2012-8149. Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Listing and Trading of AdvisorShares Global Echo ETF Under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600  

  • Start Preamble March 30, 2012.

    Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act” or “Act”) [1] and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,[2] notice is hereby given that, on March 16, 2012, NYSE Arca, Inc. (“Exchange” or “NYSE Arca”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been substantially prepared by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.

    I. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change

    The Exchange proposes to list and trade the following under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 (“Managed Fund Shares”): AdvisorShares Global Echo ETF. The text of the proposed rule change is available at the Exchange, www.nyse.com,, and the Commission's Public Reference Room.

    II. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant parts of such statements.

    A. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change

    1. Purpose

    The Exchange proposes to list and trade shares (“Shares”) of the following under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600, which governs the listing and trading of Managed Fund Shares: [3] AdvisorShares Global Echo ETF (“Fund”).[4] The Shares Start Printed Page 20661will be offered by AdvisorShares Trust (“Trust”), a statutory trust organized under the laws of the State of Delaware and registered with the Commission as an open-end management investment company.[5] The investment adviser to the Fund is AdvisorShares Investments, LLC (“Adviser”). The Fund's sub-advisers (“Sub-Advisers” and each a “Sub-Adviser”), which provide day-to-day portfolio management of the Fund, are First Affirmative Financial Network LLC; Reynders, McVeigh Capital Management, LLC; Baldwin Brothers Inc.; and Community Capital Management Inc.

    Foreside Fund Services, LLC (“Distributor”) is the principal underwriter and distributor of the Fund's Shares. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation serves as the administrator (“Administrator”), custodian, transfer agent, and fund accounting agent for the Fund.

    Commentary .06 to Rule 8.600 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.[6] In addition, Commentary .06 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. Commentary .06 to Rule 8.600 is similar to Commentary .03(a)(i) and (iii) to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(3); however, Commentary .06 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. Neither the Adviser nor the Sub-Advisers are affiliated with a broker-dealer. In the event (a) the Adviser or the Sub-Advisers become newly affiliated with a broker-dealer, or (b) any new adviser or sub-adviser becomes affiliated with a broker-dealer, it will implement a fire wall with respect to such broker-dealer 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.

    Description of the Fund

    According to the Registration Statement, the Fund will seek to achieve long-term capital appreciation with an emphasis on absolute (positive) returns and low sensitivity to traditional financial market indices, such as the S&P 500 Index, over a full market cycle. The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by investing under normal market circumstances [7] at least 80% of its total assets in the following securities: U.S. exchange-listed equity securities; [8] American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”); [9] fixed income securities (including municipal bonds); and exchange-traded products (“Underlying ETPs”) [10] that provide diversified exposure to various asset classes and market segments.

    The Fund will be a multi-manager, multi-strategy, broadly diversified, actively managed exchange-traded fund with a focus on “Sustainable Investing.” Sustainable Investing generally refers to an investment methodology that takes into consideration economic, environmental, technology, and a variety of social factors when making investment decisions. Accordingly, the Fund is designed as a core allocation that proactively seeks Sustainable Investment-themed investment opportunities that may socially and environmentally benefit the earth, with a focus on water, clean energy, community development, innovation, and other sustainable themes across asset classes. Sustainable Investment themes that the Fund may pursue include, but are not limited to, the following: economic themes (corporate governance, risk and crisis management, community investment, energy efficiency, food, green building); environmental themes (air, water, earth); technology themes (mobility, renewable energy, technology, and access); and social themes (human health, such as occupational health and safety).

    The Fund will seek to achieve its investment objective by allocating a portion of the Fund's assets to each of the Fund's Sub-Advisers who will employ their respective investment Start Printed Page 20662strategies to generate absolute returns over a full market cycle. Generally, a full market cycle consists of a bull market followed by a bear market and a return to a bull market, or vice versa. Initially, an equal proportion of the Fund's assets will be allocated to each Sub-Adviser to obtain the desired exposure to the strategies described below. The allocation among Sub-Advisers will vary over time in response to a variety of factors including prevailing market conditions. The Adviser has designated First Affirmative Financial Network, LLC to allocate and monitor the allocation of the Fund's assets to each Sub-Adviser to ensure that the Fund's portfolio maintains the proper investment exposure to seek to achieve its investment objective. Each Sub-Adviser will seek to identify and invest either directly or indirectly through other Underlying ETPs in securities of companies that are making a positive impact in the world and reflect Sustainable Investment themes, including corporate sustainability. The Fund's investments in companies that practice corporate sustainability will provide an additional layer of diversification because such investments are designed to increase long-term shareholder value. Companies focused on corporate sustainability also can provide more attractive risk return profiles for investors, and can leverage various other Sustainable Investment themes.

    The Fund may take both long and short positions in any of these investments. The Fund may invest up to 65% (and intends to always invest at least 15%) of its net assets in domestic and foreign fixed income securities. The Fund may invest in securities of any capitalization range and may employ one or more investment styles (from growth to value) at any time as necessary to seek to achieve the Fund's investment objective.

    Each Sub-Adviser will determine whether to buy or sell an investment for the Fund's portfolio by applying one or more of the following strategies:

    Core Strategies

    Fixed Income Strategies. Fixed income strategies consist of investment strategies that invest primarily in debt securities of domestic and foreign governments, agencies, instrumentalities, municipalities and companies of all maturities and qualities (including “junk bonds” and up to 15% of total assets in defaulted debt securities), TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protected Securities), and Underlying ETPs that provide exposure to fixed income securities or strategies. 85% or more of the Fund's investments in fixed income strategies will be in investment grade debt securities. Debt securities of foreign governments are sometimes referred to as sovereign debt obligations and may be issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies. The Fund may invest up to 10% of total assets in mortgage-backed securities or other asset-backed securities.[11] Fixed income strategies also may involve hedging through the use of investments in other Underlying ETPs to enhance risk-adjusted return.

    Equity Strategies. Equity strategies will consist of both domestic and international/emerging markets strategies. The domestic equity strategies will seek to invest in securities of companies that the Sub-Advisers believe will outperform other equity securities over the long term.[12] The international/emerging markets equity strategies will seek to invest in securities of undervalued international companies through ADRs that provide the Fund with exposure to businesses outside of the U.S. and that are attractively priced relative to their economic fundamentals. Both U.S. and international investments will be selected using fundamental analysis of factors such as earnings, cash flows, and valuations based upon them, and will be diversified among the economic and industry sectors in the S&P 500® Index, the Morgan Stanley Capital International (“MSCI”) All Country World Index, MSCI Europe, Australasia and Far East Index, and MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

    Alternative Strategies

    Long/Short and Hedging Strategies. Alternative strategies will consist of strategies that combine short sales of equities (including shares of Underlying ETPs) or purchase of shares of inverse Underlying ETPs. As such, long/short strategies may utilize securities that seek to track indexes on markets, sectors, strategies, and/or industries to hedge against potential adverse movements in security prices. The Fund may implement multiple variations of long/short and hedging strategies. The basic long/short equity strategies generally will seek to increase net long exposure in a bull market and decrease net long exposure, by holding high concentrations in cash or investing 100% short in a bear market.

    Other Investments

    The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with financial institutions, which may be deemed to be loans. The Fund will follow certain procedures designed to minimize the risks inherent in such agreements. These procedures will include effecting repurchase transactions only with large, well-capitalized, and well-established financial institutions whose condition will be continually monitored by the Sub-Advisers. In addition, the value of the collateral underlying the repurchase agreement will always be at least equal to the repurchase price, including any accrued interest earned on the repurchase agreement. The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements without limit as part of the Fund's investment strategy. Reverse repurchase agreements involve sales by the Fund of portfolio assets concurrently with an agreement by the Fund to repurchase the same assets at a later date at a fixed price.

    The Fund, or Underlying ETPs in which it invests, may invest in U.S. government securities and U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds. The Fund, or Underlying ETPs in which it invests, may invest in shares of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”).

    Diversification. The Fund may not (i) with respect to 75% of its total assets, purchase securities of any issuer (except securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities or shares of investment companies) if, as a result, more than 5% of its total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer; or (ii) acquire more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer.[13]

    Concentration. The Fund may not invest 25% or more of its total assets in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry or group of industries. This limitation does not apply to investments in securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or shares of investment companies. The Fund will not invest 25% or more of its total assets Start Printed Page 20663in any investment company that so concentrates.[14]

    The Fund will not purchase illiquid securities.[15] Further, in accordance with the Exemptive Order, the Fund will not invest in options, futures, or swaps. The Fund's investments will be consistent with the Fund's investment objective and will not be used to enhance leverage.

    Except for Underlying ETPs that may hold non-U.S. issues, the Fund will not otherwise invest in non-U.S. issues.

    To respond to adverse market, economic, political, or other conditions, the Fund may invest 100% of its total assets, without limitation, in high-quality debt securities and money market instruments either directly or through Underlying ETPs. The Fund may be invested in these instruments for extended periods, depending on the Sub-Advisers' assessment of market conditions. These debt securities and money market instruments include shares of other mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, U.S. Government securities, repurchase agreements, and bonds that are BBB or higher. While the Fund is in a defensive position, the opportunity to achieve its investment objective will be limited.

    Creations and Redemptions

    The Fund will issue and redeem Shares on a continuous basis at the net asset value (“NAV”) only in a large specified number of shares called a “Creation Unit.” The Shares are “created” at their NAV by market makers, large investors, and institutions only in block-size Creation Units of at least 50,000 Shares. A “creator” will enter into an authorized participant agreement (“Participant Agreement”) with the Distributor or use a Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) participant who has executed a Participant Agreement (“Authorized Participant”), and deposit into the Fund a portfolio of securities closely approximating the holdings of the Fund and a specified amount of cash, together totaling the NAV of the Creation Unit(s), in exchange for 50,000 Shares of the Fund (or multiples thereof).

    Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by a Fund through the Administrator and only on a business day. The redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit generally will consist of a portfolio of securities closely approximating the holdings of the Fund and a specified amount of cash, as announced by the Administrator on the business day of the request for redemption received in proper form, plus cash in an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the Shares being redeemed, as next determined after a receipt of a request in proper form, and the value of such portfolio of securities. Orders to create and redeem Shares must be placed with the Administrator by 3 p.m., Eastern Time (“E.T.”).

    Net Asset Value

    The NAV per Share of the Fund will be computed by dividing the value of the net assets of the Fund (i.e., the value of its total assets less total liabilities) by the total number of Shares of the Fund outstanding, rounded to the nearest cent. Expenses and fees, including without limitation, the management, administration, and distribution fees, will be accrued daily and taken into account for purposes of determining NAV. The NAV per Share for the Fund will be calculated by the Administrator and determined as of the close of the regular trading session on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) (ordinarily 4 p.m., E.T.) on each day that the NYSE is open.

    In computing the Fund's NAV, the Fund's securities holdings will be valued based on their last readily available market price. Price information on listed securities, including Underlying ETPs, will be taken from the exchange where the security is primarily traded. Securities regularly traded in an over-the-counter market will be valued at the latest quoted sales price on the primary exchange or national securities market on which such securities are traded. Securities not listed on an exchange or national securities market, or securities in which there was no last reported sales price, will be valued at the most recent bid price. Other portfolio securities and assets for which market quotations are not readily available will be valued based on fair value as determined in good faith by the Sub-Advisers in accordance with procedures adopted by the Fund's Board of Trustees.

    The Shares will conform to the initial and continued listing criteria under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600. The Exchange represents that, for initial and/or continued listing, the Fund will be in compliance with Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act,[16] as provided by NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.3. 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.

    Availability of Information

    The Fund's Web site (www.advisorshares.com), which will be publicly available prior to the public offering of Shares, will include a form of the prospectus for the Fund that may be downloaded. The Fund's Web site will include additional quantitative information updated on a daily basis, including, for the Fund, (1) daily trading volume, the prior business day's reported closing price, NAV and mid-point of the bid/ask spread at the time of calculation of such NAV (“Bid/Ask Price”),[17] 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 Core Trading Session on the Exchange, the Fund will disclose on its Web site the Disclosed Portfolio as defined in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(c)(2) that will form the basis for the Fund's calculation of NAV at the end of the business day.[18]

    On a daily basis, the Adviser will disclose on the Fund's Web site for each portfolio security or other financial instrument of the Fund the following information: ticker symbol (if applicable), name of security or financial instrument, number of shares Start Printed Page 20664or dollar value of other securities and financial instruments held in the portfolio, and percentage weighting of the security or financial instrument in the portfolio. The Web site information will be publicly available at no charge.

    In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities required to be delivered in exchange for Fund Shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, will be publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the NYSE via the National Securities Clearing Corporation. The basket represents one Creation Unit of the Fund.

    Investors can also obtain the Trust'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 Trust's SAI and Shareholder Reports are available free upon request from the Trust, 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 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. Information regarding the previous day's closing price and trading volume information for the Shares will be published daily in the financial section of newspapers. Price information for the ADRs, debt and equity securities held by the Fund, including foreign equity securities, and Underlying ETPs will be available through major market data vendors or securities exchanges listing and trading such securities. Quotation and last-sale information for the Shares will be available via the Consolidated Tape Association (“CTA”) high-speed line. In addition, the Portfolio Indicative Value, as defined in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(c)(3), will be widely disseminated by one or more major market data vendors at least every 15 seconds during the Core Trading Session.[19] The dissemination of the Portfolio 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.

    Additional information regarding the Trust and the Shares, including investment strategies, risks, creation and redemption procedures, fees, portfolio holdings disclosure policies, distributions, and taxes is included in the Registration Statement. All terms relating to the Fund that are referred to, but not defined in, this proposed rule change are defined in the Registration Statement.

    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.[20] Trading in Shares of the Fund will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.12 have been reached. Trading also may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable. These may include: (1) The extent to which trading is not occurring in the securities and/or the financial instruments comprising 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 will be subject to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(d)(2)(D), which sets forth circumstances under which Shares of the Fund may be halted.

    Trading Rules

    The Exchange deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus rendering trading in the Shares subject to the Exchange's existing rules governing the trading of equity securities. Shares will trade on the NYSE Arca Marketplace from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., E.T. in accordance with NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.34 (Opening, Core, and Late Trading Sessions). The Exchange has appropriate rules to facilitate transactions in the Shares during all trading sessions. As provided in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.6, Commentary .03, the minimum price variation (“MPV”) for quoting and entry of orders in equity securities traded on the NYSE Arca Marketplace is $0.01, with the exception of securities that are priced less than $1.00 for which the MPV for order entry is $0.0001.

    Surveillance

    The Exchange intends to utilize its existing surveillance procedures applicable to derivative products (which include Managed Fund Shares) to monitor trading in the Shares. 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.

    The Exchange's current trading surveillance focuses on detecting securities trading outside their normal patterns. 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.

    The Exchange may obtain information via the Intermarket Surveillance Group (“ISG”) from other exchanges that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has entered into a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.[21] All equity securities, Underlying ETPs, and sponsored ADRs held by the Fund will be listed on securities exchanges, all of which are members of ISG.

    In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the distribution of material, non-public information by its employees.

    Information Bulletin

    Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its Equity Trading Permit (“ETP”) Holders in an Information Bulletin (“Bulletin”) of the special characteristics and risks associated with trading the Shares. Specifically, the Bulletin will discuss the following: (1) The procedures for purchases and redemptions of Shares in Creation Unit aggregations (and that Shares are not individually redeemable); (2) NYSE Arca Equities Rule 9.2(a), which imposes a duty of due diligence on its ETP Holders to learn the essential facts relating to every customer prior to trading the Shares; (3) the risks involved in trading the Shares during the Opening and Late Trading Sessions when an updated Portfolio Indicative Value will not be calculated or publicly disseminated; (4) how information regarding the Portfolio Indicative Value is disseminated; (5) the requirement that ETP Holders 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 Bulletin will reference that the Fund is subject to various fees and expenses described in the Registration Statement. The Bulletin will discuss any exemptive, no-action, and interpretive relief granted by the Start Printed Page 20665Commission from any rules under the Exchange Act. The Bulletin will also disclose that the NAV for the Shares will be calculated after 4 p.m., E.T. each trading day.

    2. Statutory Basis

    The basis under the Exchange Act for this proposed rule change is the requirement under Section 6(b)(5) [22] that an exchange have rules that are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove impediments to, and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and, 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 pursuant to the initial and continued listing criteria in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600. The Exchange has in place surveillance procedures that are adequate to properly monitor trading in the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws. The Exchange may obtain information via ISG from other exchanges that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has entered into a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. Price information for the ADRs, debt and equity securities held by the Fund, including foreign equity securities, and Underlying ETPs will be available through major market data vendors or securities exchanges listing and trading such securities. All equity securities, Underlying ETPs, and sponsored ADRs held by the Fund are listed on securities exchanges, all of which are members of ISG. The listing and trading of such securities is subject to rules of the exchanges on which they are listed and traded, as approved by the Commission. The Fund will not purchase illiquid securities. Further, the Fund will not invest in options, futures, or swaps. The Fund's investments will be consistent with the Fund's investment objective and will not be used to enhance leverage. Except for Underlying ETPs that may hold non-U.S. issues and for ADRs, the Fund will not otherwise invest in non-U.S. issues.

    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 is publicly available regarding the Fund and the Shares, thereby promoting market transparency. Quotation and last-sale information for the Shares will be available via the CTA high-speed line. In addition, the Portfolio Indicative Value will be widely disseminated at least every 15 seconds during the Core Trading Session by one or more major market data vendors. On each business day, before commencement of trading in Shares in the Core Trading Session on the Exchange, the Fund will disclose on its Web site the Disclosed Portfolio that will form the basis for the Fund's calculation of NAV at the end of the business day. On a daily basis, the Adviser will disclose for each portfolio security or other financial instrument of the Fund the following information: ticker symbol (if applicable), name of security or financial instrument, number of shares or dollar value of other securities and financial instruments held in the portfolio, and percentage weighting of the security or financial instrument in the portfolio. The Web site for the Fund will include a form of the prospectus for the Fund that may be downloaded, and additional data relating to NAV and other applicable quantitative information, updated on a daily basis. Moreover, prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its ETP Holders in an Information Bulletin of the special characteristics and risks associated with trading the Shares. Trading in Shares of the Fund will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.12 have been reached or because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable. Trading in the Shares will be subject to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(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 Portfolio 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, the Exchange has in place surveillance procedures relating to trading in the Shares and may obtain information via ISG from other exchanges that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has entered into a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. In addition, as noted above, investors will have ready access to information regarding the Fund's holdings, the Portfolio Indicative Value, the Disclosed Portfolio, and quotation and last-sale information for the Shares.

    B. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition

    The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.

    C. Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed Rule Change Received From Members, Participants, or Others

    No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the proposed rule change.

    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 (i) as the Commission may designate up to 90 days of such date 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 the 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 Comments

    Paper Comments

    • Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090.

    All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2012-24. 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 Section, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549, on official business days between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing will also be available for inspection and copying at the NYSE's principal office and on its Internet Web site at www.nyse.com. 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-NYSEArca-2012-24 and should be submitted on or before April 26, 2012.

    Start Signature

    For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.[23]

    Kevin M. O'Neill,

    Deputy Secretary.

    End Signature End Preamble

    Footnotes

    3.  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) (“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 Investment Company Units, listed and traded on the Exchange under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(3), 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.

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    4.  The Commission has previously approved listing and trading on the Exchange of a number of actively managed funds under Rule 8.600. See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 57801 (May 8, 2008), 73 FR 27878 (May 14, 2008) (SR-NYSEArca-2008-31) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of twelve actively-managed funds of the WisdomTree Trust); 60460 (August 7, 2009), 74 FR 41468 (August 17, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-55) (order approving listing of Dent Tactical ETF); 63076 (October 12, 2010), 75 FR 63874 (October 18, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-79) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of Cambria Global Tactical ETF); 63802 (January 31, 2011), 76 FR 6503 (February 4, 2011) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-118) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of the SiM Dynamic Allocation Diversified Income ETF and SiM Dynamic Allocation Growth Income ETF).

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    5.  The Trust is registered under the 1940 Act. On July 15, 2011, the Trust filed with the Commission Post-Effective Amendment No. 32 to Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a), and under the 1940 Act relating to the Fund (File Nos. 333-157876 and 811-22110) (“Registration Statement”). The description of the operation of the Trust and the Fund herein is based, in part, on the Registration Statement. In addition, the Commission has issued an order granting certain exemptive relief to the Trust under the 1940 Act. See Investment Company Act Release No. 29291 (May 28, 2010) (File No. 812-13677) (“Exemptive Order”).

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    6.  An investment adviser to an open-end fund is required to be registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”). As a result, the Adviser and Sub-Advisers 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.

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    7.  The term “under normal market circumstances” includes, but is not limited to, the absence of extreme volatility or trading halts in the equities or 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.

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    8.  The Fund may invest in equity securities of domestic and foreign companies, including common stocks, preferred stocks, warrants to acquire common stock, securities convertible into common stock, and investments in master limited partnerships.

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    9.  The Fund generally will invest in sponsored ADRs, but it may invest up to 10% of total assets in unsponsored ADRs.

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    10.  Underlying ETPs include Investment Company Units (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(3)); Index-Linked Securities (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(6)); Portfolio Depositary Receipts (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.100); Trust Issued Receipts (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.200); Commodity-Based Trust Shares (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.201); Currency Trust Shares (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.202); Commodity Index Trust Shares (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.203); Trust Units (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.500); Managed Fund Shares (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600); and closed-end funds. The Underlying ETPs all will be listed and traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges. The Fund may invest in the securities of Underlying ETPs registered under the 1940 Act consistent with the requirements of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, or any rule, regulation, or order of the Commission or interpretation thereof. The Fund will only make such investments in conformity with the requirements of Section 817 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The Underlying ETPs in which the Fund may invest will primarily be index-based exchange-traded funds that hold substantially all of their assets in securities representing a specific index.

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    11.  This limitation does not apply to securities issued or guaranteed by federal agencies and/or U.S. government sponsored instrumentalities, such as the Government National Mortgage Administration (“GNMA”), the Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”), the Federal National Mortgage Association (“FNMA”), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”).

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    12.  Telephone conference between Michael Cavalier, Chief Counsel, NYSE Euronext and Kristie Diemer, Special Counsel, Division of Trading and Markets, Commission, on March 28, 2012, confirmed domestic equities strategies will apply to all Sub-Advisers.

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    13.  The diversification standard is set forth in Section 5(b)(1) of the 1940 Act.

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    14.  See Form N-1A, Item 9. The Commission has taken the position that a fund is concentrated if it invests more than 25% of the value of its total assets in any one industry. See, e.g., Investment Company Act Release No. 9011 (October 30, 1975), 40 FR 54241 (November 21, 1975).

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    15.  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); Investment Company Act Release No. 17452 (April 23, 1990), 55 FR 17933 (April 30, 1990) (adopting Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933).

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    17.  The Bid/Ask Price of the Fund is determined using the mid-point 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.

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    18.  Under accounting procedures 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”). 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.

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    19.  Currently, it is the Exchange's understanding that several major market data vendors display and/or make widely available Portfolio Indicative Values published on CTA or other data feeds.

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    20.  See NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.12, Commentary .04.

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    21.  For a list of the current members of ISG, see www.isgportal.org. The Exchange notes that not all components of the Disclosed Portfolio for the Fund may trade on markets that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.

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    [FR Doc. 2012-8149 Filed 4-4-12; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 8011-01-P

Document Information

Published:
04/05/2012
Department:
Securities and Exchange Commission
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
2012-8149
Pages:
20660-20666 (7 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Release No. 34-66696, File No. SR-NYSEArca-2012-24
EOCitation:
of 2012-03-30
PDF File:
2012-8149.pdf