| Page Range | 12990-12996 | |
| FR Document | 2016-05432 |
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 48 (Friday, March 11, 2016)] [Notices] [Pages 12990-12996] From the Federal Register Online [www.thefederalregister.org] [FR Doc No: 2016-05432] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION [Release No. 34-77301; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2016-028] Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Listing and Trading of the Shares of the iSectors Post-MPT Growth ETF of ETFis Series Trust I March 7, 2016. Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act''),\1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that on February 23, 2016, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (``Nasdaq'' or the ``Exchange'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in in Items I and II below, which Items have been prepared by Nasdaq. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). \2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change Nasdaq proposes to list and trade the shares of the iSectors Post- MPT Growth ETF (the ``Fund''), a series of ETFis Series Trust I (the ``Trust''), under Nasdaq Rule 5735 (``Managed Fund Shares'').\3\ The shares of the Fund are collectively referred to herein as the ``Shares.'' --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \3\ The Commission approved Nasdaq Rule 5735 in Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57962 (June 13, 2008) 73 FR 35175 (June 20, 2008) (SR-NASDAQ-2008-039). There are already multiple actively- managed funds listed on the Exchange; see e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No. 72411 (June 17, 2014), 79 FR 35598 (June 23, 2014) (SR-NASDAQ-2014-40) (order approving listing and trading of Calamos Focus Growth ETF). The Exchange believes the proposed rule change raises no significant issues not previously addressed in those prior Commission orders. The Exchange believes the proposed rule change raises no significant issues not previously addressed in those prior Commission orders. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change In its filing with the Commission, Nasdaq included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change. The text of these statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. Nasdaq has prepared summaries, set forth in Sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant aspects of such statements. A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and the Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose The Exchange proposes to list and trade the Shares of the Fund under Nasdaq Rule 5735, which governs the listing and trading of Managed Fund Shares \4\ on the Exchange. The Fund will be an actively managed exchange-traded fund (``ETF''). The Shares will be offered by the Trust, which was established as a Delaware statutory trust on September 20, 2012.\5\ The Trust is registered with the Commission as an investment company and has filed a registration statement on Form N- 1A (``Registration Statement'') with the Commission.\6\ The Fund is a series of the Trust. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \4\ A Managed Fund Share is a security that represents an interest in an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1)(the ``1940 Act'') organized as an open-end investment company or similar entity that invests in a portfolio of securities selected by its investment adviser consistent with its investment objectives and policies. In contrast, an open-end investment company that issues Index Fund Shares, listed and traded on the Exchange under Nasdaq Rule 5705, seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of a specific foreign or domestic stock index, fixed income securities index or combination thereof. \5\ The Commission has issued an order, upon which the Trust may rely, granting certain exemptive relief under the 1940 Act. See Investment Company Act Release No. 30607 (July 23, 2013). In compliance with Nasdaq Rule 5735(b)(5), which applies to Managed Fund Shares based on an international or global portfolio, the Trust's application for exemptive relief under the 1940 Act states that the Fund will comply with the federal securities laws in accepting securities for deposits and satisfying redemptions with redemption securities, including that the securities accepted for deposits and the securities used to satisfy redemption requests are sold in transactions that would be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a). \6\ See Registration Statement on Form N-1A for the Trust filed on December 2, 2015 (File Nos. 333-187668 and 811-22819). The descriptions of the Fund and the Shares contained herein are based, in part, on information in the Registration Statement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Virtus ETF Advisers LLC will be the investment adviser (``Adviser'') to the Fund. iSectors, LLC will be the investment sub- adviser (``Sub-Adviser'') to the Fund. ETF Distributors LLC (the ``Distributor'') will be the principal underwriter and distributor of the Fund's Shares. The Bank of New York Mellon (``BNY Mellon'') will act as the administrator, accounting agent, custodian, and transfer agent to the Fund. Paragraph (g) of Rule 5735 provides that if the investment adviser to the investment company issuing Managed Fund Shares is affiliated with a broker-dealer, such investment adviser shall erect a ``fire wall'' between the investment adviser and the broker-dealer with respect to access to information concerning the composition and/or changes to such investment company portfolio.\7\ In addition, paragraph (g) further requires that personnel who make decisions on the open-end fund's portfolio composition must be subject to procedures designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material, non-public information regarding the open-end fund's portfolio. Rule 5735(g) is similar to Nasdaq Rule 5705(b)(5)(A)(i); however, paragraph (g) in connection with the establishment of a ``fire wall'' between the investment adviser and the broker-dealer reflects the applicable open-end fund's portfolio, not an underlying benchmark index, as is the case with index-based funds. The Adviser and Sub-Adviser are not registered as broker- dealers; however the Adviser (but not the Sub-Adviser) is affiliated with a broker-dealer and has implemented a fire wall with respect to such broker-dealer [[Page 12991]] regarding access to information concerning the composition and/or changes to the portfolio. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \7\ An investment adviser to an open-end fund is required to be registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the ``Advisers Act''). As a result, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser and their related personnel are subject to the provisions of Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act relating to codes of ethics. This Rule requires investment advisers to adopt a code of ethics that reflects the fiduciary nature of the relationship to clients as well as compliance with other applicable securities laws. Accordingly, procedures designed to prevent the communication and misuse of non- public information by an investment adviser must be consistent with Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act. In addition, Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act makes it unlawful for an investment adviser to provide investment advice to clients unless such investment adviser has (i) adopted and implemented written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation, by the investment adviser and its supervised persons, of the Advisers Act and the Commission rules adopted thereunder; (ii) implemented, at a minimum, an annual review regarding the adequacy of the policies and procedures established pursuant to subparagraph (i) above and the effectiveness of their implementation; and (iii) designated an individual (who is a supervised person) responsible for administering the policies and procedures adopted under subparagraph (i) above. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition, personnel who make decisions on the Fund's portfolio composition will be subject to procedures designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material non-public information regarding the portfolio. In the event (a) the Adviser or the Sub-Adviser registers as a broker dealer or becomes newly affiliated with a broker-dealer, or (b) any new adviser or sub-adviser is a registered broker-dealer or becomes affiliated with another broker-dealer, it will implement a fire wall with respect to its relevant personnel and/or such broker-dealer affiliate, as applicable, regarding access to information concerning the composition and/or changes to the portfolio and will be subject to procedures designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material non-public information regarding such portfolio. iSectors Post MPT Growth ETF Principal Investments The Fund's investment objective will be to provide growth of capital, with a secondary emphasis on capital preservation, independent of individual market conditions. The Fund will be an actively managed ETF that seeks to achieve its investment objective by utilizing a long- only, tactically-managed exposure to sectors of the U.S. equity market and U.S. fixed income markets. To obtain such exposure, the Sub-Adviser will invest, under normal market conditions,\8\ the Fund's assets in ETFs,\9\ exchange-traded notes (``ETNs''),\10\ exchange-traded trusts that hold commodities (``ETTs'') (collectively, ETFs, ETNs and ETTs are referred to hereinafter as ``exchange-traded products'' or ``ETPs''),\11\ individually selected U.S. exchange-traded common stocks (when the Sub-Adviser determines that is more efficient or otherwise advantageous to do so), money market funds, U.S. treasuries \12\ or money market instruments. To the extent that the Fund invests in ETPs or money market funds to gain domestic exposure, the Fund is considered, in part, a ``fund of funds.'' --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \8\ The term ``under normal market conditions'' as used herein includes, but is not limited to, the absence of adverse market, economic, political or other conditions, including extreme volatility or trading halts in the equity and fixed income markets or the financial markets generally; operational issues causing dissemination of inaccurate market information; or force majeure type events such as systems failure, natural or man-made disaster, act of God, armed conflict, act of terrorism, riot or labor disruption or any similar intervening circumstance. For temporary defensive purposes, during the initial invest-up period and during periods of high cash inflows or outflows, the Fund may depart from its principal investment strategies; for example, it may hold a higher than normal proportion of its assets in cash. During such periods, the Fund may not be able to achieve its investment objective. The Fund may adopt a defensive strategy when the Adviser believes securities in which the Fund normally invests have elevated risks due to political or economic factors and in other extraordinary circumstances. \9\ As described in the Registration Statement, an ETF is an investment company registered under the 1940 Act that holds a portfolio of securities. Many ETFs are designed to track the performance of a securities index, including industry, sector, country and region indexes. ETFs included in the Fund will be listed and traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges. The Fund may invest in the securities of ETFs in excess of the limits imposed under the 1940 Act pursuant to exemptive orders obtained by other ETFs and their sponsors from the Commission. The ETFs in which the Fund may invest include Index Fund Shares (as described in Nasdaq Rule 5705), Portfolio Depositary Receipts (as described in Nasdaq Rule 5705), and Managed Fund Shares (as described in Nasdaq Rule 5735). The Fund may invest in leveraged ETFs (e.g., 2X or 3X), but will not invest in inverse or inverse leveraged ETFs (e.g., -1X or -2X). No more than 25% of the Fund's holdings will be invested in leveraged ETFs. The shares of ETFs in which a Fund may invest will be limited to securities that trade in markets that are members of the ISG, which includes all U.S. national securities exchanges, or are parties to a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement with the Exchange. \10\ The ETNs are limited to those described in Nasdaq Rule 5710. \11\ The Fund may invest in the following ETPs: trust certificates, commodity-based trust shares, currency trust shares, commodity index trust shares, commodity futures trust shares, partnership units, trust units, and managed trust securities (as described in Nasdaq Rule 5711); paired class shares (as described in Nasdaq Rule 5713); trust issued receipts (as described in Nasdaq Rule 5720); and exchange-traded managed fund shares (as described in Nasdaq Rule 5745). \12\ Such securities will include securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury, by various agencies of the U.S. government, or by various instrumentalities, which have been established or sponsored by the U.S. government. U.S. Treasury obligations are backed by the ``full faith and credit'' of the U.S. government. Securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and U.S. government-sponsored instrumentalities may or may not be backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Investments In order to seek its investment objective, the Fund will not employ other strategies outside of the above-described ``Principal Investments.'' Investment Restrictions Under normal market conditions, the Fund will invest its total assets in shares of ETPs, individually selected U.S. exchange-traded common stocks (when the Sub-Adviser determines that is more efficient or otherwise advantageous to do so), money market funds, U.S. treasuries or money market instruments. The Fund will not purchase securities of open-end investment companies except in compliance with the 1940 Act. The Fund will not use derivative instruments, including options, swaps, forwards and futures contracts. The Fund will not invest in inverse or leveraged inverse ETPs.\13\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \13\ See supra note 9. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fund may hold up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities and other illiquid assets (calculated at the time of investment). The Fund will monitor its portfolio liquidity on an ongoing basis to determine whether, in light of current circumstances, an adequate level of liquidity is being maintained, and will consider taking appropriate steps in order to maintain adequate liquidity if, through a change in values, net assets, or other circumstances, more than 15% of the Fund's net assets are held in illiquid securities or other illiquid assets. Illiquid securities and other illiquid assets include securities subject to contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that lack readily available markets as determined in accordance with Commission staff guidance.\14\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \14\ The Commission has stated that long-standing Commission guidelines have required open-end funds to hold no more than 15% of their net assets in illiquid securities and other illiquid assets. See Investment Company Act Release No. 28193 (March 11, 2008), 73 FR 14618 (March 18, 2008), FN 34. See also Investment Company Act Release No. 5847 (October 21, 1969), 35 FR 19989 (December 31, 1970) (Statement Regarding ``Restricted Securities''); and Investment Company Act Release No. 18612 (March 12, 1992), 57 FR 9828 (March 20, 1992) (Revisions of Guidelines to Form N-1A). A fund's portfolio security is illiquid if it cannot be disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the value ascribed to it by the fund. See Investment Company Act Release No. 14983 (March 12, 1986), 51 FR 9773 (March 21, 1986) (adopting amendments to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act); and Investment Company Act Release No. 17452 (April 23, 1990), 55 FR 17933 (April 30, 1990) (adopting Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Fund intends to qualify for and to elect to be treated as a separate regulated investment company under SubChapter M of the Internal Revenue Code.\15\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \15\ 26 U.S.C. 851. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Under the 1940 Act, the Fund's investment in investment companies will be limited to, subject to certain exceptions: (i) 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of any one investment company, (ii) 5% of the Fund's total assets with respect to any one investment company, and (iii) 10% of the Fund's total assets with respect to investment companies in the aggregate. The Fund's investments will be consistent with its investment objective. The Fund does not presently intend to engage in any form of borrowing for investment purposes, and will not be operated as a ``leveraged ETF'', i.e., it [[Page 12992]] will not be operated in a manner designed to seek a multiple of the performance of an underlying reference index. Net Asset Value The Fund's net asset value (``NAV'') will be determined as of the close of trading (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time (``E.T.'')) on each day the New York Stock Exchange (``NYSE'') is open for business. NAV will be calculated for the Fund by taking the market price of the Fund's total assets, including interest or dividends accrued but not yet collected, less all liabilities, and dividing such amount by the total number of Shares outstanding. The result, rounded to the nearest cent, will be the NAV per Share. All valuations will be subject to review by the Trust's Board (``Board'') or its delegate. The Fund's investments will be valued at market value (i.e., the price at which a security is trading and could presumably be purchased or sold) or, in the absence of market value with respect to any investment, at fair value in accordance with valuation procedures adopted by the Board and in accordance with the 1940 Act. Common stocks and equity securities (including shares of ETPs) will be valued at the last sales price on that exchange. Portfolio securities traded on more than one securities exchange will be valued at the last sale price or, if so disseminated by an exchange, the official closing price, as applicable, at the close of the exchange representing the principal exchange or market for such securities on the business day as of which such value is being determined. U.S. treasuries are valued using quoted market prices, and money market funds are valued at the net asset value reported by the funds. Money market instruments will typically be valued using information provided by a third party pricing service. For all security types in which the Fund may invest, the Fund's primary pricing source is Interactive Data Corp.; its secondary source is Reuters; and its tertiary source is Bloomberg. Certain securities may not be able to be priced by pre-established pricing methods. Such securities may be valued by the Board or its delegate at fair value. The use of fair value pricing by the Fund will be governed by valuation procedures adopted by the Board and in accordance with the provisions of the 1940 Act. As a general principle, the current ``fair value'' of a security would appear to be the amount which the owner might reasonably expect to receive for the security upon its current sale. The use of fair value prices by the Fund generally results in the prices used by the Fund that may differ from current market quotations or official closing prices on the applicable exchange. A variety of factors may be considered in determining the fair value of such securities. Creation and Redemption of Shares The Trust will issue and sell Shares of the Fund only in Creation Unit aggregations in exchange for an in-kind portfolio of securities and/or cash in lieu of such securities, and only in aggregations of 50,000 Shares, on a continuous basis through the Distributor, without a sales load, at the NAV next determined after receipt, on any business day, of an order in proper form. The consideration for purchase of Creation Unit aggregations of the Fund will consist of (i) a designated portfolio of securities determined by the Adviser that generally will conform to the holdings of the Fund consistent with its investment objective (the ``Deposit Securities'') per each Creation Unit aggregation and generally an amount of cash (the ``Cash Component'') computed as described below, or (ii) cash in lieu of all or a portion of the Deposit Securities, as defined below. Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component (including the cash in lieu amount) will constitute the ``Fund Deposit,'' which will represent the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit aggregation of the Fund. The consideration for redemption of Creation Unit aggregations of the Fund will consist of (i) a designated portfolio of securities determined by the Adviser that generally will conform to the holdings of the Fund consistent with its investment objective per each Creation Unit aggregation (``Fund Securities'') and generally a Cash Component, as described below, or (ii) cash in lieu of all or a portion of the Fund Securities as defined below. The Cash Component is sometimes also referred to as the Balancing Amount. The Cash Component will serve the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit aggregation and the Deposit Amount (as defined below). For example, for a creation the Cash Component will be an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of Fund Shares (per Creation Unit aggregation) and the ``Deposit Amount''--an amount equal to the market value of the Deposit Securities and/or cash in lieu of all or a portion of the Deposit Securities. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit aggregation exceeds the Deposit Amount), the Authorized Participant (defined below) will deliver the Cash Component. If the Cash Component is a negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit aggregation is less than the Deposit Amount), the Authorized Participant will receive the Cash Component. BNY Mellon, through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (``NSCC''), will make available on each business day, prior to the opening of business of the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., E.T.), the list of the names and the quantity of each Deposit Security to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous business day). Such Fund Deposit will be applicable, subject to any adjustments as described below, in order to effect creations of Creation Unit aggregations of the Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities is made available. BNY Mellon, through the NSCC, will also make available on each business day, prior to the opening of business of the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., E.T.), the list of the names and the quantity of each security to be included (based on information at the end of the previous business day), subject to any adjustments as described below, in order to affect redemptions of Creation Unit aggregations of the Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Fund Securities is made available. The Trust will reserve the right to permit or require the substitution of an amount of cash, i.e., a ``cash in lieu'' amount, to be added to the Cash Component to replace any Deposit Security that may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or which might not be eligible for trading by an Authorized Participant or the investor for which it is acting or other relevant reason. To the extent the Trust effects the redemption of Shares in cash, such transactions will be effected in the same manner for all Authorized Participants. In addition to the list of names and numbers of securities constituting the current Deposit Securities of a Fund Deposit, BNY Mellon, through the NSCC, will also make available on each business day, the estimated Cash Component, effective through and including the previous business day, per Creation Unit aggregation of the Fund. To be eligible to place orders with respect to creations and redemptions of Creation Units, an entity must be (i) a ``Participating Party,'' i.e., a broker-dealer or other participant in the clearing process through the continuous net settlement system of the NSCC or (ii) [[Page 12993]] a Depository Trust Company (``DTC'') Participant (a ``DTC Participant''). In addition, each Participating Party or DTC Participant (each, an ``Authorized Participant'') must execute an agreement that has been agreed to by the Distributor and BNY Mellon with respect to purchases and redemptions of Creation Units. All orders to create Creation Unit aggregations must be received by the Distributor no later than 3:00 p.m., E.T., an hour earlier than the closing time of the regular trading session on the Exchange (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., E.T.), in each case on the date such order is placed in order for creations of Creation Unit aggregations to be effected based on the NAV of Shares of the Fund as next determined on such date after receipt of the order in proper form. In order to redeem Creation Units of the Fund, an Authorized Participant must submit an order to redeem for one or more Creation Units. All such orders must be received by the Distributor in proper form no later than 3:00 p.m., E.T., an hour earlier than the close of regular trading on the Exchange (ordinarily 4:00 p.m., E.T.), in order to receive that day's closing NAV per Share. Availability of Information The Fund's Web site (www.isectorsetfs.com), which will be publicly available prior to the public offering of Shares, will include a form of the prospectus for the Fund that may be downloaded. The Web site will include the Fund's ticker, CUSIP and exchange information along with additional quantitative information updated on a daily basis, including, for the Fund: (1) Daily trading volume, the prior business day's reported NAV and closing price, mid-point of the bid/ask spread at the time of calculation of such NAV (the ``Bid/Ask Price'') \16\ and a calculation of the premium and discount of the Bid/Ask Price against the NAV; and (2) data in chart format displaying the frequency distribution of discounts and premiums of the daily Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, within appropriate ranges, for each of the four previous calendar quarters. On each business day, before commencement of trading in Shares in the Regular Market Session \17\ on the Exchange, the Fund will disclose on its Web site the identities and quantities of the portfolio of securities and other assets (the ``Disclosed Portfolio'' as defined in Nasdaq Rule 5735(c)(2)) held by the Fund that will form the basis for the Fund's calculation of NAV at the end of the business day.\18\ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \16\ The Bid/Ask Price of the Fund will be determined using the midpoint of the highest bid and the lowest offer on the Exchange as of the time of calculation of the Fund's NAV. The records relating to Bid/Ask Prices will be retained by the Fund and its service providers. \17\ See Nasdaq Rule 4120(b)(4) (describing the three trading sessions on the Exchange: (1) Pre-Market Session from 4 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. E.T.; (2) Regular Market Session from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 4:15 p.m. E.T.; and (3) Post-Market Session from 4 p.m. or 4:15 p.m. to 8 p.m. E.T.). \18\ Under accounting procedures to be followed by the Fund, trades made on the prior business day (``T'') will be booked and reflected in NAV on the current business day (``T+1''). Notwithstanding the foregoing, portfolio trades that are executed prior to the opening of the Exchange on any business day may be booked and reflected in NAV on such business day. Accordingly, the Fund 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- On a daily basis, the Fund will disclose for each portfolio security and other asset of the Fund the following information on the Fund's Web site (if applicable): Ticker symbol, CUSIP number or other identifier, if any; a description of the holding (including the type of holding); the identity of the security, commodity, index, or other asset or instrument underlying the holding, if any; maturity date, if any; coupon rate, if any; effective date, if any; market value of the holding; and the percentage weighting of the holdings in the Fund's portfolio. The Web site information will be publicly available at no charge. In addition, for the Fund, an estimated value, defined in Rule 5735(c)(3) as the ``Intraday Indicative Value,'' that reflects an estimated intraday value of the Fund's portfolio, will be disseminated. Moreover, the Intraday Indicative Value, available on the NASDAQ OMX Information LLC proprietary index data service \19\ will be based upon the current value for the components of the Disclosed Portfolio and will be updated and widely disseminated by one or more major market data vendors and broadly displayed at least every 15 seconds during the Regular Market Session. The dissemination of the Intraday Indicative Value, together with the Disclosed Portfolio, will allow investors to determine the value of the underlying portfolio of the Fund on a daily basis and will provide a close estimate of that value throughout the trading day. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \19\ Currently, the Nasdaq Global Index Data Service (``GIDS'') is the Nasdaq global index data feed service, offering real-time updates, daily summary messages, and access to widely followed indexes and Intraday Indicative Values for ETFs. GIDS provides investment professionals with the daily information needed to track or trade NASDAQ OMX indexes, listed ETFs, or third-party partner indexes and ETFs. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Price information regarding the ETPs, equity securities, U.S. treasuries, money market instruments and money market funds held by the Fund will be available through the U.S. exchanges trading such assets, in the case of exchange-traded securities, as well as automated quotation systems, published or other public sources, or on-line information services such as Bloomberg or Reuters. For all security types in which the Fund may invest, the Fund's primary pricing source is Interactive Data Corp.; its secondary source is Reuters; and its tertiary source is Bloomberg. Intra-day price information for all assets held by the Fund will also be available through subscription services, such as Bloomberg, Markit and Thomson Reuters, which can be accessed by Authorized Participants and other investors. Investors will also be able to obtain the Fund's Statement of Additional Information (``SAI''), the Fund's Shareholder Reports, and its Form N-CSR and Form N-SAR, filed twice a year. The Fund's SAI and Shareholder Reports will be available free upon request from the Fund, and those documents and the Form N-CSR and Form N-SAR may be viewed on- screen or downloaded from the Commission's Web site at www.sec.gov. Information regarding market price and volume of the Shares will be continually available on a real-time basis throughout the day on brokers' computer screens and other electronic services. The previous day's closing price and trading volume information for the Shares will be published daily in the financial section of newspapers. Quotation and last sale information for the Shares and any underlying exchange- traded products will be available via Nasdaq proprietary quote and trade services, as well as in accordance with the Unlisted Trading Privileges and the Consolidated Tape Association plans for the Shares. Additional information regarding the Fund and the Shares, including investment strategies, risks, creation and redemption procedures, fees, Fund holdings disclosure policies, distributions and taxes will be included in the Registration Statement. Initial and Continued Listing The Shares will be subject to Rule 5735, which sets forth the initial and continued listing criteria applicable to Managed Fund Shares. The Exchange represents that, for initial and/or continued listing, the Fund must be in compliance with Rule 10A-3 \20\ under [[Page 12994]] the Act. A minimum of 100,000 Shares will be outstanding at the commencement of trading on the Exchange. The Exchange will obtain a representation from the issuer of the Shares that the NAV per Share will be calculated daily and that the NAV and the Disclosed Portfolio will be made available to all market participants at the same time. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \20\ See 17 CFR 240.10A-3. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Trading Halts With respect to trading halts, the Exchange may consider all relevant factors in exercising its discretion to halt or suspend trading in the Shares of the Fund. Nasdaq will halt trading in the Shares under the conditions specified in Nasdaq Rules 4120 and 4121, including the trading pauses under Nasdaq Rules 4120(a)(11) and (12). Trading may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable. These may include: (1) The extent to which trading is not occurring in the securities and other assets constituting the Disclosed Portfolio of the Fund; or (2) whether other unusual conditions or circumstances detrimental to the maintenance of a fair and orderly market are present. Trading in the Shares also will be subject to Rule 5735(d)(2)(D), which sets forth circumstances under which Shares of the Fund may be halted. Trading Rules Nasdaq deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus rendering trading in the Shares subject to Nasdaq's existing rules governing the trading of equity securities. Nasdaq will allow trading in the Shares from 4:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. E.T. The Exchange has appropriate rules to facilitate transactions in the Shares during all trading sessions. As provided in Nasdaq Rule 5735(b)(3), the minimum price variation for quoting and entry of orders in Managed Fund Shares traded on the Exchange is $0.01. Surveillance The Exchange represents that trading in the Shares will be subject to the existing trading surveillances, administered by both Nasdaq and also the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (``FINRA'') on behalf of the Exchange, which are designed to detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws.\21\ The Exchange represents that these procedures are adequate to properly monitor Exchange trading of the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \21\ FINRA surveils trading on the Exchange pursuant to a regulatory services agreement. The Exchange is responsible for FINRA's performance under this regulatory services agreement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The surveillances referred to above generally focus on detecting securities trading outside their normal patterns, which could be indicative of manipulative or other violative activity. When such situations are detected, surveillance analysis follows and investigations are opened, where appropriate, to review the behavior of all relevant parties for all relevant trading violations. FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, will communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares and other exchange-traded securities and instruments, including the common stock and shares held by the Fund with other markets and other entities that are members of the Intermarket Surveillance Group (``ISG'') \22\ and FINRA may obtain trading information regarding trading in the Shares and such exchange- traded securities and instruments held by the Fund from such markets and other entities. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information regarding trading in the Shares and such exchange-traded securities and instruments held by the Fund from markets and other entities that are members of ISG,\23\ or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. The Fund's net assets that are invested in exchange-traded equities, including ETPs and common stock, will be invested in securities that trade in markets that are members of ISG or are parties to a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement with the Exchange. Moreover, FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, will be able to access, as needed, trade information for certain fixed-income securities held by the Fund reported to FINRA's Trade Reporting and Compliance Engine (``TRACE''). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \22\ For a list of the current members of ISG, see www.isgportal.org. The Exchange notes that not all components of the Disclosed Portfolio may trade on markets that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. \23\ Id. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the distribution of material, non-public information by its employees. Information Circular Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its members in an Information Circular of the special characteristics and risks associated with trading the Shares. Specifically, the Information Circular will discuss the following: (1) The procedures for purchases and redemptions of Shares in Creation Units (and that Shares are not individually redeemable); (2) Nasdaq Rule 2111A, which imposes suitability obligations on Nasdaq members with respect to recommending transactions in the Shares to customers; (3) how information regarding the Intraday Indicative Value and Disclosed Portfolio is disseminated; (4) the risks involved in trading the Shares during the Pre-Market and Post-Market Sessions when an updated Intraday Indicative Value will not be calculated or publicly disseminated; (5) the requirement that members deliver a prospectus to investors purchasing newly issued Shares prior to or concurrently with the confirmation of a transaction; and (6) trading information. In addition, the Information Circular will advise members, prior to the commencement of trading, of the prospectus delivery requirements applicable to the Fund. Members purchasing Shares from the Fund for resale to investors will deliver a prospectus to such investors. The Information Circular will also discuss any exemptive, no-action and interpretive relief granted by the Commission from any rules under the Act. Additionally, the Information Circular will reference that the Fund is subject to various fees and expenses described in the Registration Statement. The Information Circular will also disclose the trading hours of the Shares of the Fund and the applicable NAV calculation time for the Shares. The Information Circular will disclose that information about the Shares of the Fund will be publicly available on the Fund's Web site. 2. Statutory Basis Nasdaq believes that the proposal is consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act in general and Section 6(b)(5) of the Act in particular in that it is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to foster cooperation and coordination with persons engaged in facilitating transactions in securities, and to remove impediments to and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and in general, to protect investors and the public interest. The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices in that the Shares will be listed and traded on the Exchange [[Page 12995]] pursuant to the initial and continued listing criteria in Nasdaq Rule 5735. The Exchange represents that trading in the Shares will be subject to the existing trading surveillances, administered by both Nasdaq and FINRA on behalf of the Exchange, which are designed to detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws. In addition, paragraph (g) of Nasdaq Rule 5735 further requires that personnel who make decisions on the open-end fund's portfolio composition must be subject to procedures designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material, non-public information regarding the open-end fund's portfolio. The Fund's investments will be consistent with the Fund's investment objective. FINRA may obtain information via ISG from other exchanges that are members of ISG. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information regarding trading in the Shares and other exchange-traded securities and instruments held by the Fund from markets and other entities that are members of ISG, which includes all U.S. and some foreign securities and futures exchanges, or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. Moreover, FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, will be able to access, as needed, trade information for certain fixed-income securities held by the Fund reported to FINRA's TRACE. The Fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid assets (calculated at the time of investment). The proposed rule change is designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade and to protect investors and the public interest in that the Exchange will obtain a representation from the issuer of the Shares that the NAV per Share will be calculated daily and that the NAV and the Disclosed Portfolio will be made available to all market participants at the same time. In addition, a large amount of information will be publicly available regarding the Fund and the Shares, thereby promoting market transparency. Moreover, the Intraday Indicative Value, available on the NASDAQ OMX Information LLC proprietary index data service will be widely disseminated by one or more major market data vendors at least every 15 seconds during the Regular Market Session. On each business day, before commencement of trading in Shares in the Regular Market Session on the Exchange, the Fund will disclose on its Web site the Disclosed Portfolio of the Fund that will form the basis for the Fund's calculation of NAV at the end of the business day. Information regarding market price and trading volume of the Shares will be continually available on a real-time basis throughout the day on brokers' computer screens and other electronic services, and quotation and last sale information for the Shares will be available via Nasdaq proprietary quote and trade services, as well as in accordance with the Unlisted Trading Privileges and the Consolidated Tape Association plans for the Shares and any underlying exchange-traded securities. Intra-day price information will be available through subscription services, such as Bloomberg, Markit and Thomson Reuters, which can be accessed by Authorized Participants and other investors. The Fund's Web site will include a form of the prospectus for the Fund and additional data relating to NAV and other applicable quantitative information. Trading in Shares of the Fund will be halted under the conditions specified in Nasdaq Rules 4120 and 4121 or because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable, and trading in the Shares will be subject to Nasdaq Rule 5735(d)(2)(D), which sets forth circumstances under which Shares of the Fund may be halted. In addition, as noted above, investors will have ready access to information regarding the Fund's holdings, the Intraday Indicative Value, the Disclosed Portfolio, and quotation and last sale information for the Shares. The proposed rule change is designed to perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest in that it will facilitate the listing and trading of an additional type of actively-managed exchange-traded product that will enhance competition among market participants, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace. As noted above, FINRA, on behalf of the Exchange, will communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares and other exchange-traded securities and instruments held by the Fund with other markets and other entities that are members of the ISG and FINRA may obtain trading information regarding trading in the Shares and other exchange-traded securities and instruments held by the Fund from such markets and other entities. In addition, the Exchange may obtain information regarding trading in the Shares and other exchange- traded securities and instruments held by the Fund from markets and other entities that are members of ISG, which includes all U.S. and some foreign securities and futures exchanges, or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. Furthermore, as noted above, investors will have ready access to information regarding the Fund's holdings, the Intraday Indicative Value, the Disclosed Portfolio, and quotation and last sale information for the Shares. For the above reasons, Nasdaq believes the proposed rule change is consistent with the requirements of Section 6(b)(5) of the Act. B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act. The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change will facilitate the listing and trading of an additional type of actively-managed exchange-traded fund that will enhance competition among market participants, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace. C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others Written comments were neither solicited nor received. III. Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for Commission Action Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the Federal Register or within such longer period up to 90 days (i) as the Commission may designate if it finds such longer period to be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission will: (a) By order approve or disapprove such proposed rule change; or (b) institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved. IV. Solicitation of Comments Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods: Electronic CommentsUse the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or [[Page 12996]] Send an email to [email protected]. Please include File Number SR-NASDAQ-2016-028 on the subject line. Paper Comments Send paper comments in triplicate to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, Station Place, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NASDAQ-2016-028. This file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on the Commission's Internet Web site http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml. Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for Web site viewing and printing in the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of Nasdaq. All comments received will be posted without change; the Commission does not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NASDAQ-2016-028 and should be submitted on or before April 1, 2016. For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.\24\ Robert W. Errett, Deputy Secretary. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- \24\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [FR Doc. 2016-05432 Filed 3-10-16; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
| Category | Regulatory Information | |
| Collection | Federal Register | |
| sudoc Class | AE 2.7: GS 4.107: AE 2.106: | |
| Publisher | Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration | |
| Section | Notices | |
| FR Citation | 81 FR 12990 |