Securities and Exchange Commission 2015 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commission is publishing this concept release to seek public comment regarding audit committee reporting requirements, with a focus on the audit committee's reporting of its responsibilities with respect to its oversight of the independent auditor. Some have expressed a view that the Commission's disclosure rules for this area may not result in disclosures about audit committees and their activities that are sufficient to help investors understand and evaluate audit committee performance, which may in turn inform those investors' investment or voting decisions. The majority of these disclosure requirements, which exist in their current form principally in Item 407 of Regulation S-K, were adopted in 1999. Since then, there have been significant changes in the role and responsibilities of audit committees arising out of, among other things, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, enhanced listing requirements for audit committees, enhanced requirements for auditor communications with the audit committee arising out of the rules of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and changes in practice, both domestically and internationally.

Summary of the Application: Applicants request an order (``Order'') that would permit certain registered management investment companies to engage in certain primary and secondary market transactions in fixed-income securities (the ``Securities Transactions'') on a principal basis with certain broker-dealers and banks that are affiliated persons of the registered management investment companies solely by virtue of non-controlling ownership interests in such investment companies. Applicants: Cash Trust Series, Inc., Federated Adjustable Rate Securities Fund, Federated Core Trust, Federated Core Trust II, L.P., Federated Core Trust III, Federated Enhanced Treasury Income Fund, Federated Equity Funds, Federated Equity Income Fund, Inc., Federated Fixed Income Securities, Inc., Federated Global Allocation Fund, Federated Government Income Securities, Inc., Federated Government Income Trust, Federated High Income Bond Fund, Inc., Federated High Yield Trust, Federated Income Securities Trust, Federated Index Trust, Federated Institutional Trust, Federated Insurance Series, Federated International Series, Inc., Federated Investment Series Funds, Inc., Federated MDT Series, Federated MDT Stock Trust, Federated Managed Pool Series, Federated Municipal Securities Fund, Inc., Federated Municipal Securities Income Trust, Federated Premier Intermediate Municipal Income Fund, Federated Premier Municipal Income Fund, Federated Short- Intermediate Duration Municipal Trust, Federated Total Return Government Bond Fund, Federated Total Return Series, Inc., Federated U.S. Government Securities Fund: 1-3 Years, Federated U.S. Government Securities Fund: 2-5 Years, Federated World Investment Series, Inc., Intermediate Municipal Trust, Edward Jones Money Market Fund, Money Market Obligations Trust (each such registered management investment company or series thereof, a ``Federated Fund''); Federated Advisory Services Company, Federated Equity Management Company of Pennsylvania, Federated Global Investment Management Corp., Federated Investment Counseling, Federated Investment Management Company, Federated MDTA LLC, Passport Research, Ltd., Federated Securities Corp. (each, an Adviser, and collectively, the ``Advisers'') and any other registered management investment company or series thereof for which a person controlling, controlled by, or under common control with Federated Investors, Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation (``Federated''), serves as investment adviser (included in the term ``Adviser,'' and any such company or series thereof, together with the Federated Funds, the ``Funds,'' and individually, a ``Fund'').\1\

This document contains corrections to the final regulations (SEC Rel. No. 33-9741), which were published in the Federal Register of Monday, April 20, 2015 (80 FR 21806). The regulations related to Amendments for Small and Additional Issues Exemptions under the Securities Act (Regulation A).