80_FR_55862 80 FR 55683 - AlphaClone, Inc., et al.; Notice of Application

80 FR 55683 - AlphaClone, Inc., et al.; Notice of Application

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 179 (September 16, 2015)

Page Range55683-55691
FR Document2015-23270

Summary of Application: Applicants request an order that would permit (a) series of certain open-end management investment companies to issue shares (``Shares'') redeemable in large aggregations only (``Creation Units''); (b) secondary market transactions in Shares to occur at negotiated market prices rather than at net asset value (``NAV''); (c) certain series to pay redemption proceeds, under certain circumstances, more than seven days after the tender of Shares for redemption; (d) certain affiliated persons of the series to deposit securities into, and receive securities from, the series in connection with the purchase and redemption of Creation Units; and (e) certain registered management investment companies and unit investment trusts outside of the same group of investment companies as the series to acquire Shares. Applicants: AlphaClone, Inc. (``AlphaClone''), ETF Series Solutions (``Trust'') and Quasar Distributors, LLC (``Quasar''). Filing Dates: The application was filed on May 26, 2015, and amended on August 18, 2015. Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the requested relief will be issued unless the Commission orders a hearing. Interested persons may request a hearing by writing to the Commission's Secretary and serving applicants with a copy of the request, personally or by mail. Hearing requests should be received by the Commission by 5:30 p.m. on October 2, 2015, and should be accompanied by proof of service on applicants, in the form of an affidavit, or for lawyers, a certificate of service. Pursuant to rule 0-5 under the Act, hearing requests should state the nature of the writer's interest, any facts bearing upon the desirability of a hearing on the matter, the reason for the request, and the issues contested. Persons who wish to be notified of a hearing may request notification by writing to the Commission's Secretary.

Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 179 (Wednesday, September 16, 2015)
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 179 (Wednesday, September 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55683-55691]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23270]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. IC-31820; 812-14474]


AlphaClone, Inc., et al.; Notice of Application

September 11, 2015.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice of an application for an order under section 6(c) of the 
Investment Company Act of 1940 (the ``Act'') for an exemption from 
sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d), and 22(e) of the Act and rule 22c-1 
under the Act, under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an 
exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Act, and under 
section 12(d)(1)(J) for an exemption from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and 
12(d)(1)(B) of the Act.

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SUMMARY: Summary of Application: Applicants request an order that would 
permit (a) series of certain open-end management investment companies 
to issue shares (``Shares'') redeemable in large aggregations only 
(``Creation Units''); (b) secondary market transactions in Shares to 
occur at negotiated market prices rather than at net asset value 
(``NAV''); (c) certain series to pay redemption proceeds, under certain 
circumstances, more than seven days after the tender of Shares for 
redemption; (d) certain affiliated persons of the series to deposit 
securities into, and receive securities from, the series in connection 
with the purchase and redemption of Creation Units; and (e) certain 
registered management investment companies and unit investment trusts 
outside of the same group of investment companies as the series to 
acquire Shares.
    Applicants: AlphaClone, Inc. (``AlphaClone''), ETF Series Solutions 
(``Trust'') and Quasar Distributors, LLC (``Quasar'').
    Filing Dates: The application was filed on May 26, 2015, and 
amended on August 18, 2015.
    Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the requested 
relief will be issued unless the Commission orders a hearing. 
Interested persons may request a hearing by writing to the Commission's 
Secretary and serving applicants with a copy of the request, personally 
or by mail. Hearing requests should be received by the Commission by 
5:30 p.m. on October 2, 2015, and should be accompanied by proof of 
service on applicants, in the form of an affidavit, or for lawyers, a 
certificate of service. Pursuant to rule 0-5 under the Act, hearing 
requests should state the nature of the writer's interest, any facts 
bearing upon the desirability of a hearing on the matter, the reason 
for the request, and the issues contested. Persons who wish to be 
notified of a hearing may request notification by writing to the 
Commission's Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street 
NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090; Applicants: AlphaClone, One Market 
Street, Steuart Towar, Suite 1208, San Francisco, California 94105; The 
Trust and Quasar, 615 East Michigan Street, 4th Floor, Milwaukee, 
Wisconsin 53202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: James D. McGinnis, Attorney/Advisor, 
at (202) 551-3025, or Melissa R. Harke, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-6722 
(Division of Investment Management, Chief Counsel's Office).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is a summary of the 
application. The complete application may be obtained via the 
Commission's Web site by searching for the file number, or for an 
applicant using the Company name box, at http://www.sec.gov/search/search.htm or by calling (202) 551-8090.
Applicants' Representations
    1. The Trust is a Delaware statutory trust and is registered under 
the Act as an open-end management investment company with multiple 
series. Each series will operate as an exchange traded fund (``ETF'').
    2. AlphaClone will be the investment adviser to the new series of 
the Trust (``Initial Fund''). Each Adviser (as defined below) will be 
registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act 
of 1940 (``Advisers Act''). The Adviser may enter into sub-advisory 
agreements with one or more investment advisers to act as sub-advisers 
to particular Funds (each, a ``Sub-Adviser''). Any Sub-Adviser will 
either be registered under the Advisers Act or will not be required to 
register thereunder.
    3. The Trust will enter into a distribution agreement with one or 
more distributors. Each distributor for a Fund will be a broker-dealer 
(``Broker'') registered under the Securities

[[Page 55684]]

Exchange Act of 1934 (``Exchange Act'') and will act as distributor and 
principal underwriter (``Distributor'') for one or more of the Funds. 
No Distributor will be affiliated with any national securities 
exchange, as defined in Section 2(a)(26) of the Act (``Exchange''). The 
Distributor for each Fund will comply with the terms and conditions of 
the requested order. Quasar, a Delaware limited liability company and 
broker-dealer registered under the Exchange Act, will act as the 
initial Distributor of the Funds.
    4. Applicants request that the order apply to the Initial Fund and 
any additional series of the Trust, and any other open-end management 
investment company or series thereof, that may be created in the future 
(``Future Funds'' and together with the Initial Fund, ``Funds''), each 
of which will operate as an ETF and will track a specified index 
comprised of domestic or foreign equity and/or fixed income securities 
(each, an ``Underlying Index''). Any Future Fund will (a) be advised by 
AlphaClone or an entity controlling, controlled by, or under common 
control with AlphaClone (each, an ``Adviser'') and (b) comply with the 
terms and conditions of the application.\1\
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    \1\ All existing entities that intend to rely on the requested 
order have been named as applicants. Any other existing or future 
entity that subsequently relies on the order will comply with the 
terms and conditions of the order. A Fund of Funds (as defined 
below) may rely on the order only to invest in Funds and not in any 
other registered investment company.
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    5. Each Fund will hold certain securities, currencies, other 
assets, and other investment positions (``Portfolio Holdings'') 
selected to correspond generally to the performance of its Underlying 
Index. The Underlying Indexes will be comprised solely of equity and/or 
fixed income securities issued by one or more of the following 
categories of issuers: (i) Domestic issuers and (ii) non-domestic 
issuers meeting the requirements for trading in U.S. markets. Other 
Funds will be based on Underlying Indexes that will be comprised solely 
of foreign and domestic, or solely foreign, equity and/or fixed income 
securities (``Foreign Funds'').
    6. Applicants represent that each Fund will invest at least 80% of 
its assets (excluding securities lending collateral) in the component 
securities of its respective Underlying Index (``Component 
Securities'') and TBA Transactions,\2\ and in the case of Foreign 
Funds, Component Securities and Depositary Receipts \3\ representing 
Component Securities. Each Fund may also invest up to 20% of its assets 
in certain index futures, options, options on index futures, swap 
contracts or other derivatives, as related to its respective Underlying 
Index and its Component Securities, cash and cash equivalents, other 
investment companies, as well as in securities and other instruments 
not included in its Underlying Index but which the Adviser believes 
will help the Fund track its Underlying Index. A Fund may also engage 
in short sales in accordance with its investment objective.
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    \2\ A ``to-be-announced transaction'' or ``TBA Transaction'' is 
a method of trading mortgage-backed securities. In a TBA 
Transaction, the buyer and seller agree upon general trade 
parameters such as agency, settlement date, par amount and price. 
The actual pools delivered generally are determined two days prior 
to settlement date.
    \3\ Depositary receipts representing foreign securities 
(``Depositary Receipts'') include American Depositary Receipts and 
Global Depositary Receipts. The Funds may invest in Depositary 
Receipts representing foreign securities in which they seek to 
invest. Depositary Receipts are typically issued by a financial 
institution (a ``depositary bank'') and evidence ownership interests 
in a security or a pool of securities that have been deposited with 
the depositary bank. A Fund will not invest in any Depositary 
Receipts that the Adviser or any Sub-Adviser deems to be illiquid or 
for which pricing information is not readily available. No 
affiliated person of a Fund, the Adviser or any Sub-Adviser will 
serve as the depositary bank for any Depositary Receipts held by a 
Fund.
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    7. Each Trust may issue Funds that seek to track Underlying Indexes 
constructed using 130/30 investment strategies (``130/30 Funds'') or 
other long/short investment strategies (``Long/Short Funds''). Each 
Long/Short Fund will establish (i) exposures equal to approximately 
100% of the long positions specified by the Long/Short Index \4\ and 
(ii) exposures equal to approximately 100% of the short positions 
specified by the Long/Short Index. Each 130/30 Fund will include 
strategies that: (i) Establish long positions in securities so that 
total long exposure represents approximately 130% of a Fund's net 
assets; and (ii) simultaneously establish short positions in other 
securities so that total short exposure represents approximately 30% of 
such Fund's net assets. Each Business Day, for each Long/Short Fund and 
130/30 Fund, the Adviser will provide full portfolio transparency on 
the Fund's publicly available Web site (``Web site'') by making 
available the Fund's Portfolio Holdings (defined below) before the 
commencement of trading of Shares on the Listing Exchange (defined 
below).\5\ The information provided on the Web site will be formatted 
to be reader-friendly.
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    \4\ Underlying Indexes that include both long and short 
positions in securities are referred to as ``Long/Short Indexes.''
    \5\ Under accounting procedures followed by each Fund, trades 
made on the prior Business Day (``T'') will be booked and reflected 
in NAV on the current Business Day (T+1). Accordingly, the Funds 
will be able to disclose at the beginning of the Business Day the 
portfolio that will form the basis for the NAV calculation at the 
end of the Business Day.
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    8. A Fund will utilize either a replication or representative 
sampling strategy to track its Underlying Index. A Fund using a 
replication strategy will invest in the Component Securities of its 
Underlying Index in the same approximate proportions as in such 
Underlying Index. A Fund using a representative sampling strategy will 
hold some, but not necessarily all of the Component Securities of its 
Underlying Index. Applicants state that a Fund using a representative 
sampling strategy will not be expected to track the performance of its 
Underlying Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an 
investment vehicle that invested in every Component Security of the 
Underlying Index with the same weighting as the Underlying Index. 
Applicants expect that each Fund will have an annual tracking error 
relative to the performance of its Underlying Index of less than 5%.
    9. Each Fund will be entitled to use its Underlying Index pursuant 
to either a licensing agreement with the entity that compiles, creates, 
sponsors or maintains the Underlying Index (each, an ``Index 
Provider'') or a sub-licensing arrangement with the Adviser, which will 
have a licensing agreement with such Index Provider.\6\ A ``Self-
Indexing Fund'' is a Fund for which an affiliated person, as defined in 
section 2(a)(3) of the Act (``Affiliated Person''), or an affiliated 
person of an Affiliated Person (``Second-Tier Affiliate''), of the 
Trust or a Fund, of the Adviser, of any Sub-Adviser to or promoter of a 
Fund, or of the Distributor (each, an ``Affiliated Index Provider'') 
will serve as the Index Provider. In the case of Self-Indexing Funds, 
an Affiliated Index Provider will create a proprietary, rules-based 
methodology to create Underlying Indexes (each an ``Affiliated 
Index'').\7\

[[Page 55685]]

Except with respect to the Self-Indexing Funds, no Index Provider is or 
will be an Affiliated Person, or a Second-Tier Affiliate, of a Trust or 
a Fund, of the Adviser, of any Sub-Adviser to or promoter of a Fund, or 
of the Distributor.
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    \6\ The licenses for the Self-Indexing Funds will specifically 
state that the Affiliated Index Provider (as defined below), or in 
case of a sub-licensing agreement, the Adviser, must provide the use 
of the Affiliated Indexes (as defined below) and related 
intellectual property at no cost to the Trust and the Self-Indexing 
Funds.
    \7\ The Affiliated Indexes may be made available to registered 
investment companies, as well as separately managed accounts of 
institutional investors and privately offered funds that are not 
deemed to be ``investment companies'' in reliance on section 3(c)(1) 
or 3(c)(7) of the Act for which the Adviser acts as adviser or 
subadviser (``Affiliated Accounts'') as well as other such 
registered investment companies, separately managed accounts and 
privately offered funds for which it does not act either as adviser 
or subadviser (``Unaffiliated Accounts''). The Affiliated Accounts 
and the Unaffiliated Accounts, like the Funds, would seek to track 
the performance of one or more Underlying Index(es) by investing in 
the constituents of such Underlying Indexes or a representative 
sample of such constituents of the Underlying Index. Consistent with 
the relief requested from section 17(a), the Affiliated Accounts 
will not engage in Creation Unit transactions with a Fund.
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    10. Applicants recognize that Self-Indexing Funds could raise 
concerns regarding the ability of the Affiliated Index Provider to 
manipulate the Underlying Index to the benefit or detriment of the 
Self-Indexing Fund. Applicants further recognize the potential for 
conflicts that may arise with respect to the personal trading activity 
of personnel of the Affiliated Index Provider who have knowledge of 
changes to an Underlying Index prior to the time that information is 
publicly disseminated.
    11. Applicants propose that each Self-Indexing Fund will post on 
its Web site, on each day the Fund is open, including any day when it 
satisfies redemption requests as required by Section 22(e) of the Act 
(a ``Business Day''), before commencement of trading of Shares on the 
Listing Exchange, the identities and quantities of the Portfolio 
Holdings that will form the basis for the Fund's calculation of its NAV 
at the end of the Business Day. Applicants believe that requiring Self-
Indexing Funds to maintain full portfolio transparency will also 
provide an additional mechanism for addressing any such potential 
conflicts of interest.
    12. In addition, Applicants do not believe the potential for 
conflicts of interest raised by the Adviser's use of the Underlying 
Indexes in connection with the management of the Self Indexing Funds 
and the Affiliated Accounts will be substantially different from the 
potential conflicts presented by an adviser managing two or more 
registered funds. Both the Act and the Advisers Act contain various 
protections to address conflicts of interest where an adviser is 
managing two or more registered funds and these protections will also 
help address these conflicts with respect to the Self-Indexing 
Funds.\8\
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    \8\ See, e.g., Rule 17j-1 under the Act and Section 204A under 
the Advisers Act and Rules 204A-1 and 206(4)-7 under the Advisers 
Act.
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    13. Each Adviser and any Sub-Adviser has adopted or will adopt, 
pursuant to Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act, written policies and 
procedures designed to prevent violations of the Advisers Act and the 
rules thereunder. These include policies and procedures designed to 
minimize potential conflicts of interest among the Self-Indexing Funds 
and the Affiliated Accounts, such as cross trading policies, as well as 
those designed to ensure the equitable allocation of portfolio 
transactions and brokerage commissions. In addition, AlphaClone will 
adopt policies and procedures as required under section 204A of the 
Advisers Act, which are reasonably designed in light of the nature of 
its business to prevent the misuse, in violation of the Advisers Act or 
the Exchange Act or the rules thereunder, of material non-public 
information by the ETS Securities or an associated person (``Inside 
Information Policy''). Any other Adviser or Sub-Adviser will be 
required to adopt and maintain a similar Inside Information Policy. In 
accordance with the Code of Ethics \9\ and Inside Information Policy of 
the Adviser and any Sub-Adviser, personnel of those entities with 
knowledge about the composition of the Portfolio Deposit \10\ will be 
prohibited from disclosing such information to any other person, except 
as authorized in the course of their employment, until such information 
is made public. In addition, an Index Provider will not provide any 
information relating to changes to an Underlying Index's methodology 
for the inclusion of component securities, the inclusion or exclusion 
of specific component securities, or methodology for the calculation or 
the return of component securities, in advance of a public announcement 
of such changes by the Index Provider.\11\ The Adviser will also 
include under Item 10.C of Part 2 of its Form ADV a discussion of its 
relationship to any Affiliated Index Provider and any material 
conflicts of interest resulting therefrom, regardless of whether the 
Affiliated Index Provider is a type of affiliate specified in Item 10.
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    \9\ The Adviser has also adopted or will adopt a code of ethics 
pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the Act and Rule 204A-1 under the 
Advisers Act, which contains provisions reasonably necessary to 
prevent Access Persons (as defined in Rule 17j-1) from engaging in 
any conduct prohibited in Rule 17j-1 (``Code of Ethics'').
    \10\ The instruments and cash that the purchaser is required to 
deliver in exchange for the Creation Units it is purchasing are 
referred to as the ``Portfolio Deposit.''
    \11\ In the event that an Adviser or Sub-Adviser serves as the 
Affiliated Index Provider for a Self-Indexing Fund, the terms 
``Affiliated Index Provider'' or ``Index Provider,'' with respect to 
that Self-Indexing Fund, will be limited to the employees of the 
applicable Adviser or Sub-Adviser that are responsible for creating, 
compiling and maintaining the relevant Underlying Index.
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    14. To the extent the Self-Indexing Funds transact with an 
Affiliated Person of the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, such transactions will 
comply with the Act, the rules thereunder and the terms and conditions 
of the requested order. In this regard, each Self-Indexing Fund's board 
of directors or trustees (``Board'') will periodically review the Self-
Indexing Fund's use of an Affiliated Index Provider. Subject to the 
approval of the Self-Indexing Fund's Board, the Adviser, Affiliated 
Persons of the Adviser (``Adviser Affiliates'') and Affiliated Persons 
of any Sub-Adviser (``Sub-Adviser Affiliates'') may be authorized to 
provide custody, fund accounting and administration and transfer agency 
services to the Self-Indexing Funds. Any services provided by the 
Adviser, Adviser Affiliates, Sub-Adviser and Sub-Adviser Affiliates 
will be performed in accordance with the provisions of the Act, the 
rules under the Act and any relevant guidelines from the staff of the 
Commission. Applications for prior orders granted to Self-Indexing 
Funds have received relief to operate such funds on the basis discussed 
above.\12\
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    \12\ See, e.g., FFI Advisors, LLC, et al., Investment Company 
Act Release No. 31669 (June 15, 2015) (notice) and 31713 (July 13, 
2015) (order); Diamond Hill Capital Management, Inc., et al., 
Investment Company Act Release No. 31433 (January 28, 2015) (notice) 
and 31472 (February 24, 2015) (order); ETF Securities Advisors LLC, 
et al., Investment Company Act Release No. 31346 (November 24, 2014) 
(notice) and 31395 (December 22, 2014) (order).
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    15. The Shares of each Fund will be purchased and redeemed in 
Creation Units and generally on an in-kind basis. Except where the 
purchase or redemption will include cash under the limited 
circumstances specified below, purchasers will be required to purchase 
Creation Units by making an in-kind deposit of specified instruments 
(``Deposit Instruments''), and shareholders redeeming their Shares will 
receive an in-kind transfer of specified instruments (``Redemption 
Instruments'').\13\ On any given Business Day, the names and quantities 
of the instruments that constitute the Deposit Instruments and the 
names and quantities of the instruments that

[[Page 55686]]

constitute the Redemption Instruments will be identical, unless the 
Fund is Rebalancing (as defined below). In addition, the Deposit 
Instruments and the Redemption Instruments will each correspond pro 
rata to the positions in the Fund's portfolio (including cash 
positions) \14\ except: (a) In the case of bonds, for minor differences 
when it is impossible to break up bonds beyond certain minimum sizes 
needed for transfer and settlement; (b) for minor differences when 
rounding is necessary to eliminate fractional shares or lots that are 
not tradeable round lots; \15\ (c) TBA Transactions, short positions, 
derivatives and other positions that cannot be transferred in kind \16\ 
will be excluded from the Deposit Instruments and the Redemption 
Instruments; \17\(d) to the extent the Fund determines, on a given 
Business Day, to use a representative sampling of the Fund's portfolio; 
\18\ or (e) for temporary periods, to effect changes in the Fund's 
portfolio as a result of the rebalancing of its Underlying Index (any 
such change, a ``Rebalancing''). If there is a difference between the 
NAV attributable to a Creation Unit and the aggregate market value of 
the Deposit Instruments or Redemption Instruments 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'').
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    \13\ The Funds must comply with the federal securities laws in 
accepting Deposit Instruments and satisfying redemptions with 
Redemption Instruments, including that the Deposit Instruments and 
Redemption Instruments are sold in transactions that would be exempt 
from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (``Securities 
Act''). In accepting Deposit Instruments and satisfying redemptions 
with Redemption Instruments that are restricted securities eligible 
for resale pursuant to rule 144A under the Securities Act, the Funds 
will comply with the conditions of rule 144A.
    \14\ The portfolio used for this purpose will be the same 
portfolio used to calculate the Fund's NAV for the Business Day.
    \15\ A tradeable round lot for a security will be the standard 
unit of trading in that particular type of security in its primary 
market.
    \16\ This includes instruments that can be transferred in kind 
only with the consent of the original counterparty to the extent the 
Fund does not intend to seek such consents.
    \17\ Because these instruments will be excluded from the Deposit 
Instruments and the Redemption Instruments, their value will be 
reflected in the determination of the Cash Amount (as defined 
below).
    \18\ A Fund may only use sampling for this purpose if the 
sample: (i) Is designed to generate performance that is highly 
correlated to the performance of the Fund's portfolio; (ii) consists 
entirely of instruments that are already included in the Fund's 
portfolio; and (iii) is the same for all Authorized Participants on 
a given Business Day.
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    16. Purchases and redemptions of Creation Units may be made in 
whole or in part on a cash basis, rather than in kind, solely under the 
following circumstances: (a) To the extent there is a Cash Amount; (b) 
if, on a given Business Day, the Fund announces before the open of 
trading that all purchases, all redemptions or all purchases and 
redemptions on that day will be made entirely in cash; (c) if, upon 
receiving a purchase or redemption order from an Authorized 
Participant, the Fund determines to require the purchase or redemption, 
as applicable, to be made entirely in cash; \19\ (d) if, on a given 
Business Day, the Fund requires all Authorized Participants purchasing 
or redeeming Shares on that day to deposit or receive (as applicable) 
cash in lieu of some or all of the Deposit Instruments or Redemption 
Instruments, respectively, solely because: (i) Such instruments are not 
eligible for transfer through either the NSCC or DTC (defined below); 
or (ii) in the case of Foreign Funds holding non-U.S. investments, such 
instruments are not eligible for trading due to local trading 
restrictions, local restrictions on securities transfers or other 
similar circumstances; or (e) if the Fund permits an Authorized 
Participant to deposit or receive (as applicable) cash in lieu of some 
or all of the Deposit Instruments or Redemption Instruments, 
respectively, solely because: (i) Such instruments are, in the case of 
the purchase of a Creation Unit, not available in sufficient quantity; 
(ii) such instruments are not eligible for trading by an Authorized 
Participant or the investor on whose behalf the Authorized Participant 
is acting; or (iii) a holder of Shares of a Foreign Fund holding non-
U.S. investments would be subject to unfavorable income tax treatment 
if the holder receives redemption proceeds in kind.\20\
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    \19\ In determining whether a particular Fund will sell or 
redeem Creation Units entirely on a cash or in-kind basis (whether 
for a given day or a given order), the key consideration will be the 
benefit that would accrue to the Fund and its investors. For 
instance, in bond transactions, the Adviser may be able to obtain 
better execution than Share purchasers because of the Adviser's 
size, experience and potentially stronger relationships in the fixed 
income markets. Purchases of Creation Units either on an all cash 
basis or in-kind are expected to be neutral to the Funds from a tax 
perspective. In contrast, cash redemptions typically require selling 
portfolio holdings, which may result in adverse tax consequences for 
the remaining Fund shareholders that would not occur with an in-kind 
redemption. As a result, tax consideration may warrant in-kind 
redemptions.
    \20\ A ``custom order'' is any purchase or redemption of Shares 
made in whole or in part on a cash basis in reliance on clause 
(e)(i) or (e)(ii).
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    17. Creation Units will consist of specified large aggregations of 
Shares (e.g., 25,000 Shares) as determined by the Adviser, and it is 
expected that the initial price of a Creation Unit will range from $1 
million to $10 million. All orders to purchase Creation Units must be 
placed with the Distributor by or through an ``Authorized Participant'' 
which is either (1) a ``Participating Party,'' i.e., a Broker or other 
participant in the Continuous Net Settlement System of the NSCC, a 
clearing agency registered with the Commission, or (2) a participant in 
The Depository Trust Company (``DTC'') (``DTC Participant''), which, in 
either case, has signed a participant agreement with the Distributor. 
The Distributor will be responsible for transmitting the orders to the 
Funds and will furnish to those placing such orders confirmation that 
the orders have been accepted, but applicants state that the 
Distributor may reject any order which is not submitted in proper form.
    18. Each Business Day, before the open of trading on the Exchange 
on which Shares are primarily listed (``Listing Exchange''), each Fund 
will cause to be published through the NSCC the names and quantities of 
the instruments comprising the Deposit Instruments and the Redemption 
Instruments, as well as the estimated Cash Amount (if any), for that 
day. The list of Deposit Instruments and Redemption Instruments will 
apply until a new list is announced on the following Business Day, and 
there will be no intra-day changes to the list except to correct errors 
in the published list. Each Listing Exchange will disseminate, every 15 
seconds during regular Exchange trading hours, through the facilities 
of the Consolidated Tape Association, an amount for each Fund stated on 
a per individual Share basis representing the sum of (i) the estimated 
Cash Amount and (ii) the current value of the Deposit Instruments.
    19. Transaction expenses, including operational processing and 
brokerage costs, will be incurred by a Fund when investors purchase or 
redeem Creation Units in-kind and such costs have the potential to 
dilute the interests of the Fund's existing shareholders. Each Fund 
will impose purchase or redemption transaction fees (``Transaction 
Fees'') in connection with effecting such purchases or redemptions of 
Creation Units. In all cases, such Transaction Fees will be limited in 
accordance with requirements of the Commission applicable to management 
investment companies offering redeemable securities. Since the 
Transaction Fees are intended to defray the transaction expenses as 
well as to prevent possible shareholder dilution resulting from the 
purchase or redemption of Creation Units, the Transaction Fees will be 
borne only by such purchasers or redeemers.\21\ The Distributor will be 
responsible for delivering the Fund's prospectus to those persons 
acquiring Shares in Creation Units and for maintaining

[[Page 55687]]

records of both the orders placed with it and the confirmations of 
acceptance furnished by it. In addition, the Distributor will maintain 
a record of the instructions given to the applicable Fund to implement 
the delivery of its Shares.
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    \21\ Where a Fund permits an in-kind purchaser to substitute 
cash-in-lieu of depositing one or more of the requisite Deposit 
Instruments, the purchaser may be assessed a higher Transaction Fee 
to cover the cost of purchasing such Deposit Instruments.
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    20. Shares of each Fund will be listed and traded individually on 
an Exchange. It is expected that one or more member firms of an 
Exchange will be designated to act as a market maker (each, a ``Market 
Maker'') and maintain a market for Shares trading on the Exchange. 
Prices of Shares trading on an Exchange will be based on the current 
bid/offer market. Transactions involving the sale of Shares on an 
Exchange will be subject to customary brokerage commissions and 
charges.
    21. Applicants expect that purchasers of Creation Units will 
include institutional investors and arbitrageurs. Market Makers, acting 
in their roles to provide a fair and orderly secondary market for the 
Shares, may from time to time find it appropriate to purchase or redeem 
Creation Units. Applicants expect that secondary market purchasers of 
Shares will include both institutional and retail investors.\22\ The 
price at which Shares trade will be disciplined by arbitrage 
opportunities created by the option continually to purchase or redeem 
Shares in Creation Units, which should help prevent Shares from trading 
at a material discount or premium in relation to their NAV.
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    \22\ Shares will be registered in book-entry form only. DTC or 
its nominee will be the record or registered owner of all 
outstanding Shares. Beneficial ownership of Shares will be shown on 
the records of DTC or the DTC Participants.
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    22. Shares will not be individually redeemable, and owners of 
Shares may acquire those Shares from the Fund, or tender such Shares 
for redemption to the Fund, in Creation Units only. To redeem, an 
investor must accumulate enough Shares to constitute a Creation Unit. 
Redemption requests must be placed through an Authorized Participant. A 
redeeming investor may pay a Transaction Fee, calculated in the same 
manner as a Transaction Fee payable in connection with purchases of 
Creation Units.
    23. Neither the Trust nor any Fund will be advertised or marketed 
or otherwise held out as a traditional open-end investment company or a 
``mutual fund.'' Instead, each such Fund will be marketed as an 
``ETF.'' All marketing materials that describe the features or method 
of obtaining, buying or selling Creation Units, or Shares traded on an 
Exchange, or refer to redeemability, will prominently disclose that 
Shares are not individually redeemable and will disclose that the 
owners of Shares may acquire those Shares from the Fund or tender such 
Shares for redemption to the Fund in Creation Units only. The Funds 
will provide copies of their annual and semi-annual shareholder reports 
to DTC Participants for distribution to beneficial owners of Shares.

Applicants' Legal Analysis

    1. Applicants request an order under section 6(c) of the Act for an 
exemption from sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d), and 22(e) of the Act 
and rule 22c-1 under the Act, under section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act for 
an exemption from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) of the Act, and under 
sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an exemption from sections 
17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Act.
    2. Section 6(c) of the Act provides that the Commission may exempt 
any person, security or transaction, or any class of persons, 
securities or transactions, from any provision of the Act, if and to 
the extent that such exemption is necessary or appropriate in the 
public interest and consistent with the protection of investors and the 
purposes fairly intended by the policy and provisions of the Act. 
Section 17(b) of the Act authorizes the Commission to exempt a proposed 
transaction from section 17(a) of the Act if evidence establishes that 
the terms of the transaction, including the consideration to be paid or 
received, are reasonable and fair and do not involve overreaching on 
the part of any person concerned, and the proposed transaction is 
consistent with the policies of the registered investment company and 
the general provisions of the Act. Section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act 
provides that the Commission may exempt any person, security, or 
transaction, or any class or classes of persons, securities or 
transactions, from any provisions of section 12(d)(1) if the exemption 
is consistent with the public interest and the protection of investors.

Sections 5(a)(1) and 2(a)(32) of the Act

    3. Section 5(a)(1) of the Act defines an ``open-end company'' as a 
management investment company that is offering for sale or has 
outstanding any redeemable security of which it is the issuer. Section 
2(a)(32) of the Act defines a redeemable security as any security, 
other than short-term paper, under the terms of which the owner, upon 
its presentation to the issuer, is entitled to receive approximately a 
proportionate share of the issuer's current net assets, or the cash 
equivalent. Because Shares will not be individually redeemable, 
applicants request an order that would permit the Funds to register as 
open-end management investment companies and issue Shares that are 
redeemable in Creation Units only. Applicants state that investors may 
purchase Shares in Creation Units and redeem Creation Units from each 
Fund. Applicants further state that because Creation Units may always 
be purchased and redeemed at NAV, the price of Shares on the secondary 
market should not vary materially from NAV.

Section 22(d) of the Act and Rule 22c-1 under the Act

    4. Section 22(d) of the Act, among other things, prohibits a dealer 
from selling a redeemable security that is currently being offered to 
the public by or through an underwriter, except at a current public 
offering price described in the prospectus. Rule 22c-1 under the Act 
generally requires that a dealer selling, redeeming or repurchasing a 
redeemable security do so only at a price based on its NAV. Applicants 
state that secondary market trading in Shares will take place at 
negotiated prices, not at a current offering price described in a 
Fund's prospectus, and not at a price based on NAV. Thus, purchases and 
sales of Shares in the secondary market will not comply with section 
22(d) of the Act and rule 22c-1 under the Act. Applicants request an 
exemption under section 6(c) from these provisions.
    5. Applicants assert that the concerns sought to be addressed by 
section 22(d) of the Act and rule 22c-1 under the Act with respect to 
pricing are equally satisfied by the proposed method of pricing Shares. 
Applicants maintain that while there is little legislative history 
regarding section 22(d), its provisions, as well as those of rule 22c-
1, appear to have been designed to (a) prevent dilution caused by 
certain riskless-trading schemes by principal underwriters and contract 
dealers, (b) prevent unjust discrimination or preferential treatment 
among buyers, and (c) ensure an orderly distribution of investment 
company shares by eliminating price competition from dealers offering 
shares at less than the published sales price and repurchasing shares 
at more than the published redemption price.
    6. Applicants believe that none of these purposes will be thwarted 
by permitting Shares to trade in the secondary market at negotiated 
prices. Applicants state that (a) secondary market trading in Shares 
does not involve a Fund as a party and will not result in dilution of 
an investment in Shares, and (b) to the extent different prices exist 
during a given trading day,

[[Page 55688]]

or from day to day, such variances occur as a result of third-party 
market forces, such as supply and demand. Therefore, applicants assert 
that secondary market transactions in Shares will not lead to 
discrimination or preferential treatment among purchasers. Finally, 
applicants contend that the price at which Shares trade will be 
disciplined by arbitrage opportunities created by the option 
continually to purchase or redeem Shares in Creation Units, which 
should help prevent Shares from trading at a material discount or 
premium in relation to their NAV.

Section 22(e)

    7. Section 22(e) of the Act generally prohibits a registered 
investment company from suspending the right of redemption or 
postponing the date of payment of redemption proceeds for more than 
seven days after the tender of a security for redemption. Applicants 
state that settlement of redemptions for Foreign Funds will be 
contingent not only on the settlement cycle of the United States 
market, but also on current delivery cycles in local markets for 
underlying foreign securities held by a Foreign Fund. Applicants state 
that the delivery cycles currently practicable for transferring 
Redemption Instruments to redeeming investors, coupled with local 
market holiday schedules, may require a delivery process of up to 
fourteen (14) calendar days. Accordingly, with respect to Foreign Funds 
only, applicants hereby request relief under section 6(c) from the 
requirement imposed by section 22(e) to allow Foreign Funds to pay 
redemption proceeds within fourteen calendar days following the tender 
of Creation Units for redemption.\23\
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    \23\ Applicants acknowledge that no relief obtained from the 
requirements of section 22(e) will affect any obligations Applicants 
may otherwise have under rule 15c6-1 under the Exchange Act 
requiring that most securities transactions be settled within three 
business days of the trade date.
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    8. Applicants believe that Congress adopted section 22(e) to 
prevent unreasonable, undisclosed or unforeseen delays in the actual 
payment of redemption proceeds. Applicants propose that allowing 
redemption payments for Creation Units of a Foreign Fund to be made 
within fourteen calendar days would not be inconsistent with the spirit 
and intent of section 22(e). Applicants suggest that a redemption 
payment occurring within fourteen calendar days following a redemption 
request would adequately afford investor protection.
    9. Applicants are not seeking relief from section 22(e) with 
respect to Foreign Funds that do not effect creations and redemptions 
of Creation Units in-kind.

Section 12(d)(1)

    10. Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act prohibits a registered 
investment company from acquiring securities of an investment company 
if such securities represent more than 3% of the total outstanding 
voting stock of the acquired company, more than 5% of the total assets 
of the acquiring company, or, together with the securities of any other 
investment companies, more than 10% of the total assets of the 
acquiring company. Section 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act prohibits a 
registered open-end investment company, its principal underwriter and 
any other broker-dealer from knowingly selling the investment company's 
shares to another investment company if the sale will cause the 
acquiring company to own more than 3% of the acquired company's voting 
stock, or if the sale will cause more than 10% of the acquired 
company's voting stock to be owned by investment companies generally.
    11. Applicants request an exemption to permit registered management 
investment companies and unit investment trusts (``UITs'') that are not 
advised or sponsored by the Adviser, and not part of the same ``group 
of investment companies,'' as defined in section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the 
Act as the Funds (such management investment companies are referred to 
as ``Investing Management Companies,'' such UITs are referred to as 
``Investing Trusts,'' and Investing Management Companies and Investing 
Trusts are collectively referred to as ``Funds of Funds''), to acquire 
Shares beyond the limits of section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act; and the 
Funds, and any principal underwriter for the Funds, and/or any Broker 
registered under the Exchange Act, to sell Shares to Funds of Funds 
beyond the limits of section 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act.
    12. Each Investing Management Company will be advised by an 
investment adviser within the meaning of section 2(a)(20)(A) of the Act 
(the ``Fund of Funds Adviser'') and may be sub-advised by investment 
advisers within the meaning of section 2(a)(20)(B) of the Act (each, a 
``Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser''). Any investment adviser to an Investing 
Management Company will be registered under the Advisers Act. Each 
Investing Trust will be sponsored by a sponsor (``Sponsor'').
    13. Applicants submit that the proposed conditions to the requested 
relief adequately address the concerns underlying the limits in 
sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B), which include concerns about undue 
influence by a fund of funds over underlying funds, excessive layering 
of fees and overly complex fund structures. Applicants believe that the 
requested exemption is consistent with the public interest and the 
protection of investors.
    14. Applicants believe that neither a Fund of Funds nor a Fund of 
Funds Affiliate would be able to exert undue influence over a Fund.\24\ 
To limit the control that a Fund of Funds may have over a Fund, 
applicants propose a condition prohibiting a Fund of Funds Adviser or 
Sponsor, any person controlling, controlled by, or under common control 
with a Fund of Funds Adviser or Sponsor, and any investment company and 
any issuer that would be an investment company but for sections 3(c)(1) 
or 3(c)(7) of the Act that is advised or sponsored by a Fund of Funds 
Adviser or Sponsor, or any person controlling, controlled by, or under 
common control with a Fund of Funds Adviser or Sponsor (``Fund of Funds 
Advisory Group'') from controlling (individually or in the aggregate) a 
Fund within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act. The same 
prohibition would apply to any Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, any person 
controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Fund of 
Funds Sub-Adviser, and any investment company or issuer that would be 
an investment company but for sections 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act 
(or portion of such investment company or issuer) advised or sponsored 
by the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser or any person controlling, controlled 
by or under common control with the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser (``Fund 
of Funds Sub-Advisory Group'').
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    \24\ A ``Fund of Funds Affiliate'' is a Fund of Funds Adviser, 
Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, Sponsor, promoter, and principal 
underwriter of a Fund of Funds, and any person controlling, 
controlled by, or under common control with any of those entities. A 
``Fund Affiliate'' is an investment adviser, promoter, or principal 
underwriter of a Fund and any person controlling, controlled by or 
under common control with any of these entities.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    15. Applicants propose other conditions to limit the potential for 
undue influence over the Funds, including that no Fund of Funds or Fund 
of Funds Affiliate (except to the extent it is acting in its capacity 
as an investment adviser to a Fund) will cause a Fund to purchase a 
security in an offering of securities during the existence of an 
underwriting or selling syndicate of which a principal underwriter is 
an Underwriting Affiliate (``Affiliated Underwriting''). An 
``Underwriting Affiliate'' is a principal underwriter in any 
underwriting or

[[Page 55689]]

selling syndicate that is an officer, director, member of an advisory 
board, Fund of Funds Adviser, Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, employee or 
Sponsor of the Fund of Funds, or a person of which any such officer, 
director, member of an advisory board, Fund of Funds Adviser or Fund of 
Funds Sub-Adviser, employee or Sponsor is an affiliated person (except 
that any person whose relationship to the Fund is covered by section 
10(f) of the Act is not an Underwriting Affiliate).
    16. Applicants do not believe that the proposed arrangement will 
involve excessive layering of fees. The board of directors or trustees 
of any Investing Management Company, including a majority of the 
directors or trustees who are not ``interested persons'' within the 
meaning of section 2(a)(19) of the Act (``disinterested directors or 
trustees''), will find that the advisory fees charged under the 
contract are based on services provided that will be in addition to, 
rather than duplicative of, services provided under the advisory 
contract of any Fund in which the Investing Management Company may 
invest. In addition, under condition B.5., a Fund of Funds Adviser, or 
a Fund of Funds' trustee or Sponsor, as applicable, will waive fees 
otherwise payable to it by the Fund of Funds in an amount at least 
equal to any compensation (including fees received pursuant to any plan 
adopted by a Fund under rule 12b-1 under the Act) received from a Fund 
by the Fund of Funds Adviser, trustee or Sponsor or an affiliated 
person of the Fund of Funds Adviser, trustee or Sponsor, other than any 
advisory fees paid to the Fund of Funds Adviser, trustee or Sponsor or 
its affiliated person by a Fund, in connection with the investment by 
the Fund of Funds in the Fund. Applicants state that any sales charges 
and/or service fees charged with respect to shares of a Fund of Funds 
will not exceed the limits applicable to a fund of funds as set forth 
in NASD Conduct Rule 2830.\25\
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    \25\ Any references to NASD Conduct Rule 2830 include any 
successor or replacement FINRA rule to NASD Conduct Rule 2830.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    17. Applicants submit that the proposed arrangement will not create 
an overly complex fund structure. Applicants note that no Fund will 
acquire securities of any investment company or company relying on 
section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act in excess of the limits contained 
in section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act, except to the extent permitted by 
exemptive relief from the Commission permitting the Fund to purchase 
shares of other investment companies for short-term cash management 
purposes. To ensure a Fund of Funds is aware of the terms and 
conditions of the requested order, the Fund of Funds will enter into an 
agreement with the Fund (``FOF Participation Agreement''). The FOF 
Participation Agreement will include an acknowledgement from the Fund 
of Funds that it may rely on the order only to invest in the Funds and 
not in any other investment company.
    18. Applicants also note that a Fund may choose to reject a direct 
purchase of Shares in Creation Units by a Fund of Funds. To the extent 
that a Fund of Funds purchases Shares in the secondary market, a Fund 
would still retain its ability to reject any initial investment by a 
Fund of Funds in excess of the limits of section 12(d)(1)(A) by 
declining to enter into a FOF Participation Agreement with the Fund of 
Funds.

Sections 17(a)(1) and (2) of the Act

    19. Sections 17(a)(1) and (2) of the Act generally prohibit an 
affiliated person of a registered investment company, or an affiliated 
person of such a person, from selling any security to or purchasing any 
security from the company. Section 2(a)(3) of the Act defines 
``affiliated person'' of another person to include (a) any person 
directly or indirectly owning, controlling or holding with power to 
vote 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the other 
person, (b) any person 5% or more of whose outstanding voting 
securities are directly or indirectly owned, controlled or held with 
the power to vote by the other person, and (c) any person directly or 
indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the 
other person. Section 2(a)(9) of the Act defines ``control'' as the 
power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or 
policies of a company, and provides that a control relationship will be 
presumed where one person owns more than 25% of a company's voting 
securities. The Funds may be deemed to be controlled by the Adviser or 
an entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the 
Adviser and hence affiliated persons of each other. In addition, the 
Funds may be deemed to be under common control with any other 
registered investment company (or series thereof) advised by an Adviser 
or an entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with an 
Adviser (an ``Affiliated Fund''). Any investor, including Market 
Makers, owning 5% or holding in excess of 25% of the Trust or such 
Funds, may be deemed affiliated persons of the Trust or such Funds. In 
addition, an investor could own 5% or more, or in excess of 25% of the 
outstanding shares of one or more Affiliated Funds making that investor 
a Second-Tier Affiliate of the Funds.
    20. Applicants request an exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and 
17(a)(2) of the Act pursuant to sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act to 
permit persons that are Affiliated Persons of the Funds, or Second-Tier 
Affiliates of the Funds, solely by virtue of one or more of the 
following: (a) holding 5% or more, or in excess of 25%, of the 
outstanding Shares of one or more Funds; (b) an affiliation with a 
person with an ownership interest described in (a); or (c) holding 5% 
or more, or more than 25%, of the shares of one or more Affiliated 
Funds, to effectuate purchases and redemptions ``in-kind.''
    21. Applicants assert that no useful purpose would be served by 
prohibiting such affiliated persons from making ``in-kind'' purchases 
or ``in-kind'' redemptions of Shares of a Fund in Creation Units. Both 
the deposit procedures for ``in-kind'' purchases of Creation Units and 
the redemption procedures for ``in-kind'' redemptions of Creation Units 
will be effected in exactly the same manner for all purchases and 
redemptions, regardless of size or number. There will be no 
discrimination between purchasers or redeemers. Deposit Instruments and 
Redemption Instruments for each Fund will be valued in the identical 
manner as those Portfolio Holdings currently held by such Fund and the 
valuation of the Deposit Instruments and Redemption Instruments will be 
made in an identical manner regardless of the identity of the purchaser 
or redeemer. Applicants do not believe that ``in-kind'' purchases and 
redemptions will result in abusive self-dealing or overreaching, but 
rather assert that such procedures will be implemented consistently 
with each Fund's objectives and with the general purposes of the Act. 
Applicants believe that ``in-kind'' purchases and redemptions will be 
made on terms reasonable to Applicants and any affiliated persons 
because they will be valued pursuant to verifiable objective standards. 
The method of valuing Portfolio Holdings held by a Fund is identical to 
that used for calculating ``in-kind'' purchase or redemption values and 
therefore creates no opportunity for affiliated persons or Second-Tier 
Affiliates of applicants to effect a transaction detrimental to the 
other holders of Shares of that Fund. Similarly, applicants submit 
that, by using the same standards for valuing Portfolio Holdings held 
by a Fund as are used for calculating ``in-kind'' redemptions or 
purchases, the Fund

[[Page 55690]]

will ensure that its NAV will not be adversely affected by such 
securities transactions. Applicants also note that the ability to take 
deposits and make redemptions ``in-kind'' will help each Fund to track 
closely its Underlying Index and therefore aid in achieving the Fund's 
objectives.
    22. Applicants also seek relief under sections 6(c) and 17(b) from 
section 17(a) to permit a Fund that is an affiliated person, or an 
affiliated person of an affiliated person, of a Fund of Funds to sell 
its Shares to and redeem its Shares from a Fund of Funds, and to engage 
in the accompanying in-kind transactions with the Fund of Funds.\26\ 
Applicants state that the terms of the transactions are fair and 
reasonable and do not involve overreaching. Applicants note that any 
consideration paid by a Fund of Funds for the purchase or redemption of 
Shares directly from a Fund will be based on the NAV of the Fund.\27\ 
Applicants believe that any proposed transactions directly between the 
Funds and Funds of Funds will be consistent with the policies of each 
Fund of Funds. The purchase of Creation Units by a Fund of Funds 
directly from a Fund will be accomplished in accordance with the 
investment restrictions of any such Fund of Funds and will be 
consistent with the investment policies set forth in the Fund of Funds' 
registration statement. Applicants also state that the proposed 
transactions are consistent with the general purposes of the Act and 
are appropriate in the public interest.
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    \26\ Although applicants believe that most Funds of Funds will 
purchase Shares in the secondary market and will not purchase 
Creation Units directly from a Fund, a Fund of Funds might seek to 
transact in Creation Units directly with a Fund that is an 
affiliated person of a Fund of Funds. To the extent that purchases 
and sales of Shares occur in the secondary market and not through 
principal transactions directly between a Fund of Funds and a Fund, 
relief from Section 17(a) would not be necessary. However, the 
requested relief would apply to direct sales of Shares in Creation 
Units by a Fund to a Fund of Funds and redemptions of those Shares. 
Applicants are not seeking relief from Section 17(a) for, and the 
requested relief will not apply to, transactions where a Fund could 
be deemed an affiliated person, or an affiliated person of an 
affiliated person of a Fund of Funds because an Adviser or an entity 
controlling, controlled by or under common control with an Adviser 
provides investment advisory services to that Fund of Funds.
    \27\ Applicants acknowledge that the receipt of compensation by 
(a) an affiliated person of a Fund of Funds, or an affiliated person 
of such person, for the purchase by the Fund of Funds of Shares of a 
Fund or (b) an affiliated person of a Fund, or an affiliated person 
of such person, for the sale by the Fund of its Shares to a Fund of 
Funds, may be prohibited by Section 17(e)(1) of the Act. The FOF 
Participation Agreement also will include this acknowledgment.
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Applicants' Conditions

    Applicants agree that any order of the Commission granting the 
requested relief will be subject to the following conditions:

A. ETF Relief

    1. The requested relief to permit ETF operations will expire on the 
effective date of any Commission rule under the Act that provides 
relief permitting the operation of index-based ETFs.
    2. As long as a Fund operates in reliance on the requested order, 
the Shares of such Fund will be listed on an Exchange.
    3. Neither the Trust nor any Fund will be advertised or marketed as 
an open-end investment company or a mutual fund. Any advertising 
material that describes the purchase or sale of Creation Units or 
refers to redeemability will prominently disclose that Shares are not 
individually redeemable and that owners of Shares may acquire those 
Shares from the Fund and tender those Shares for redemption to a Fund 
in Creation Units only.
    4. The Web site, which is and will be publicly accessible at no 
charge, will contain, on a per Share basis for each Fund, the prior 
Business Day's NAV and the market closing price or the midpoint of the 
bid/ask spread at the time of the calculation of such NAV (``Bid/Ask 
Price''), and a calculation of the premium or discount of the market 
closing price or Bid/Ask Price against such NAV.
    5. Each Self-Indexing Fund, Long/Short Fund and 130/30 Fund will 
post on the Web site on each Business Day, before commencement of 
trading of Shares on the Exchange, the Fund's Portfolio Holdings.
    6. No Adviser or any Sub-Adviser to a Self-Indexing Fund, directly 
or indirectly, will cause any Authorized Participant (or any investor 
on whose behalf an Authorized Participant may transact with the Self-
Indexing Fund) to acquire any Deposit Instrument for the Self-Indexing 
Fund through a transaction in which the Self-Indexing Fund could not 
engage directly.

B. Section 12(d)(1) Relief

    1. The members of a Fund of Funds' Advisory Group will not control 
(individually or in the aggregate) a Fund within the meaning of section 
2(a)(9) of the Act. The members of a Fund of Funds' Sub-Advisory Group 
will not control (individually or in the aggregate) a Fund within the 
meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act. If, as a result of a decrease in 
the outstanding voting securities of a Fund, the Fund of Funds' 
Advisory Group or the Fund of Funds' Sub-Advisory Group, each in the 
aggregate, becomes a holder of more than 25 percent of the outstanding 
voting securities of a Fund, it will vote its Shares of the Fund in the 
same proportion as the vote of all other holders of the Fund's Shares. 
This condition does not apply to the Fund of Funds' Sub-Advisory Group 
with respect to a Fund for which the Fund of Funds' Sub-Adviser or a 
person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Fund 
of Funds' Sub-Adviser acts as the investment adviser within the meaning 
of section 2(a)(20)(A) of the Act.
    2. No Fund of Funds or Fund of Funds Affiliate will cause any 
existing or potential investment by the Fund of Funds in a Fund to 
influence the terms of any services or transactions between the Fund of 
Funds or Fund of Funds Affiliate and the Fund or a Fund Affiliate.
    3. The board of directors or trustees of an Investing Management 
Company, including a majority of the disinterested directors or 
trustees, will adopt procedures reasonably designed to ensure that the 
Fund of Funds Adviser and Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser are conducting the 
investment program of the Investing Management Company without taking 
into account any consideration received by the Investing Management 
Company or a Fund of Funds Affiliate from a Fund or Fund Affiliate in 
connection with any services or transactions.
    4. Once an investment by a Fund of Funds in the securities of a 
Fund exceeds the limits in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, the Board 
of the Fund, including a majority of the directors or trustees who are 
not ``interested persons'' within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of 
the Act (``non-interested Board members''), will determine that any 
consideration paid by the Fund to the Fund of Funds or a Fund of Funds 
Affiliate in connection with any services or transactions: (i) Is fair 
and reasonable in relation to the nature and quality of the services 
and benefits received by the Fund; (ii) is within the range of 
consideration that the Fund would be required to pay to another 
unaffiliated entity in connection with the same services or 
transactions; and (iii) does not involve overreaching on the part of 
any person concerned. This condition does not apply with respect to any 
services or transactions between a Fund and its investment adviser(s), 
or any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with 
such investment adviser(s).

[[Page 55691]]

    5. The Fund of Funds Adviser, or trustee or Sponsor of an Investing 
Trust, as applicable, will waive fees otherwise payable to it by the 
Fund of Funds in an amount at least equal to any compensation 
(including fees received pursuant to any plan adopted by a Fund under 
rule 12b-l under the Act) received from a Fund by the Fund of Funds 
Adviser, or trustee or Sponsor of the Investing Trust, or an affiliated 
person of the Fund of Funds Adviser, or trustee or Sponsor of the 
Investing Trust, other than any advisory fees paid to the Fund of Funds 
Adviser, or trustee or Sponsor of an Investing Trust, or its affiliated 
person by the Fund, in connection with the investment by the Fund of 
Funds in the Fund. Any Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser will waive fees 
otherwise payable to the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, directly or 
indirectly, by the Investing Management Company in an amount at least 
equal to any compensation received from a Fund by the Fund of Funds 
Sub-Adviser, or an affiliated person of the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, 
other than any advisory fees paid to the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser or 
its affiliated person by the Fund, in connection with the investment by 
the Investing Management Company in the Fund made at the direction of 
the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser. In the event that the Fund of Funds Sub-
Adviser waives fees, the benefit of the waiver will be passed through 
to the Investing Management Company.
    6. No Fund of Funds or Fund of Funds Affiliate (except to the 
extent it is acting in its capacity as an investment adviser to a Fund) 
will cause a Fund to purchase a security in any Affiliated 
Underwriting.
    7. The Board of a Fund, including a majority of the non-interested 
Board members, will adopt procedures reasonably designed to monitor any 
purchases of securities by the Fund in an Affiliated Underwriting, once 
an investment by a Fund of Funds in the securities of the Fund exceeds 
the limit of section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, including any purchases 
made directly from an Underwriting Affiliate. The Board will review 
these purchases periodically, but no less frequently than annually, to 
determine whether the purchases were influenced by the investment by 
the Fund of Funds in the Fund. The Board will consider, among other 
things: (i) Whether the purchases were consistent with the investment 
objectives and policies of the Fund; (ii) how the performance of 
securities purchased in an Affiliated Underwriting compares to the 
performance of comparable securities purchased during a comparable 
period of time in underwritings other than Affiliated Underwritings or 
to a benchmark such as a comparable market index; and (iii) whether the 
amount of securities purchased by the Fund in Affiliated Underwritings 
and the amount purchased directly from an Underwriting Affiliate have 
changed significantly from prior years. The Board will take any 
appropriate actions based on its review, including, if appropriate, the 
institution of procedures designed to ensure that purchases of 
securities in Affiliated Underwritings are in the best interest of 
shareholders of the Fund.
    8. Each Fund will maintain and preserve permanently in an easily 
accessible place a written copy of the procedures described in the 
preceding condition, and any modifications to such procedures, and will 
maintain and preserve for a period of not less than six years from the 
end of the fiscal year in which any purchase in an Affiliated 
Underwriting occurred, the first two years in an easily accessible 
place, a written record of each purchase of securities in Affiliated 
Underwritings once an investment by a Fund of Funds in the securities 
of the Fund exceeds the limit of section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, 
setting forth from whom the securities were acquired, the identity of 
the underwriting syndicate's members, the terms of the purchase, and 
the information or materials upon which the Board's determinations were 
made.
    9. Before investing in a Fund in excess of the limit in section 
12(d)(1)(A), a Fund of Funds and the applicable Trust will execute a 
FOF Participation Agreement stating, without limitation, that their 
respective boards of directors or trustees and their investment 
advisers, or trustee and Sponsor, as applicable, understand the terms 
and conditions of the order, and agree to fulfill their 
responsibilities under the order. At the time of its investment in 
Shares of a Fund in excess of the limit in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i), a 
Fund of Funds will notify the Fund of the investment. At such time, the 
Fund of Funds will also transmit to the Fund a list of the names of 
each Fund of Funds Affiliate and Underwriting Affiliate. The Fund of 
Funds will notify the Fund of any changes to the list of the names as 
soon as reasonably practicable after a change occurs. The Fund and the 
Fund of Funds will maintain and preserve a copy of the order, the FOF 
Participation Agreement, and the list with any updated information for 
the duration of the investment and for a period of not less than six 
years thereafter, the first two years in an easily accessible place.
    10. Before approving any advisory contract under section 15 of the 
Act, the board of directors or trustees of each Investing Management 
Company including a majority of the disinterested directors or 
trustees, will find that the advisory fees charged under such contract 
are based on services provided that will be in addition to, rather than 
duplicative of, the services provided under the advisory contract(s) of 
any Fund in which the Investing Management Company may invest. These 
findings and their basis will be fully recorded in the minute books of 
the appropriate Investing Management Company.
    11. Any sales charges and/or service fees charged with respect to 
shares of a Fund of Funds will not exceed the limits applicable to a 
fund of funds as set forth in NASD Conduct Rule 2830.
    12. No Fund will acquire securities of an investment company or 
company relying on section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act in excess of 
the limits contained in section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act, except to the 
extent the Fund acquires securities of another investment company 
pursuant to exemptive relief from the Commission permitting the Fund to 
acquire securities of one or more investment companies for short-term 
cash management purposes.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-23270 Filed 9-15-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P



                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 179 / Wednesday, September 16, 2015 / Notices                                             55683

                                                    IV. Solicitation of Comments                              For the Commission, by the Division of               request a hearing by writing to the
                                                                                                            Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated             Commission’s Secretary and serving
                                                      Interested persons are invited to                     authority.35                                           applicants with a copy of the request,
                                                    submit written data, views, and                         Brent J. Fields,                                       personally or by mail. Hearing requests
                                                    arguments concerning the foregoing,                     Secretary.                                             should be received by the Commission
                                                    including whether the proposed rule                     [FR Doc. 2015–23284 Filed 9–15–15; 8:45 am]            by 5:30 p.m. on October 2, 2015, and
                                                    change is consistent with the Act.                      BILLING CODE 8011–01–P                                 should be accompanied by proof of
                                                    Comments may be submitted by any of                                                                            service on applicants, in the form of an
                                                    the following methods:                                                                                         affidavit, or for lawyers, a certificate of
                                                                                                            SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE                                service. Pursuant to rule 0–5 under the
                                                    Electronic Comments                                     COMMISSION                                             Act, hearing requests should state the
                                                      • Use the Commission’s Internet                       [Investment Company Act Release No. IC–                nature of the writer’s interest, any facts
                                                    comment form (http://www.sec.gov/                       31820; 812–14474]                                      bearing upon the desirability of a
                                                    rules/sro.shtml); or                                                                                           hearing on the matter, the reason for the
                                                                                                            AlphaClone, Inc., et al.; Notice of                    request, and the issues contested.
                                                      • Send an email to rule-comments@                     Application                                            Persons who wish to be notified of a
                                                    sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–                                                                        hearing may request notification by
                                                    NYSEArca–2015–76 on the subject line.                   September 11, 2015.                                    writing to the Commission’s Secretary.
                                                                                                            AGENCY:    Securities and Exchange
                                                    Paper Comments                                                                                                 ADDRESSES: Secretary, Securities and
                                                                                                            Commission (‘‘Commission’’).
                                                                                                                                                                   Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE.,
                                                      • Send paper comments in triplicate                   ACTION: Notice of an application for an                Washington, DC 20549–1090;
                                                    to Secretary, Securities and Exchange                   order under section 6(c) of the                        Applicants: AlphaClone, One Market
                                                    Commission, 100 F Street NE.,                           Investment Company Act of 1940 (the                    Street, Steuart Towar, Suite 1208, San
                                                    Washington, DC 20549–1090.                              ‘‘Act’’) for an exemption from sections                Francisco, California 94105; The Trust
                                                                                                            2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d), and 22(e) of the             and Quasar, 615 East Michigan Street,
                                                    All submissions should refer to File                    Act and rule 22c–1 under the Act, under                4th Floor, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.
                                                    Number SR–NYSEArca–2015–76. This                        sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an
                                                                                                                                                                   FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
                                                    file number should be included on the                   exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and
                                                                                                                                                                   James D. McGinnis, Attorney/Advisor,
                                                    subject line if email is used. To help the              17(a)(2) of the Act, and under section
                                                                                                                                                                   at (202) 551–3025, or Melissa R. Harke,
                                                    Commission process and review your                      12(d)(1)(J) for an exemption from
                                                                                                                                                                   Branch Chief, at (202) 551–6722
                                                    comments more efficiently, please use                   sections 12(d)(1)(A) and 12(d)(1)(B) of
                                                                                                                                                                   (Division of Investment Management,
                                                    only one method. The Commission will                    the Act.
                                                                                                                                                                   Chief Counsel’s Office).
                                                    post all comments on the Commission’s
                                                                                                            SUMMARY:    Summary of Application:                    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
                                                    Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/                                                                         following is a summary of the
                                                                                                            Applicants request an order that would
                                                    rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the                         permit (a) series of certain open-end                  application. The complete application
                                                    submission, all subsequent                              management investment companies to                     may be obtained via the Commission’s
                                                    amendments, all written statements                      issue shares (‘‘Shares’’) redeemable in                Web site by searching for the file
                                                    with respect to the proposed rule                       large aggregations only (‘‘Creation                    number, or for an applicant using the
                                                    change that are filed with the                          Units’’); (b) secondary market                         Company name box, at http://
                                                    Commission, and all written                             transactions in Shares to occur at                     www.sec.gov/search/search.htm or by
                                                    communications relating to the                          negotiated market prices rather than at                calling (202) 551–8090.
                                                    proposed rule change between the                        net asset value (‘‘NAV’’); (c) certain
                                                    Commission and any person, other than                                                                          Applicants’ Representations
                                                                                                            series to pay redemption proceeds,
                                                    those that may be withheld from the                     under certain circumstances, more than                    1. The Trust is a Delaware statutory
                                                    public in accordance with the                           seven days after the tender of Shares for              trust and is registered under the Act as
                                                    provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be                     redemption; (d) certain affiliated                     an open-end management investment
                                                    available for Web site viewing and                      persons of the series to deposit                       company with multiple series. Each
                                                    printing in the Commission’s Public                     securities into, and receive securities                series will operate as an exchange
                                                    Reference Room, 100 F Street NE.,                       from, the series in connection with the                traded fund (‘‘ETF’’).
                                                    Washington, DC 20549 on official                        purchase and redemption of Creation                       2. AlphaClone will be the investment
                                                    business days between the hours of                      Units; and (e) certain registered                      adviser to the new series of the Trust
                                                                                                            management investment companies and                    (‘‘Initial Fund’’). Each Adviser (as
                                                    10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such
                                                                                                            unit investment trusts outside of the                  defined below) will be registered as an
                                                    filing also will be available for
                                                                                                            same group of investment companies as                  investment adviser under the
                                                    inspection and copying at the principal                                                                        Investment Advisers Act of 1940
                                                    office of the Exchange. All comments                    the series to acquire Shares.
                                                                                                               Applicants: AlphaClone, Inc.                        (‘‘Advisers Act’’). The Adviser may
                                                    received will be posted without change;                                                                        enter into sub-advisory agreements with
                                                                                                            (‘‘AlphaClone’’), ETF Series Solutions
                                                    the Commission does not edit personal                   (‘‘Trust’’) and Quasar Distributors, LLC               one or more investment advisers to act
                                                    identifying information from                            (‘‘Quasar’’).                                          as sub-advisers to particular Funds
                                                    submissions. You should submit only                                                                            (each, a ‘‘Sub-Adviser’’). Any Sub-
asabaliauskas on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                               Filing Dates: The application was
                                                    information that you wish to make                       filed on May 26, 2015, and amended on                  Adviser will either be registered under
                                                    available publicly. All submissions                     August 18, 2015.                                       the Advisers Act or will not be required
                                                    should refer to File Number SR–                            Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An              to register thereunder.
                                                    NYSEArca–2015–76, and should be                         order granting the requested relief will                  3. The Trust will enter into a
                                                    submitted on or before October 7, 2015.                 be issued unless the Commission orders                 distribution agreement with one or more
                                                                                                            a hearing. Interested persons may                      distributors. Each distributor for a Fund
                                                                                                                                                                   will be a broker-dealer (‘‘Broker’’)
                                                                                                              35 17   CFR 200.30–3(a)(12).                         registered under the Securities


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                                                    55684                   Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 179 / Wednesday, September 16, 2015 / Notices

                                                    Exchange Act of 1934 (‘‘Exchange Act’’)                 Foreign Funds, Component Securities                    The information provided on the Web
                                                    and will act as distributor and principal               and Depositary Receipts 3 representing                 site will be formatted to be reader-
                                                    underwriter (‘‘Distributor’’) for one or                Component Securities. Each Fund may                    friendly.
                                                    more of the Funds. No Distributor will                  also invest up to 20% of its assets in                    8. A Fund will utilize either a
                                                    be affiliated with any national securities              certain index futures, options, options                replication or representative sampling
                                                    exchange, as defined in Section 2(a)(26)                on index futures, swap contracts or                    strategy to track its Underlying Index. A
                                                    of the Act (‘‘Exchange’’). The Distributor              other derivatives, as related to its                   Fund using a replication strategy will
                                                    for each Fund will comply with the                      respective Underlying Index and its                    invest in the Component Securities of
                                                    terms and conditions of the requested                   Component Securities, cash and cash                    its Underlying Index in the same
                                                    order. Quasar, a Delaware limited                       equivalents, other investment                          approximate proportions as in such
                                                    liability company and broker-dealer                     companies, as well as in securities and                Underlying Index. A Fund using a
                                                    registered under the Exchange Act, will                 other instruments not included in its                  representative sampling strategy will
                                                    act as the initial Distributor of the                   Underlying Index but which the Adviser                 hold some, but not necessarily all of the
                                                    Funds.                                                  believes will help the Fund track its                  Component Securities of its Underlying
                                                       4. Applicants request that the order                 Underlying Index. A Fund may also                      Index. Applicants state that a Fund
                                                    apply to the Initial Fund and any                       engage in short sales in accordance with               using a representative sampling strategy
                                                    additional series of the Trust, and any                 its investment objective.                              will not be expected to track the
                                                    other open-end management investment                       7. Each Trust may issue Funds that                  performance of its Underlying Index
                                                    company or series thereof, that may be                  seek to track Underlying Indexes                       with the same degree of accuracy as
                                                    created in the future (‘‘Future Funds’’                 constructed using 130/30 investment                    would an investment vehicle that
                                                    and together with the Initial Fund,                     strategies (‘‘130/30 Funds’’) or other                 invested in every Component Security
                                                    ‘‘Funds’’), each of which will operate as               long/short investment strategies (‘‘Long/              of the Underlying Index with the same
                                                    an ETF and will track a specified index                 Short Funds’’). Each Long/Short Fund                   weighting as the Underlying Index.
                                                    comprised of domestic or foreign equity                 will establish (i) exposures equal to                  Applicants expect that each Fund will
                                                    and/or fixed income securities (each, an                approximately 100% of the long                         have an annual tracking error relative to
                                                    ‘‘Underlying Index’’). Any Future Fund                  positions specified by the Long/Short                  the performance of its Underlying Index
                                                    will (a) be advised by AlphaClone or an                 Index 4 and (ii) exposures equal to                    of less than 5%.
                                                    entity controlling, controlled by, or                   approximately 100% of the short                           9. Each Fund will be entitled to use
                                                    under common control with                               positions specified by the Long/Short                  its Underlying Index pursuant to either
                                                    AlphaClone (each, an ‘‘Adviser’’) and                   Index. Each 130/30 Fund will include                   a licensing agreement with the entity
                                                    (b) comply with the terms and                           strategies that: (i) Establish long                    that compiles, creates, sponsors or
                                                    conditions of the application.1                         positions in securities so that total long             maintains the Underlying Index (each,
                                                       5. Each Fund will hold certain                                                                              an ‘‘Index Provider’’) or a sub-licensing
                                                                                                            exposure represents approximately
                                                    securities, currencies, other assets, and                                                                      arrangement with the Adviser, which
                                                                                                            130% of a Fund’s net assets; and (ii)
                                                    other investment positions (‘‘Portfolio                                                                        will have a licensing agreement with
                                                                                                            simultaneously establish short positions
                                                    Holdings’’) selected to correspond                                                                             such Index Provider.6 A ‘‘Self-Indexing
                                                                                                            in other securities so that total short
                                                    generally to the performance of its                                                                            Fund’’ is a Fund for which an affiliated
                                                                                                            exposure represents approximately 30%
                                                    Underlying Index. The Underlying                                                                               person, as defined in section 2(a)(3) of
                                                                                                            of such Fund’s net assets. Each Business
                                                    Indexes will be comprised solely of                                                                            the Act (‘‘Affiliated Person’’), or an
                                                                                                            Day, for each Long/Short Fund and 130/
                                                    equity and/or fixed income securities                                                                          affiliated person of an Affiliated Person
                                                                                                            30 Fund, the Adviser will provide full
                                                    issued by one or more of the following                                                                         (‘‘Second-Tier Affiliate’’), of the Trust or
                                                                                                            portfolio transparency on the Fund’s
                                                    categories of issuers: (i) Domestic                                                                            a Fund, of the Adviser, of any Sub-
                                                                                                            publicly available Web site (‘‘Web site’’)             Adviser to or promoter of a Fund, or of
                                                    issuers and (ii) non-domestic issuers                   by making available the Fund’s Portfolio
                                                    meeting the requirements for trading in                                                                        the Distributor (each, an ‘‘Affiliated
                                                                                                            Holdings (defined below) before the                    Index Provider’’) will serve as the Index
                                                    U.S. markets. Other Funds will be based                 commencement of trading of Shares on
                                                    on Underlying Indexes that will be                                                                             Provider. In the case of Self-Indexing
                                                                                                            the Listing Exchange (defined below).5                 Funds, an Affiliated Index Provider will
                                                    comprised solely of foreign and
                                                    domestic, or solely foreign, equity and/                                                                       create a proprietary, rules-based
                                                                                                            The actual pools delivered generally are determined
                                                    or fixed income securities (‘‘Foreign                   two days prior to settlement date.                     methodology to create Underlying
                                                    Funds’’).                                                  3 Depositary receipts representing foreign          Indexes (each an ‘‘Affiliated Index’’).7
                                                       6. Applicants represent that each                    securities (‘‘Depositary Receipts’’) include
                                                                                                            American Depositary Receipts and Global                able to disclose at the beginning of the Business Day
                                                    Fund will invest at least 80% of its                    Depositary Receipts. The Funds may invest in           the portfolio that will form the basis for the NAV
                                                    assets (excluding securities lending                    Depositary Receipts representing foreign securities    calculation at the end of the Business Day.
                                                    collateral) in the component securities                 in which they seek to invest. Depositary Receipts         6 The licenses for the Self-Indexing Funds will

                                                    of its respective Underlying Index                      are typically issued by a financial institution (a     specifically state that the Affiliated Index Provider
                                                                                                            ‘‘depositary bank’’) and evidence ownership            (as defined below), or in case of a sub-licensing
                                                    (‘‘Component Securities’’) and TBA                      interests in a security or a pool of securities that   agreement, the Adviser, must provide the use of the
                                                    Transactions,2 and in the case of                       have been deposited with the depositary bank. A        Affiliated Indexes (as defined below) and related
                                                                                                            Fund will not invest in any Depositary Receipts that   intellectual property at no cost to the Trust and the
                                                      1 All existing entities that intend to rely on the    the Adviser or any Sub-Adviser deems to be illiquid    Self-Indexing Funds.
                                                    requested order have been named as applicants.          or for which pricing information is not readily           7 The Affiliated Indexes may be made available to
                                                    Any other existing or future entity that                available. No affiliated person of a Fund, the
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                                                                                                                                                                   registered investment companies, as well as
                                                    subsequently relies on the order will comply with       Adviser or any Sub-Adviser will serve as the           separately managed accounts of institutional
                                                    the terms and conditions of the order. A Fund of        depositary bank for any Depositary Receipts held by    investors and privately offered funds that are not
                                                    Funds (as defined below) may rely on the order          a Fund.                                                deemed to be ‘‘investment companies’’ in reliance
                                                    only to invest in Funds and not in any other               4 Underlying Indexes that include both long and
                                                                                                                                                                   on section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act for which the
                                                    registered investment company.                          short positions in securities are referred to as       Adviser acts as adviser or subadviser (‘‘Affiliated
                                                      2 A ‘‘to-be-announced transaction’’ or ‘‘TBA          ‘‘Long/Short Indexes.’’                                Accounts’’) as well as other such registered
                                                    Transaction’’ is a method of trading mortgage-             5 Under accounting procedures followed by each      investment companies, separately managed
                                                    backed securities. In a TBA Transaction, the buyer      Fund, trades made on the prior Business Day (‘‘T’’)    accounts and privately offered funds for which it
                                                    and seller agree upon general trade parameters such     will be booked and reflected in NAV on the current     does not act either as adviser or subadviser
                                                    as agency, settlement date, par amount and price.       Business Day (T+1). Accordingly, the Funds will be     (‘‘Unaffiliated Accounts’’). The Affiliated Accounts



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                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 179 / Wednesday, September 16, 2015 / Notices                                                        55685

                                                    Except with respect to the Self-Indexing                Advisers Act, written policies and                       of whether the Affiliated Index Provider
                                                    Funds, no Index Provider is or will be                  procedures designed to prevent                           is a type of affiliate specified in Item 10.
                                                    an Affiliated Person, or a Second-Tier                  violations of the Advisers Act and the                      14. To the extent the Self-Indexing
                                                    Affiliate, of a Trust or a Fund, of the                 rules thereunder. These include policies                 Funds transact with an Affiliated Person
                                                    Adviser, of any Sub-Adviser to or                       and procedures designed to minimize                      of the Adviser or Sub-Adviser, such
                                                    promoter of a Fund, or of the                           potential conflicts of interest among the                transactions will comply with the Act,
                                                    Distributor.                                            Self-Indexing Funds and the Affiliated                   the rules thereunder and the terms and
                                                       10. Applicants recognize that Self-                  Accounts, such as cross trading policies,                conditions of the requested order. In
                                                    Indexing Funds could raise concerns                     as well as those designed to ensure the                  this regard, each Self-Indexing Fund’s
                                                    regarding the ability of the Affiliated                                                                          board of directors or trustees (‘‘Board’’)
                                                                                                            equitable allocation of portfolio
                                                    Index Provider to manipulate the                                                                                 will periodically review the Self-
                                                                                                            transactions and brokerage
                                                    Underlying Index to the benefit or                                                                               Indexing Fund’s use of an Affiliated
                                                                                                            commissions. In addition, AlphaClone
                                                    detriment of the Self-Indexing Fund.                                                                             Index Provider. Subject to the approval
                                                    Applicants further recognize the                        will adopt policies and procedures as                    of the Self-Indexing Fund’s Board, the
                                                    potential for conflicts that may arise                  required under section 204A of the                       Adviser, Affiliated Persons of the
                                                    with respect to the personal trading                    Advisers Act, which are reasonably                       Adviser (‘‘Adviser Affiliates’’) and
                                                    activity of personnel of the Affiliated                 designed in light of the nature of its                   Affiliated Persons of any Sub-Adviser
                                                    Index Provider who have knowledge of                    business to prevent the misuse, in                       (‘‘Sub-Adviser Affiliates’’) may be
                                                    changes to an Underlying Index prior to                 violation of the Advisers Act or the                     authorized to provide custody, fund
                                                    the time that information is publicly                   Exchange Act or the rules thereunder, of                 accounting and administration and
                                                    disseminated.                                           material non-public information by the                   transfer agency services to the Self-
                                                       11. Applicants propose that each Self-               ETS Securities or an associated person                   Indexing Funds. Any services provided
                                                    Indexing Fund will post on its Web site,                (‘‘Inside Information Policy’’). Any other               by the Adviser, Adviser Affiliates, Sub-
                                                    on each day the Fund is open, including                 Adviser or Sub-Adviser will be required                  Adviser and Sub-Adviser Affiliates will
                                                    any day when it satisfies redemption                    to adopt and maintain a similar Inside                   be performed in accordance with the
                                                    requests as required by Section 22(e) of                Information Policy. In accordance with                   provisions of the Act, the rules under
                                                    the Act (a ‘‘Business Day’’), before                    the Code of Ethics 9 and Inside                          the Act and any relevant guidelines
                                                    commencement of trading of Shares on                    Information Policy of the Adviser and                    from the staff of the Commission.
                                                    the Listing Exchange, the identities and                any Sub-Adviser, personnel of those                      Applications for prior orders granted to
                                                    quantities of the Portfolio Holdings that               entities with knowledge about the                        Self-Indexing Funds have received relief
                                                    will form the basis for the Fund’s                      composition of the Portfolio Deposit 10                  to operate such funds on the basis
                                                    calculation of its NAV at the end of the                will be prohibited from disclosing such                  discussed above.12
                                                    Business Day. Applicants believe that                   information to any other person, except                     15. The Shares of each Fund will be
                                                    requiring Self-Indexing Funds to                                                                                 purchased and redeemed in Creation
                                                                                                            as authorized in the course of their
                                                    maintain full portfolio transparency will                                                                        Units and generally on an in-kind basis.
                                                                                                            employment, until such information is
                                                    also provide an additional mechanism                                                                             Except where the purchase or
                                                                                                            made public. In addition, an Index
                                                    for addressing any such potential                                                                                redemption will include cash under the
                                                    conflicts of interest.                                  Provider will not provide any                            limited circumstances specified below,
                                                       12. In addition, Applicants do not                   information relating to changes to an                    purchasers will be required to purchase
                                                    believe the potential for conflicts of                  Underlying Index’s methodology for the                   Creation Units by making an in-kind
                                                    interest raised by the Adviser’s use of                 inclusion of component securities, the                   deposit of specified instruments
                                                    the Underlying Indexes in connection                    inclusion or exclusion of specific                       (‘‘Deposit Instruments’’), and
                                                    with the management of the Self                         component securities, or methodology                     shareholders redeeming their Shares
                                                    Indexing Funds and the Affiliated                       for the calculation or the return of                     will receive an in-kind transfer of
                                                    Accounts will be substantially different                component securities, in advance of a                    specified instruments (‘‘Redemption
                                                    from the potential conflicts presented by               public announcement of such changes                      Instruments’’).13 On any given Business
                                                    an adviser managing two or more                         by the Index Provider.11 The Adviser                     Day, the names and quantities of the
                                                    registered funds. Both the Act and the                  will also include under Item 10.C of Part                instruments that constitute the Deposit
                                                    Advisers Act contain various                            2 of its Form ADV a discussion of its                    Instruments and the names and
                                                    protections to address conflicts of                     relationship to any Affiliated Index                     quantities of the instruments that
                                                    interest where an adviser is managing                   Provider and any material conflicts of
                                                    two or more registered funds and these                  interest resulting therefrom, regardless                    12 See, e.g., FFI Advisors, LLC, et al., Investment

                                                    protections will also help address these                                                                         Company Act Release No. 31669 (June 15, 2015)
                                                                                                                                                                     (notice) and 31713 (July 13, 2015) (order); Diamond
                                                    conflicts with respect to the Self-                        9 The Adviser has also adopted or will adopt a
                                                                                                                                                                     Hill Capital Management, Inc., et al., Investment
                                                    Indexing Funds.8                                        code of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j–1 under the Act      Company Act Release No. 31433 (January 28, 2015)
                                                       13. Each Adviser and any Sub-                        and Rule 204A–1 under the Advisers Act, which            (notice) and 31472 (February 24, 2015) (order); ETF
                                                                                                            contains provisions reasonably necessary to prevent      Securities Advisors LLC, et al., Investment
                                                    Adviser has adopted or will adopt,                      Access Persons (as defined in Rule 17j–1) from           Company Act Release No. 31346 (November 24,
                                                    pursuant to Rule 206(4)–7 under the                     engaging in any conduct prohibited in Rule 17j–1         2014) (notice) and 31395 (December 22, 2014)
                                                                                                            (‘‘Code of Ethics’’).                                    (order).
                                                    and the Unaffiliated Accounts, like the Funds,             10 The instruments and cash that the purchaser is        13 The Funds must comply with the federal
                                                    would seek to track the performance of one or more      required to deliver in exchange for the Creation
asabaliauskas on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                                                                                     securities laws in accepting Deposit Instruments
                                                    Underlying Index(es) by investing in the                Units it is purchasing are referred to as the            and satisfying redemptions with Redemption
                                                    constituents of such Underlying Indexes or a            ‘‘Portfolio Deposit.’’                                   Instruments, including that the Deposit Instruments
                                                    representative sample of such constituents of the          11 In the event that an Adviser or Sub-Adviser        and Redemption Instruments are sold in
                                                    Underlying Index. Consistent with the relief            serves as the Affiliated Index Provider for a Self-      transactions that would be exempt from registration
                                                    requested from section 17(a), the Affiliated            Indexing Fund, the terms ‘‘Affiliated Index              under the Securities Act of 1933 (‘‘Securities Act’’).
                                                    Accounts will not engage in Creation Unit               Provider’’ or ‘‘Index Provider,’’ with respect to that   In accepting Deposit Instruments and satisfying
                                                    transactions with a Fund.                               Self-Indexing Fund, will be limited to the               redemptions with Redemption Instruments that are
                                                       8 See, e.g., Rule 17j–1 under the Act and Section    employees of the applicable Adviser or Sub-Adviser       restricted securities eligible for resale pursuant to
                                                    204A under the Advisers Act and Rules 204A–1            that are responsible for creating, compiling and         rule 144A under the Securities Act, the Funds will
                                                    and 206(4)–7 under the Advisers Act.                    maintaining the relevant Underlying Index.               comply with the conditions of rule 144A.



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                                                    55686                    Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 179 / Wednesday, September 16, 2015 / Notices

                                                    constitute the Redemption Instruments                    Participant, the Fund determines to                      Company (‘‘DTC’’) (‘‘DTC Participant’’),
                                                    will be identical, unless the Fund is                    require the purchase or redemption, as                   which, in either case, has signed a
                                                    Rebalancing (as defined below). In                       applicable, to be made entirely in                       participant agreement with the
                                                    addition, the Deposit Instruments and                    cash; 19 (d) if, on a given Business Day,                Distributor. The Distributor will be
                                                    the Redemption Instruments will each                     the Fund requires all Authorized                         responsible for transmitting the orders
                                                    correspond pro rata to the positions in                  Participants purchasing or redeeming                     to the Funds and will furnish to those
                                                    the Fund’s portfolio (including cash                     Shares on that day to deposit or receive                 placing such orders confirmation that
                                                    positions) 14 except: (a) In the case of                 (as applicable) cash in lieu of some or                  the orders have been accepted, but
                                                    bonds, for minor differences when it is                  all of the Deposit Instruments or                        applicants state that the Distributor may
                                                    impossible to break up bonds beyond                      Redemption Instruments, respectively,                    reject any order which is not submitted
                                                    certain minimum sizes needed for                         solely because: (i) Such instruments are                 in proper form.
                                                    transfer and settlement; (b) for minor                   not eligible for transfer through either                    18. Each Business Day, before the
                                                    differences when rounding is necessary                   the NSCC or DTC (defined below); or (ii)                 open of trading on the Exchange on
                                                    to eliminate fractional shares or lots that              in the case of Foreign Funds holding                     which Shares are primarily listed
                                                    are not tradeable round lots; 15 (c) TBA                 non-U.S. investments, such instruments                   (‘‘Listing Exchange’’), each Fund will
                                                    Transactions, short positions,                           are not eligible for trading due to local                cause to be published through the NSCC
                                                    derivatives and other positions that                     trading restrictions, local restrictions on              the names and quantities of the
                                                    cannot be transferred in kind 16 will be                 securities transfers or other similar                    instruments comprising the Deposit
                                                    excluded from the Deposit Instruments                    circumstances; or (e) if the Fund permits                Instruments and the Redemption
                                                    and the Redemption Instruments; 17(d)                    an Authorized Participant to deposit or                  Instruments, as well as the estimated
                                                    to the extent the Fund determines, on a                  receive (as applicable) cash in lieu of                  Cash Amount (if any), for that day. The
                                                    given Business Day, to use a                             some or all of the Deposit Instruments                   list of Deposit Instruments and
                                                    representative sampling of the Fund’s                    or Redemption Instruments,                               Redemption Instruments will apply
                                                    portfolio; 18 or (e) for temporary periods,              respectively, solely because: (i) Such                   until a new list is announced on the
                                                    to effect changes in the Fund’s portfolio                instruments are, in the case of the                      following Business Day, and there will
                                                    as a result of the rebalancing of its                    purchase of a Creation Unit, not                         be no intra-day changes to the list
                                                    Underlying Index (any such change, a                     available in sufficient quantity; (ii) such              except to correct errors in the published
                                                    ‘‘Rebalancing’’). If there is a difference               instruments are not eligible for trading                 list. Each Listing Exchange will
                                                    between the NAV attributable to a                        by an Authorized Participant or the                      disseminate, every 15 seconds during
                                                    Creation Unit and the aggregate market                   investor on whose behalf the                             regular Exchange trading hours, through
                                                    value of the Deposit Instruments or                      Authorized Participant is acting; or (iii)               the facilities of the Consolidated Tape
                                                    Redemption Instruments exchanged for                     a holder of Shares of a Foreign Fund                     Association, an amount for each Fund
                                                    the Creation Unit, the party conveying                   holding non-U.S. investments would be                    stated on a per individual Share basis
                                                    instruments with the lower value will                    subject to unfavorable income tax                        representing the sum of (i) the estimated
                                                    also pay to the other an amount in cash                  treatment if the holder receives                         Cash Amount and (ii) the current value
                                                    equal to that difference (the ‘‘Cash                     redemption proceeds in kind.20                           of the Deposit Instruments.
                                                    Amount’’).                                                  17. Creation Units will consist of                       19. Transaction expenses, including
                                                       16. Purchases and redemptions of                      specified large aggregations of Shares                   operational processing and brokerage
                                                    Creation Units may be made in whole or                   (e.g., 25,000 Shares) as determined by                   costs, will be incurred by a Fund when
                                                    in part on a cash basis, rather than in                  the Adviser, and it is expected that the                 investors purchase or redeem Creation
                                                    kind, solely under the following                         initial price of a Creation Unit will                    Units in-kind and such costs have the
                                                    circumstances: (a) To the extent there is                range from $1 million to $10 million.                    potential to dilute the interests of the
                                                    a Cash Amount; (b) if, on a given                        All orders to purchase Creation Units                    Fund’s existing shareholders. Each
                                                    Business Day, the Fund announces                         must be placed with the Distributor by                   Fund will impose purchase or
                                                    before the open of trading that all                      or through an ‘‘Authorized Participant’’                 redemption transaction fees
                                                    purchases, all redemptions or all                        which is either (1) a ‘‘Participating                    (‘‘Transaction Fees’’) in connection with
                                                    purchases and redemptions on that day                    Party,’’ i.e., a Broker or other participant             effecting such purchases or redemptions
                                                    will be made entirely in cash; (c) if,                   in the Continuous Net Settlement                         of Creation Units. In all cases, such
                                                    upon receiving a purchase or                             System of the NSCC, a clearing agency                    Transaction Fees will be limited in
                                                    redemption order from an Authorized                      registered with the Commission, or (2)                   accordance with requirements of the
                                                                                                             a participant in The Depository Trust                    Commission applicable to management
                                                       14 The portfolio used for this purpose will be the                                                             investment companies offering
                                                    same portfolio used to calculate the Fund’s NAV for        19 In determining whether a particular Fund will       redeemable securities. Since the
                                                    the Business Day.                                        sell or redeem Creation Units entirely on a cash or
                                                       15 A tradeable round lot for a security will be the
                                                                                                                                                                      Transaction Fees are intended to defray
                                                                                                             in-kind basis (whether for a given day or a given
                                                    standard unit of trading in that particular type of      order), the key consideration will be the benefit that
                                                                                                                                                                      the transaction expenses as well as to
                                                    security in its primary market.                          would accrue to the Fund and its investors. For          prevent possible shareholder dilution
                                                       16 This includes instruments that can be              instance, in bond transactions, the Adviser may be       resulting from the purchase or
                                                    transferred in kind only with the consent of the         able to obtain better execution than Share               redemption of Creation Units, the
                                                    original counterparty to the extent the Fund does        purchasers because of the Adviser’s size, experience
                                                    not intend to seek such consents.                        and potentially stronger relationships in the fixed      Transaction Fees will be borne only by
                                                       17 Because these instruments will be excluded         income markets. Purchases of Creation Units either       such purchasers or redeemers.21 The
                                                                                                                                                                      Distributor will be responsible for
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                                                    from the Deposit Instruments and the Redemption          on an all cash basis or in-kind are expected to be
                                                    Instruments, their value will be reflected in the        neutral to the Funds from a tax perspective. In          delivering the Fund’s prospectus to
                                                    determination of the Cash Amount (as defined             contrast, cash redemptions typically require selling
                                                    below).                                                  portfolio holdings, which may result in adverse tax      those persons acquiring Shares in
                                                       18 A Fund may only use sampling for this purpose      consequences for the remaining Fund shareholders         Creation Units and for maintaining
                                                    if the sample: (i) Is designed to generate               that would not occur with an in-kind redemption.
                                                    performance that is highly correlated to the             As a result, tax consideration may warrant in-kind         21 Where a Fund permits an in-kind purchaser to

                                                    performance of the Fund’s portfolio; (ii) consists       redemptions.                                             substitute cash-in-lieu of depositing one or more of
                                                    entirely of instruments that are already included in       20 A ‘‘custom order’’ is any purchase or               the requisite Deposit Instruments, the purchaser
                                                    the Fund’s portfolio; and (iii) is the same for all      redemption of Shares made in whole or in part on         may be assessed a higher Transaction Fee to cover
                                                    Authorized Participants on a given Business Day.         a cash basis in reliance on clause (e)(i) or (e)(ii).    the cost of purchasing such Deposit Instruments.



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                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 179 / Wednesday, September 16, 2015 / Notices                                           55687

                                                    records of both the orders placed with                   individually redeemable and will                      applicants request an order that would
                                                    it and the confirmations of acceptance                   disclose that the owners of Shares may                permit the Funds to register as open-end
                                                    furnished by it. In addition, the                        acquire those Shares from the Fund or                 management investment companies and
                                                    Distributor will maintain a record of the                tender such Shares for redemption to                  issue Shares that are redeemable in
                                                    instructions given to the applicable                     the Fund in Creation Units only. The                  Creation Units only. Applicants state
                                                    Fund to implement the delivery of its                    Funds will provide copies of their                    that investors may purchase Shares in
                                                    Shares.                                                  annual and semi-annual shareholder                    Creation Units and redeem Creation
                                                       20. Shares of each Fund will be listed                reports to DTC Participants for                       Units from each Fund. Applicants
                                                    and traded individually on an                            distribution to beneficial owners of                  further state that because Creation Units
                                                    Exchange. It is expected that one or                     Shares.                                               may always be purchased and redeemed
                                                    more member firms of an Exchange will                                                                          at NAV, the price of Shares on the
                                                    be designated to act as a market maker                   Applicants’ Legal Analysis
                                                                                                                                                                   secondary market should not vary
                                                    (each, a ‘‘Market Maker’’) and maintain                     1. Applicants request an order under               materially from NAV.
                                                    a market for Shares trading on the                       section 6(c) of the Act for an exemption
                                                    Exchange. Prices of Shares trading on an                 from sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d), and           Section 22(d) of the Act and Rule 22c–
                                                    Exchange will be based on the current                    22(e) of the Act and rule 22c–1 under                 1 under the Act
                                                    bid/offer market. Transactions involving                 the Act, under section 12(d)(1)(J) of the                4. Section 22(d) of the Act, among
                                                    the sale of Shares on an Exchange will                   Act for an exemption from sections                    other things, prohibits a dealer from
                                                    be subject to customary brokerage                        12(d)(1)(A) and (B) of the Act, and                   selling a redeemable security that is
                                                    commissions and charges.                                 under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act              currently being offered to the public by
                                                       21. Applicants expect that purchasers                 for an exemption from sections 17(a)(1)               or through an underwriter, except at a
                                                    of Creation Units will include                           and 17(a)(2) of the Act.                              current public offering price described
                                                    institutional investors and arbitrageurs.                   2. Section 6(c) of the Act provides that           in the prospectus. Rule 22c–1 under the
                                                    Market Makers, acting in their roles to                  the Commission may exempt any                         Act generally requires that a dealer
                                                    provide a fair and orderly secondary                     person, security or transaction, or any               selling, redeeming or repurchasing a
                                                    market for the Shares, may from time to                  class of persons, securities or                       redeemable security do so only at a
                                                    time find it appropriate to purchase or                  transactions, from any provision of the               price based on its NAV. Applicants state
                                                    redeem Creation Units. Applicants                        Act, if and to the extent that such                   that secondary market trading in Shares
                                                    expect that secondary market                             exemption is necessary or appropriate                 will take place at negotiated prices, not
                                                    purchasers of Shares will include both                   in the public interest and consistent                 at a current offering price described in
                                                    institutional and retail investors.22 The                with the protection of investors and the              a Fund’s prospectus, and not at a price
                                                    price at which Shares trade will be                      purposes fairly intended by the policy                based on NAV. Thus, purchases and
                                                    disciplined by arbitrage opportunities                   and provisions of the Act. Section 17(b)              sales of Shares in the secondary market
                                                    created by the option continually to                     of the Act authorizes the Commission to               will not comply with section 22(d) of
                                                    purchase or redeem Shares in Creation                    exempt a proposed transaction from                    the Act and rule 22c–1 under the Act.
                                                    Units, which should help prevent                         section 17(a) of the Act if evidence                  Applicants request an exemption under
                                                    Shares from trading at a material                        establishes that the terms of the                     section 6(c) from these provisions.
                                                    discount or premium in relation to their                 transaction, including the consideration                 5. Applicants assert that the concerns
                                                    NAV.                                                     to be paid or received, are reasonable                sought to be addressed by section 22(d)
                                                       22. Shares will not be individually                   and fair and do not involve                           of the Act and rule 22c–1 under the Act
                                                    redeemable, and owners of Shares may                     overreaching on the part of any person                with respect to pricing are equally
                                                    acquire those Shares from the Fund, or                   concerned, and the proposed                           satisfied by the proposed method of
                                                    tender such Shares for redemption to                     transaction is consistent with the                    pricing Shares. Applicants maintain that
                                                    the Fund, in Creation Units only. To                     policies of the registered investment                 while there is little legislative history
                                                    redeem, an investor must accumulate                      company and the general provisions of                 regarding section 22(d), its provisions,
                                                    enough Shares to constitute a Creation                   the Act. Section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act               as well as those of rule 22c–1, appear to
                                                    Unit. Redemption requests must be                        provides that the Commission may                      have been designed to (a) prevent
                                                    placed through an Authorized                             exempt any person, security, or                       dilution caused by certain riskless-
                                                    Participant. A redeeming investor may                    transaction, or any class or classes of               trading schemes by principal
                                                    pay a Transaction Fee, calculated in the                 persons, securities or transactions, from             underwriters and contract dealers, (b)
                                                    same manner as a Transaction Fee                         any provisions of section 12(d)(1) if the             prevent unjust discrimination or
                                                    payable in connection with purchases of                  exemption is consistent with the public               preferential treatment among buyers,
                                                    Creation Units.                                          interest and the protection of investors.             and (c) ensure an orderly distribution of
                                                       23. Neither the Trust nor any Fund                                                                          investment company shares by
                                                    will be advertised or marketed or                        Sections 5(a)(1) and 2(a)(32) of the Act              eliminating price competition from
                                                    otherwise held out as a traditional open-                   3. Section 5(a)(1) of the Act defines an           dealers offering shares at less than the
                                                    end investment company or a ‘‘mutual                     ‘‘open-end company’’ as a management                  published sales price and repurchasing
                                                    fund.’’ Instead, each such Fund will be                  investment company that is offering for               shares at more than the published
                                                    marketed as an ‘‘ETF.’’ All marketing                    sale or has outstanding any redeemable                redemption price.
                                                    materials that describe the features or                  security of which it is the issuer.                      6. Applicants believe that none of
                                                    method of obtaining, buying or selling                   Section 2(a)(32) of the Act defines a                 these purposes will be thwarted by
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                                                    Creation Units, or Shares traded on an                   redeemable security as any security,                  permitting Shares to trade in the
                                                    Exchange, or refer to redeemability, will                other than short-term paper, under the                secondary market at negotiated prices.
                                                    prominently disclose that Shares are not                 terms of which the owner, upon its                    Applicants state that (a) secondary
                                                                                                             presentation to the issuer, is entitled to            market trading in Shares does not
                                                      22 Shares will be registered in book-entry form
                                                                                                             receive approximately a proportionate                 involve a Fund as a party and will not
                                                    only. DTC or its nominee will be the record or
                                                    registered owner of all outstanding Shares.
                                                                                                             share of the issuer’s current net assets,             result in dilution of an investment in
                                                    Beneficial ownership of Shares will be shown on          or the cash equivalent. Because Shares                Shares, and (b) to the extent different
                                                    the records of DTC or the DTC Participants.              will not be individually redeemable,                  prices exist during a given trading day,


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                                                    55688                    Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 179 / Wednesday, September 16, 2015 / Notices

                                                    or from day to day, such variances occur                 creations and redemptions of Creation                concerns about undue influence by a
                                                    as a result of third-party market forces,                Units in-kind.                                       fund of funds over underlying funds,
                                                    such as supply and demand. Therefore,                                                                         excessive layering of fees and overly
                                                                                                             Section 12(d)(1)
                                                    applicants assert that secondary market                                                                       complex fund structures. Applicants
                                                    transactions in Shares will not lead to                     10. Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act                believe that the requested exemption is
                                                    discrimination or preferential treatment                 prohibits a registered investment                    consistent with the public interest and
                                                    among purchasers. Finally, applicants                    company from acquiring securities of an              the protection of investors.
                                                    contend that the price at which Shares                   investment company if such securities                   14. Applicants believe that neither a
                                                    trade will be disciplined by arbitrage                   represent more than 3% of the total                  Fund of Funds nor a Fund of Funds
                                                    opportunities created by the option                      outstanding voting stock of the acquired             Affiliate would be able to exert undue
                                                    continually to purchase or redeem                        company, more than 5% of the total                   influence over a Fund.24 To limit the
                                                    Shares in Creation Units, which should                   assets of the acquiring company, or,                 control that a Fund of Funds may have
                                                    help prevent Shares from trading at a                    together with the securities of any other            over a Fund, applicants propose a
                                                    material discount or premium in                          investment companies, more than 10%                  condition prohibiting a Fund of Funds
                                                    relation to their NAV.                                   of the total assets of the acquiring                 Adviser or Sponsor, any person
                                                                                                             company. Section 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act              controlling, controlled by, or under
                                                    Section 22(e)                                            prohibits a registered open-end                      common control with a Fund of Funds
                                                       7. Section 22(e) of the Act generally                 investment company, its principal                    Adviser or Sponsor, and any investment
                                                    prohibits a registered investment                        underwriter and any other broker-dealer              company and any issuer that would be
                                                    company from suspending the right of                     from knowingly selling the investment                an investment company but for sections
                                                    redemption or postponing the date of                     company’s shares to another investment               3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act that is
                                                    payment of redemption proceeds for                       company if the sale will cause the                   advised or sponsored by a Fund of
                                                    more than seven days after the tender of                 acquiring company to own more than                   Funds Adviser or Sponsor, or any
                                                    a security for redemption. Applicants                    3% of the acquired company’s voting                  person controlling, controlled by, or
                                                    state that settlement of redemptions for                 stock, or if the sale will cause more than           under common control with a Fund of
                                                    Foreign Funds will be contingent not                     10% of the acquired company’s voting                 Funds Adviser or Sponsor (‘‘Fund of
                                                    only on the settlement cycle of the                      stock to be owned by investment                      Funds Advisory Group’’) from
                                                    United States market, but also on                        companies generally.                                 controlling (individually or in the
                                                    current delivery cycles in local markets                    11. Applicants request an exemption               aggregate) a Fund within the meaning of
                                                    for underlying foreign securities held by                to permit registered management
                                                                                                                                                                  section 2(a)(9) of the Act. The same
                                                    a Foreign Fund. Applicants state that                    investment companies and unit
                                                                                                                                                                  prohibition would apply to any Fund of
                                                    the delivery cycles currently practicable                investment trusts (‘‘UITs’’) that are not
                                                                                                                                                                  Funds Sub-Adviser, any person
                                                    for transferring Redemption Instruments                  advised or sponsored by the Adviser,
                                                                                                                                                                  controlling, controlled by or under
                                                    to redeeming investors, coupled with                     and not part of the same ‘‘group of
                                                                                                                                                                  common control with the Fund of
                                                    local market holiday schedules, may                      investment companies,’’ as defined in
                                                                                                                                                                  Funds Sub-Adviser, and any investment
                                                    require a delivery process of up to                      section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act as the
                                                                                                                                                                  company or issuer that would be an
                                                    fourteen (14) calendar days.                             Funds (such management investment
                                                                                                                                                                  investment company but for sections
                                                    Accordingly, with respect to Foreign                     companies are referred to as ‘‘Investing
                                                                                                                                                                  3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act (or portion
                                                    Funds only, applicants hereby request                    Management Companies,’’ such UITs
                                                                                                                                                                  of such investment company or issuer)
                                                    relief under section 6(c) from the                       are referred to as ‘‘Investing Trusts,’’
                                                                                                             and Investing Management Companies                   advised or sponsored by the Fund of
                                                    requirement imposed by section 22(e) to
                                                                                                             and Investing Trusts are collectively                Funds Sub-Adviser or any person
                                                    allow Foreign Funds to pay redemption
                                                                                                             referred to as ‘‘Funds of Funds’’), to               controlling, controlled by or under
                                                    proceeds within fourteen calendar days
                                                                                                             acquire Shares beyond the limits of                  common control with the Fund of
                                                    following the tender of Creation Units
                                                                                                             section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act; and the              Funds Sub-Adviser (‘‘Fund of Funds
                                                    for redemption.23
                                                       8. Applicants believe that Congress                   Funds, and any principal underwriter                 Sub-Advisory Group’’).
                                                                                                                                                                     15. Applicants propose other
                                                    adopted section 22(e) to prevent                         for the Funds, and/or any Broker
                                                                                                                                                                  conditions to limit the potential for
                                                    unreasonable, undisclosed or                             registered under the Exchange Act, to
                                                                                                                                                                  undue influence over the Funds,
                                                    unforeseen delays in the actual payment                  sell Shares to Funds of Funds beyond
                                                                                                                                                                  including that no Fund of Funds or
                                                    of redemption proceeds. Applicants                       the limits of section 12(d)(1)(B) of the
                                                                                                                                                                  Fund of Funds Affiliate (except to the
                                                    propose that allowing redemption                         Act.
                                                                                                                12. Each Investing Management                     extent it is acting in its capacity as an
                                                    payments for Creation Units of a Foreign
                                                                                                             Company will be advised by an                        investment adviser to a Fund) will cause
                                                    Fund to be made within fourteen
                                                                                                             investment adviser within the meaning                a Fund to purchase a security in an
                                                    calendar days would not be inconsistent
                                                                                                             of section 2(a)(20)(A) of the Act (the               offering of securities during the
                                                    with the spirit and intent of section
                                                                                                             ‘‘Fund of Funds Adviser’’) and may be                existence of an underwriting or selling
                                                    22(e). Applicants suggest that a
                                                                                                             sub-advised by investment advisers                   syndicate of which a principal
                                                    redemption payment occurring within
                                                                                                             within the meaning of section                        underwriter is an Underwriting Affiliate
                                                    fourteen calendar days following a
                                                                                                             2(a)(20)(B) of the Act (each, a ‘‘Fund of            (‘‘Affiliated Underwriting’’). An
                                                    redemption request would adequately
                                                                                                             Funds Sub-Adviser’’). Any investment                 ‘‘Underwriting Affiliate’’ is a principal
                                                    afford investor protection.
                                                       9. Applicants are not seeking relief                  adviser to an Investing Management                   underwriter in any underwriting or
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                                                    from section 22(e) with respect to                       Company will be registered under the                   24 A ‘‘Fund of Funds Affiliate’’ is a Fund of Funds
                                                    Foreign Funds that do not effect                         Advisers Act. Each Investing Trust will              Adviser, Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, Sponsor,
                                                                                                             be sponsored by a sponsor (‘‘Sponsor’’).             promoter, and principal underwriter of a Fund of
                                                       23 Applicants acknowledge that no relief obtained        13. Applicants submit that the                    Funds, and any person controlling, controlled by,
                                                    from the requirements of section 22(e) will affect       proposed conditions to the requested                 or under common control with any of those entities.
                                                    any obligations Applicants may otherwise have                                                                 A ‘‘Fund Affiliate’’ is an investment adviser,
                                                    under rule 15c6–1 under the Exchange Act
                                                                                                             relief adequately address the concerns               promoter, or principal underwriter of a Fund and
                                                    requiring that most securities transactions be settled   underlying the limits in sections                    any person controlling, controlled by or under
                                                    within three business days of the trade date.            12(d)(1)(A) and (B), which include                   common control with any of these entities.



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                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 179 / Wednesday, September 16, 2015 / Notices                                           55689

                                                    selling syndicate that is an officer,                   cash management purposes. To ensure a                 more, or in excess of 25% of the
                                                    director, member of an advisory board,                  Fund of Funds is aware of the terms and               outstanding shares of one or more
                                                    Fund of Funds Adviser, Fund of Funds                    conditions of the requested order, the                Affiliated Funds making that investor a
                                                    Sub-Adviser, employee or Sponsor of                     Fund of Funds will enter into an                      Second-Tier Affiliate of the Funds.
                                                    the Fund of Funds, or a person of which                 agreement with the Fund (‘‘FOF                           20. Applicants request an exemption
                                                    any such officer, director, member of an                Participation Agreement’’). The FOF                   from sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the
                                                    advisory board, Fund of Funds Adviser                   Participation Agreement will include an               Act pursuant to sections 6(c) and 17(b)
                                                    or Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser,                           acknowledgement from the Fund of                      of the Act to permit persons that are
                                                    employee or Sponsor is an affiliated                    Funds that it may rely on the order only              Affiliated Persons of the Funds, or
                                                    person (except that any person whose                    to invest in the Funds and not in any                 Second-Tier Affiliates of the Funds,
                                                    relationship to the Fund is covered by                  other investment company.                             solely by virtue of one or more of the
                                                    section 10(f) of the Act is not an                        18. Applicants also note that a Fund                following: (a) holding 5% or more, or in
                                                    Underwriting Affiliate).                                may choose to reject a direct purchase                excess of 25%, of the outstanding
                                                       16. Applicants do not believe that the               of Shares in Creation Units by a Fund                 Shares of one or more Funds; (b) an
                                                    proposed arrangement will involve                       of Funds. To the extent that a Fund of                affiliation with a person with an
                                                    excessive layering of fees. The board of                Funds purchases Shares in the                         ownership interest described in (a); or
                                                    directors or trustees of any Investing                  secondary market, a Fund would still                  (c) holding 5% or more, or more than
                                                    Management Company, including a                         retain its ability to reject any initial              25%, of the shares of one or more
                                                    majority of the directors or trustees who               investment by a Fund of Funds in                      Affiliated Funds, to effectuate purchases
                                                    are not ‘‘interested persons’’ within the               excess of the limits of section                       and redemptions ‘‘in-kind.’’
                                                    meaning of section 2(a)(19) of the Act                  12(d)(1)(A) by declining to enter into a                 21. Applicants assert that no useful
                                                    (‘‘disinterested directors or trustees’’),              FOF Participation Agreement with the                  purpose would be served by prohibiting
                                                    will find that the advisory fees charged                Fund of Funds.                                        such affiliated persons from making ‘‘in-
                                                    under the contract are based on services                                                                      kind’’ purchases or ‘‘in-kind’’
                                                                                                            Sections 17(a)(1) and (2) of the Act                  redemptions of Shares of a Fund in
                                                    provided that will be in addition to,
                                                    rather than duplicative of, services                       19. Sections 17(a)(1) and (2) of the Act           Creation Units. Both the deposit
                                                    provided under the advisory contract of                 generally prohibit an affiliated person of            procedures for ‘‘in-kind’’ purchases of
                                                    any Fund in which the Investing                         a registered investment company, or an                Creation Units and the redemption
                                                    Management Company may invest. In                       affiliated person of such a person, from              procedures for ‘‘in-kind’’ redemptions of
                                                    addition, under condition B.5., a Fund                  selling any security to or purchasing any             Creation Units will be effected in
                                                    of Funds Adviser, or a Fund of Funds’                   security from the company. Section                    exactly the same manner for all
                                                    trustee or Sponsor, as applicable, will                 2(a)(3) of the Act defines ‘‘affiliated               purchases and redemptions, regardless
                                                    waive fees otherwise payable to it by the               person’’ of another person to include (a)             of size or number. There will be no
                                                    Fund of Funds in an amount at least                     any person directly or indirectly                     discrimination between purchasers or
                                                    equal to any compensation (including                    owning, controlling or holding with                   redeemers. Deposit Instruments and
                                                    fees received pursuant to any plan                      power to vote 5% or more of the                       Redemption Instruments for each Fund
                                                    adopted by a Fund under rule 12b–1                      outstanding voting securities of the                  will be valued in the identical manner
                                                    under the Act) received from a Fund by                  other person, (b) any person 5% or more               as those Portfolio Holdings currently
                                                    the Fund of Funds Adviser, trustee or                   of whose outstanding voting securities                held by such Fund and the valuation of
                                                    Sponsor or an affiliated person of the                  are directly or indirectly owned,                     the Deposit Instruments and
                                                    Fund of Funds Adviser, trustee or                       controlled or held with the power to                  Redemption Instruments will be made
                                                    Sponsor, other than any advisory fees                   vote by the other person, and (c) any                 in an identical manner regardless of the
                                                    paid to the Fund of Funds Adviser,                      person directly or indirectly controlling,            identity of the purchaser or redeemer.
                                                    trustee or Sponsor or its affiliated                    controlled by or under common control                 Applicants do not believe that ‘‘in-kind’’
                                                    person by a Fund, in connection with                    with the other person. Section 2(a)(9) of             purchases and redemptions will result
                                                    the investment by the Fund of Funds in                  the Act defines ‘‘control’’ as the power              in abusive self-dealing or overreaching,
                                                    the Fund. Applicants state that any sales               to exercise a controlling influence over              but rather assert that such procedures
                                                    charges and/or service fees charged with                the management or policies of a                       will be implemented consistently with
                                                    respect to shares of a Fund of Funds                    company, and provides that a control                  each Fund’s objectives and with the
                                                                                                            relationship will be presumed where                   general purposes of the Act. Applicants
                                                    will not exceed the limits applicable to
                                                                                                            one person owns more than 25% of a                    believe that ‘‘in-kind’’ purchases and
                                                    a fund of funds as set forth in NASD
                                                                                                            company’s voting securities. The Funds                redemptions will be made on terms
                                                    Conduct Rule 2830.25
                                                       17. Applicants submit that the                       may be deemed to be controlled by the                 reasonable to Applicants and any
                                                    proposed arrangement will not create an                 Adviser or an entity controlling,                     affiliated persons because they will be
                                                    overly complex fund structure.                          controlled by or under common control                 valued pursuant to verifiable objective
                                                    Applicants note that no Fund will                       with the Adviser and hence affiliated                 standards. The method of valuing
                                                                                                            persons of each other. In addition, the               Portfolio Holdings held by a Fund is
                                                    acquire securities of any investment
                                                                                                            Funds may be deemed to be under                       identical to that used for calculating
                                                    company or company relying on section
                                                                                                            common control with any other                         ‘‘in-kind’’ purchase or redemption
                                                    3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act in excess of
                                                                                                            registered investment company (or                     values and therefore creates no
                                                    the limits contained in section
                                                                                                            series thereof) advised by an Adviser or              opportunity for affiliated persons or
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                                                    12(d)(1)(A) of the Act, except to the
                                                                                                            an entity controlling, controlled by or               Second-Tier Affiliates of applicants to
                                                    extent permitted by exemptive relief
                                                                                                            under common control with an Adviser                  effect a transaction detrimental to the
                                                    from the Commission permitting the
                                                                                                            (an ‘‘Affiliated Fund’’). Any investor,               other holders of Shares of that Fund.
                                                    Fund to purchase shares of other
                                                                                                            including Market Makers, owning 5% or                 Similarly, applicants submit that, by
                                                    investment companies for short-term
                                                                                                            holding in excess of 25% of the Trust or              using the same standards for valuing
                                                      25 Any references to NASD Conduct Rule 2830           such Funds, may be deemed affiliated                  Portfolio Holdings held by a Fund as are
                                                    include any successor or replacement FINRA rule         persons of the Trust or such Funds. In                used for calculating ‘‘in-kind’’
                                                    to NASD Conduct Rule 2830.                              addition, an investor could own 5% or                 redemptions or purchases, the Fund


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                                                    55690                    Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 179 / Wednesday, September 16, 2015 / Notices

                                                    will ensure that its NAV will not be                    Applicants’ Conditions                                Advisory Group or the Fund of Funds’
                                                    adversely affected by such securities                     Applicants agree that any order of the              Sub-Advisory Group, each in the
                                                    transactions. Applicants also note that                 Commission granting the requested                     aggregate, becomes a holder of more
                                                    the ability to take deposits and make                   relief will be subject to the following               than 25 percent of the outstanding
                                                    redemptions ‘‘in-kind’’ will help each                  conditions:                                           voting securities of a Fund, it will vote
                                                    Fund to track closely its Underlying                                                                          its Shares of the Fund in the same
                                                    Index and therefore aid in achieving the                A. ETF Relief                                         proportion as the vote of all other
                                                    Fund’s objectives.                                         1. The requested relief to permit ETF              holders of the Fund’s Shares. This
                                                                                                            operations will expire on the effective               condition does not apply to the Fund of
                                                       22. Applicants also seek relief under                                                                      Funds’ Sub-Advisory Group with
                                                    sections 6(c) and 17(b) from section                    date of any Commission rule under the
                                                                                                            Act that provides relief permitting the               respect to a Fund for which the Fund of
                                                    17(a) to permit a Fund that is an                                                                             Funds’ Sub-Adviser or a person
                                                    affiliated person, or an affiliated person              operation of index-based ETFs.
                                                                                                               2. As long as a Fund operates in                   controlling, controlled by or under
                                                    of an affiliated person, of a Fund of                                                                         common control with the Fund of
                                                                                                            reliance on the requested order, the
                                                    Funds to sell its Shares to and redeem                                                                        Funds’ Sub-Adviser acts as the
                                                                                                            Shares of such Fund will be listed on an
                                                    its Shares from a Fund of Funds, and to                                                                       investment adviser within the meaning
                                                                                                            Exchange.
                                                    engage in the accompanying in-kind                         3. Neither the Trust nor any Fund will             of section 2(a)(20)(A) of the Act.
                                                    transactions with the Fund of Funds.26                  be advertised or marketed as an open-                    2. No Fund of Funds or Fund of
                                                    Applicants state that the terms of the                  end investment company or a mutual                    Funds Affiliate will cause any existing
                                                    transactions are fair and reasonable and                fund. Any advertising material that                   or potential investment by the Fund of
                                                    do not involve overreaching. Applicants                 describes the purchase or sale of                     Funds in a Fund to influence the terms
                                                    note that any consideration paid by a                   Creation Units or refers to redeemability             of any services or transactions between
                                                    Fund of Funds for the purchase or                       will prominently disclose that Shares                 the Fund of Funds or Fund of Funds
                                                    redemption of Shares directly from a                    are not individually redeemable and                   Affiliate and the Fund or a Fund
                                                    Fund will be based on the NAV of the                    that owners of Shares may acquire those               Affiliate.
                                                    Fund.27 Applicants believe that any                     Shares from the Fund and tender those                    3. The board of directors or trustees of
                                                    proposed transactions directly between                  Shares for redemption to a Fund in                    an Investing Management Company,
                                                    the Funds and Funds of Funds will be                    Creation Units only.                                  including a majority of the disinterested
                                                    consistent with the policies of each                       4. The Web site, which is and will be              directors or trustees, will adopt
                                                    Fund of Funds. The purchase of                          publicly accessible at no charge, will                procedures reasonably designed to
                                                    Creation Units by a Fund of Funds                       contain, on a per Share basis for each                ensure that the Fund of Funds Adviser
                                                    directly from a Fund will be                            Fund, the prior Business Day’s NAV and                and Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser are
                                                    accomplished in accordance with the                     the market closing price or the midpoint              conducting the investment program of
                                                    investment restrictions of any such                     of the bid/ask spread at the time of the              the Investing Management Company
                                                                                                            calculation of such NAV (‘‘Bid/Ask                    without taking into account any
                                                    Fund of Funds and will be consistent
                                                                                                            Price’’), and a calculation of the                    consideration received by the Investing
                                                    with the investment policies set forth in
                                                                                                            premium or discount of the market                     Management Company or a Fund of
                                                    the Fund of Funds’ registration
                                                                                                            closing price or Bid/Ask Price against                Funds Affiliate from a Fund or Fund
                                                    statement. Applicants also state that the                                                                     Affiliate in connection with any services
                                                                                                            such NAV.
                                                    proposed transactions are consistent                                                                          or transactions.
                                                                                                               5. Each Self-Indexing Fund, Long/
                                                    with the general purposes of the Act and                                                                         4. Once an investment by a Fund of
                                                                                                            Short Fund and 130/30 Fund will post
                                                    are appropriate in the public interest.                                                                       Funds in the securities of a Fund
                                                                                                            on the Web site on each Business Day,
                                                                                                            before commencement of trading of                     exceeds the limits in section
                                                       26 Although applicants believe that most Funds of
                                                                                                            Shares on the Exchange, the Fund’s                    12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, the Board of
                                                    Funds will purchase Shares in the secondary
                                                    market and will not purchase Creation Units             Portfolio Holdings.                                   the Fund, including a majority of the
                                                    directly from a Fund, a Fund of Funds might seek           6. No Adviser or any Sub-Adviser to                directors or trustees who are not
                                                    to transact in Creation Units directly with a Fund      a Self-Indexing Fund, directly or                     ‘‘interested persons’’ within the
                                                    that is an affiliated person of a Fund of Funds. To     indirectly, will cause any Authorized                 meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the Act
                                                    the extent that purchases and sales of Shares occur
                                                    in the secondary market and not through principal       Participant (or any investor on whose                 (‘‘non-interested Board members’’), will
                                                    transactions directly between a Fund of Funds and       behalf an Authorized Participant may                  determine that any consideration paid
                                                    a Fund, relief from Section 17(a) would not be          transact with the Self-Indexing Fund) to              by the Fund to the Fund of Funds or a
                                                    necessary. However, the requested relief would          acquire any Deposit Instrument for the                Fund of Funds Affiliate in connection
                                                    apply to direct sales of Shares in Creation Units by
                                                                                                            Self-Indexing Fund through a                          with any services or transactions: (i) Is
                                                    a Fund to a Fund of Funds and redemptions of
                                                    those Shares. Applicants are not seeking relief from    transaction in which the Self-Indexing                fair and reasonable in relation to the
                                                    Section 17(a) for, and the requested relief will not    Fund could not engage directly.                       nature and quality of the services and
                                                    apply to, transactions where a Fund could be                                                                  benefits received by the Fund; (ii) is
                                                    deemed an affiliated person, or an affiliated person    B. Section 12(d)(1) Relief                            within the range of consideration that
                                                    of an affiliated person of a Fund of Funds because
                                                    an Adviser or an entity controlling, controlled by         1. The members of a Fund of Funds’                 the Fund would be required to pay to
                                                    or under common control with an Adviser provides        Advisory Group will not control                       another unaffiliated entity in connection
                                                    investment advisory services to that Fund of Funds.     (individually or in the aggregate) a Fund             with the same services or transactions;
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                                                       27 Applicants acknowledge that the receipt of
                                                                                                            within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of              and (iii) does not involve overreaching
                                                    compensation by (a) an affiliated person of a Fund
                                                    of Funds, or an affiliated person of such person, for
                                                                                                            the Act. The members of a Fund of                     on the part of any person concerned.
                                                    the purchase by the Fund of Funds of Shares of a        Funds’ Sub-Advisory Group will not                    This condition does not apply with
                                                    Fund or (b) an affiliated person of a Fund, or an       control (individually or in the aggregate)            respect to any services or transactions
                                                    affiliated person of such person, for the sale by the   a Fund within the meaning of section                  between a Fund and its investment
                                                    Fund of its Shares to a Fund of Funds, may be
                                                    prohibited by Section 17(e)(1) of the Act. The FOF
                                                                                                            2(a)(9) of the Act. If, as a result of a              adviser(s), or any person controlling,
                                                    Participation Agreement also will include this          decrease in the outstanding voting                    controlled by or under common control
                                                    acknowledgment.                                         securities of a Fund, the Fund of Funds’              with such investment adviser(s).


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                                                                            Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 179 / Wednesday, September 16, 2015 / Notices                                                  55691

                                                       5. The Fund of Funds Adviser, or                     a comparable period of time in                        less than six years thereafter, the first
                                                    trustee or Sponsor of an Investing Trust,               underwritings other than Affiliated                   two years in an easily accessible place.
                                                    as applicable, will waive fees otherwise                Underwritings or to a benchmark such                     10. Before approving any advisory
                                                    payable to it by the Fund of Funds in                   as a comparable market index; and (iii)               contract under section 15 of the Act, the
                                                    an amount at least equal to any                         whether the amount of securities                      board of directors or trustees of each
                                                    compensation (including fees received                   purchased by the Fund in Affiliated                   Investing Management Company
                                                    pursuant to any plan adopted by a Fund                  Underwritings and the amount                          including a majority of the disinterested
                                                    under rule 12b–l under the Act)                         purchased directly from an                            directors or trustees, will find that the
                                                    received from a Fund by the Fund of                     Underwriting Affiliate have changed                   advisory fees charged under such
                                                    Funds Adviser, or trustee or Sponsor of                 significantly from prior years. The                   contract are based on services provided
                                                    the Investing Trust, or an affiliated                   Board will take any appropriate actions               that will be in addition to, rather than
                                                    person of the Fund of Funds Adviser, or                 based on its review, including, if                    duplicative of, the services provided
                                                    trustee or Sponsor of the Investing                     appropriate, the institution of                       under the advisory contract(s) of any
                                                    Trust, other than any advisory fees paid                procedures designed to ensure that                    Fund in which the Investing
                                                    to the Fund of Funds Adviser, or trustee                purchases of securities in Affiliated                 Management Company may invest.
                                                    or Sponsor of an Investing Trust, or its                Underwritings are in the best interest of             These findings and their basis will be
                                                    affiliated person by the Fund, in                       shareholders of the Fund.                             fully recorded in the minute books of
                                                    connection with the investment by the                      8. Each Fund will maintain and                     the appropriate Investing Management
                                                    Fund of Funds in the Fund. Any Fund                     preserve permanently in an easily                     Company.
                                                    of Funds Sub-Adviser will waive fees                    accessible place a written copy of the                   11. Any sales charges and/or service
                                                    otherwise payable to the Fund of Funds                  procedures described in the preceding                 fees charged with respect to shares of a
                                                    Sub-Adviser, directly or indirectly, by                 condition, and any modifications to                   Fund of Funds will not exceed the
                                                    the Investing Management Company in                     such procedures, and will maintain and                limits applicable to a fund of funds as
                                                    an amount at least equal to any                         preserve for a period of not less than six            set forth in NASD Conduct Rule 2830.
                                                    compensation received from a Fund by                    years from the end of the fiscal year in                 12. No Fund will acquire securities of
                                                    the Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser, or an                    which any purchase in an Affiliated                   an investment company or company
                                                    affiliated person of the Fund of Funds                  Underwriting occurred, the first two                  relying on section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of
                                                    Sub-Adviser, other than any advisory                    years in an easily accessible place, a                the Act in excess of the limits contained
                                                    fees paid to the Fund of Funds Sub-                     written record of each purchase of                    in section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act, except
                                                    Adviser or its affiliated person by the                 securities in Affiliated Underwritings                to the extent the Fund acquires
                                                    Fund, in connection with the                            once an investment by a Fund of Funds                 securities of another investment
                                                    investment by the Investing                             in the securities of the Fund exceeds the             company pursuant to exemptive relief
                                                    Management Company in the Fund                          limit of section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act,           from the Commission permitting the
                                                    made at the direction of the Fund of                    setting forth from whom the securities                Fund to acquire securities of one or
                                                    Funds Sub-Adviser. In the event that the                were acquired, the identity of the                    more investment companies for short-
                                                    Fund of Funds Sub-Adviser waives fees,                  underwriting syndicate’s members, the                 term cash management purposes.
                                                    the benefit of the waiver will be passed                                                                        For the Commission, by the Division of
                                                                                                            terms of the purchase, and the
                                                    through to the Investing Management                                                                           Investment Management, under delegated
                                                                                                            information or materials upon which
                                                    Company.                                                                                                      authority.
                                                       6. No Fund of Funds or Fund of                       the Board’s determinations were made.
                                                                                                               9. Before investing in a Fund in                   Brent J. Fields,
                                                    Funds Affiliate (except to the extent it                                                                      Secretary.
                                                    is acting in its capacity as an investment              excess of the limit in section
                                                                                                            12(d)(1)(A), a Fund of Funds and the                  [FR Doc. 2015–23270 Filed 9–15–15; 8:45 am]
                                                    adviser to a Fund) will cause a Fund to
                                                    purchase a security in any Affiliated                   applicable Trust will execute a FOF                   BILLING CODE 8011–01–P

                                                    Underwriting.                                           Participation Agreement stating,
                                                       7. The Board of a Fund, including a                  without limitation, that their respective
                                                                                                            boards of directors or trustees and their             SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
                                                    majority of the non-interested Board
                                                                                                            investment advisers, or trustee and                   COMMISSION
                                                    members, will adopt procedures
                                                    reasonably designed to monitor any                      Sponsor, as applicable, understand the                [Release No. 34–75884; File No. 10–221]
                                                    purchases of securities by the Fund in                  terms and conditions of the order, and
                                                    an Affiliated Underwriting, once an                     agree to fulfill their responsibilities               ISE Mercury, LLC; Notice of Filing of
                                                    investment by a Fund of Funds in the                    under the order. At the time of its                   Application for Registration as a
                                                    securities of the Fund exceeds the limit                investment in Shares of a Fund in                     National Securities Exchange Under
                                                    of section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act,                   excess of the limit in section                        Section 6 of the Securities Exchange
                                                    including any purchases made directly                   12(d)(1)(A)(i), a Fund of Funds will                  Act of 1934
                                                    from an Underwriting Affiliate. The                     notify the Fund of the investment. At
                                                                                                                                                                  September 10, 2015.
                                                    Board will review these purchases                       such time, the Fund of Funds will also
                                                                                                                                                                     On September 29, 2014, ISE Mercury,
                                                    periodically, but no less frequently than               transmit to the Fund a list of the names
                                                                                                                                                                  LLC (‘‘ISE Mercury’’ or ‘‘Applicant’’)
                                                    annually, to determine whether the                      of each Fund of Funds Affiliate and
                                                                                                                                                                  submitted to the Securities and
                                                    purchases were influenced by the                        Underwriting Affiliate. The Fund of
                                                                                                                                                                  Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’)
                                                    investment by the Fund of Funds in the                  Funds will notify the Fund of any
asabaliauskas on DSK7TPTVN1PROD with NOTICES




                                                                                                                                                                  a Form 1 application under the
                                                    Fund. The Board will consider, among                    changes to the list of the names as soon
                                                                                                                                                                  Securities Exchange Act of 1934
                                                    other things: (i) Whether the purchases                 as reasonably practicable after a change
                                                                                                                                                                  (‘‘Exchange Act’’), seeking registration
                                                    were consistent with the investment                     occurs. The Fund and the Fund of
                                                                                                                                                                  as a national securities exchange under
                                                    objectives and policies of the Fund; (ii)               Funds will maintain and preserve a
                                                                                                                                                                  Section 6 of the Exchange Act.1 On June
                                                    how the performance of securities                       copy of the order, the FOF Participation
                                                    purchased in an Affiliated Underwriting                 Agreement, and the list with any                        1 On September 9, 2015, the Commission issued
                                                    compares to the performance of                          updated information for the duration of               an order granting the Applicant exemptive relief,
                                                    comparable securities purchased during                  the investment and for a period of not                                                          Continued




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Document Created: 2018-02-26 10:16:27
Document Modified: 2018-02-26 10:16:27
CategoryRegulatory Information
CollectionFederal Register
sudoc ClassAE 2.7:
GS 4.107:
AE 2.106:
PublisherOffice of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration
SectionNotices
ActionNotice of an application for an order under section 6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the ``Act'') for an exemption from sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d), and 22(e) of the Act and rule 22c-1 under the Act, under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Act, and under section 12(d)(1)(J) for an exemption from sections 12(d)(1)(A) and 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act.
DatesThe application was filed on May 26, 2015, and amended on August 18, 2015.
ContactJames D. McGinnis, Attorney/Advisor, at (202) 551-3025, or Melissa R. Harke, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-6722 (Division of Investment Management, Chief Counsel's Office).
FR Citation80 FR 55683 

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