83 FR 48663 - Ares Credit and Income Trust and Ares Capital Management III LLC; Notice of Application

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 187 (September 26, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 187 (Wednesday, September 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48663-48665]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-20956]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 33243; File No. 812-14892]


Ares Credit and Income Trust and Ares Capital Management III LLC; 
Notice of Application

September 21, 2018.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice of an application for an order under section 12(d)(1)(J) of 
the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the ``Act'') for an exemption from 
sections 12(d)(1)(A), (B), and (C) of the Act and under sections 6(c) 
and 17(b) of the Act for an exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and (2) of 
the Act. The requested order would permit certain registered open-end 
investment companies to acquire shares of certain registered open-end

[[Page 48664]]

investment companies, registered closed-end investment companies, 
business development companies, as defined in section 2(a)(48) of the 
Act, and registered unit investment trusts (collectively, ``Underlying 
Funds'') that are within and outside the same group of investment 
companies as the acquiring investment companies, in excess of the 
limits in section 12(d)(1) of the Act.

APPLICANTS: Ares Credit and Income Trust (the ``Trust''), a Delaware 
statutory trust that will be registered under the Act as an open-end 
management investment company with multiple series, and Ares Capital 
Management III LLC (the ``Initial Adviser''), a Delaware limited 
liability company registered as an investment adviser under the 
Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

FILING DATES: The application was filed on April 3, 2018 and amended on 
August 3, 2018.

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 16, 2018, and should be accompanied by proof of 
service on the 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, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F 
Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090. Applicants: Daniel J. Hall, Ares 
Capital Management III, LLC, 2000 Avenue of the Stars, 12th Floor, Los 
Angeles, CA 90067; Steven B. Boehm, Esq., Cynthia M. Krus, Esq., and 
Cynthia R. Beyea, Esq., Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, 700 Sixth 
Street, NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew B. Archer-Beck, Senior 
Counsel, at (202) 551-5044, or Kaitlin C. Bottock, Branch Chief, at 
(202) 551-6825 (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 website 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.

Summary of the Application

    1. Applicants request an order to permit (a) a Fund \1\ (each a 
``Fund of Funds'') to acquire shares of Underlying Funds \2\ in excess 
of the limits in sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (C) of the Act and (b) the 
Underlying Funds that are registered open-end investment companies or 
series thereof, their principal underwriters and any broker or dealer 
registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to sell shares of 
the Underlying Fund to the Fund of Funds in excess of the limits in 
section 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act.\3\ Applicants also request an order of 
exemption under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act from the prohibition 
on certain affiliated transactions in section 17(a) of the Act to the 
extent necessary to permit the Underlying Funds to sell their shares 
to, and redeem their shares from, the Funds of Funds.\4\ Applicants 
state that such transactions will be consistent with the policies of 
each Fund of Funds and each Underlying Fund and with the general 
purposes of the Act and will be based on the net asset values of the 
Underlying Funds.
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    \1\ Applicants request that the order apply to each existing and 
future series of the Trust and to each existing and future 
registered open-end management investment company or series thereof 
that is advised by Initial Adviser or its successor-in-interest or 
by any other investment adviser controlling, controlled by or under 
common control with the Initial Adviser or its successor-in-interest 
and is part of the same ``group of investment companies'' as the 
Trust (each, a ``Fund''). For purposes of the requested order, 
``successor-in-interest'' is limited to an entity that results from 
a reorganization into another jurisdiction or a change in the type 
of business organization. For purposes of the request for relief, 
the term ``group of investment companies,'' as defined in Section 
12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act, means any two or more registered 
investment companies, including closed-end investment companies and 
business development companies, that hold themselves out to 
investors as related companies for purposes of investment and 
investor services.
    \2\ Certain of the Underlying Funds have obtained exemptions 
from the Commission necessary to permit their shares to be listed 
and traded on a national securities exchange at negotiated prices 
and, accordingly, to operate as an exchange-traded fund (``ETF'').
    \3\ Applicants do not request relief for Funds of Funds to 
invest in reliance on the order in business development companies 
and registered closed-end investment companies that are not listed 
and traded on a national securities exchange.
    \4\ A Fund of Funds generally would purchase and sell shares of 
an Underlying Fund that operates as an ETF through secondary market 
transactions rather than through principal transactions with the 
Underlying Fund. Applicants nevertheless request relief from 
sections 17(a)(1) and (2) to permit each ETF that is an affiliated 
person, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, as defined 
in section 2(a)(3) of the Act, of a Fund of Funds, to sell shares to 
or redeem shares from the Fund of Funds. This includes, in the case 
of sales and redemptions of shares of ETFs, the in-kind transactions 
that accompany such sales and redemptions. Applicants are not 
seeking relief from section 17(a) for, and the requested relief will 
not apply to, transactions where an ETF could be deemed an 
affiliated person, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, 
of a Fund of Funds because an investment adviser to the ETF or an 
entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the 
investment adviser to the ETF is also an investment adviser to the 
Fund of Funds. A Fund of Funds will purchase and sell shares of an 
Underlying Fund that is a closed-end fund (including a business 
development company) through secondary market transactions at market 
prices rather than through principal transactions with the closed-
end fund. Accordingly, applicants are not requesting section 17(a) 
relief with respect to principal transactions with closed-end funds.
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    2. Applicants agree that any order granting the requested relief 
will be subject to the terms and conditions stated in the application. 
Such terms and conditions are designed to, among other things, help 
prevent any potential (a) undue influence over an Underlying Fund that 
is not in the same ``group of investment companies'' as the Fund of 
Funds through control or voting power, or in connection with certain 
services, transactions, and underwritings, (b) excessive layering of 
fees, and (c) overly complex fund structures, which are the concerns 
underlying the limits in sections 12(d)(1)(A), (B), and (C) of the Act.
    3. 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 provision of section 
12(d)(1) if the exemption is consistent with the public interest and 
the protection of investors. Section 17(b) of the Act authorizes the 
Commission to grant an order permitting a transaction otherwise 
prohibited by section 17(a) if it finds that (a) the terms of the 
proposed transaction are fair and reasonable and do not involve 
overreaching on the part of any person concerned; (b) the proposed 
transaction is consistent with the policies of each registered 
investment company involved; and (c) the proposed transaction is 
consistent with the general purposes of the Act. Section 6(c) of the 
Act permits the Commission to exempt any persons or transactions from 
any provision of the Act if 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.


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    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
pursuant to delegated authority.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-20956 Filed 9-25-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P