the proposed rule
change, the Commission summarily may temporarily suspend such rule
change if it appears to the Commission that such action is necessary or
appropriate in the public interest, for the protection of investors, or
otherwise in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's internet comment form (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an email to [email protected]. Please include
File Number SR-NYSEArca-2021-44 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2021-44. This
file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To
help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's internet website (https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml).
Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written
statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with
the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed
rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those
that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions
of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and printing in
the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC
20549 on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and
3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection
and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change. Persons submitting comments are
cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying
information from comment submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2021-44 and should be submitted
on or before June 24, 2021.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\33\
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\33\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
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J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021-11610 Filed 6-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P