2010-22623. Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. et al.; Notice of Application

September 3, 2010

AGENCY:

Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”).

ACTION:

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) and (B) of the Act, under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an exemption from section 17(a) of the Act, and under section 6(c) of the Act for an exemption from rule 12d1-2(a) under the Act.

Summary of the Application: The requested order would (a) permit certain series of registered open-end management investment companies to acquire shares of other registered open-end management investment companies or unit investment trusts (“UITs”) registered under the Act that are within or outside of the same group of investment companies as the acquiring investment companies, and (b) permit certain series of registered open-end management investment companies relying on rule 12d1-2 under the Act to invest in certain financial instruments.

Applicants: Transamerica Asset Management, Inc. (the “Adviser”), Transamerica Funds (“TF”), Transamerica Partners Funds Group (“TPFG”), Transamerica Partners Funds Group II (“TPFGII”), Transamerica Partners Portfolios (“TPP”) and Transamerica Series Trust (“TST”) (collectively, TF, TPFG, TPFGII, TPP, and TST, the “Trusts”).

Filing Dates: The application was filed on May 28, 2009 and amended on November 20, 2009 and August 17, 2010.

Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the application 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 September 27, 2010, and should be accompanied by proof of service on applicants, in the form of an affidavit or, for lawyers, a certificate of service. Hearing requests should state the nature of the writer's interest, 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: Adviser, 570 Carillon Parkway, St Petersburg, Florida 33716.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Laura J. Riegel, Senior Counsel, at [phone], or Michael W. Mundt, Assistant Director, at [phone] (Division of Investment Management, Office of Investment Company Regulation).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The following is a summary of the application. The complete application may be obtained via the Commission's Web site by searching for the file number, or an applicant using the Company name box, at http://www.sec.gov/​search/​search.htm or by calling [phone].

Applicants' Representations:

1. The Trusts are open-end management investment companies registered under the Act. Each Trust is comprised of separate series (the “Funds”) that pursue distinctive investment objectives and strategies.^[1] TF and TST are statutory trusts organized under the laws of Delaware. TPFG and TPFGII are business trusts organized under the laws of Massachusetts. TPP is organized as a New York trust. TPFG and TPFGII include Funds that operate as feeder trusts in a master-feeder structure in reliance on section 12(d)(1)(E) of the Act, with TPP as their common corresponding master trust.^[2] TST includes Funds that are offered solely to insurance company separate accounts (“Separate Accounts”) that fund variable annuity and variable life contracts issued by insurance companies. The Separate Accounts may be registered under the Act (“Registered Separate Accounts”) or unregistered under the Act (“Unregistered Separate Accounts”). The Adviser, a Florida corporation, is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”). The Adviser serves as investment adviser to each of the Funds.

2. Applicants request relief to permit (a) certain Funds (each, a “Fund of Funds”) to acquire shares of (i) other Funds (“Affiliated Underlying Funds”) and (ii) registered open-end management investment companies (the “Unaffiliated Funds”) and UITs (“Unaffiliated Trusts,” and together with the Unaffiliated Funds, the “Unaffiliated Underlying Funds”) ^[3] that are not part of the same “group of investment companies,” as defined in section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act, as the Fund of Funds (collectively, the Affiliated Underlying Funds and the Unaffiliated Underlying Funds are “Underlying Funds”); (b) the Affiliated Underlying Funds, or their principal underwriters and any broker or dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Broker”) to sell shares of the Affiliated Underlying Funds to the Fund of Funds; and (c) the Unaffiliated Funds, or their principal underwriters and any Broker to sell shares of the Unaffiliated Funds to the Funds of Funds. Applicants also request an order under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act to permit Underlying Funds that are affiliated persons of Fund of Funds to sell their shares to and redeem their shares from the Fund of Funds.

3. Applicants also request an exemption under section 6(c) of the Act to permit any Fund that may invest in Affiliated Underlying Funds in reliance on section 12(d)(1)(G) of the Act (“Same Group Fund of Funds”) and that is eligible to invest in securities (as defined in section 2(a)(36) of the Act) in reliance on rule 12d1-2 under the Act, to also invest, consistent with its investment objectives, policies, strategies and limitations, in financial instruments that may not be securities within the meaning of section 2(a)(36) of the Act (“Other Investments”).

4. Consistent with its fiduciary obligations under the Act, each Same Group Fund of Funds' board of trustees or directors will review the advisory fees charged by the Same Group Fund of Funds' investment adviser to ensure that they are based on services provided that are in addition to, rather than duplicative of, services provided pursuant to the advisory agreement of any investment company in which the Same Group Fund of Funds may invest.

Applicants' Legal Analysis

Investments in Underlying Funds by Fund of Funds

A. Section 12(d)(1)

1. Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act prohibits a registered investment company from acquiring shares of any other investment company if the securities represent more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the acquired company, more than 5% of the total assets of the acquiring company, or, together with the securities of any other investment companies, more than 10% of the total assets of the acquiring company. Section 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act prohibits a registered open-end investment company, its principal underwriter and any broker or dealer from selling the shares of the investment company to another investment company if the sale will cause the acquiring company to own more than 3% of the acquired company's voting stock, or if the sale will cause more than 10% of the acquired company's voting stock to be owned by investment companies generally.

2. 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. Applicants seek an exemption under section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act from the limitations of sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) to the extent necessary to permit the Funds of Funds to acquire shares of the Underlying Funds in excess of the limits set forth in section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act and to permit the Affiliated Underlying Funds and Unaffiliated Funds, their principal underwriters and any Broker to sell shares to the Funds of Funds in excess of the limits set forth in sections 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act.

3. Applicants state that the proposed arrangement will not give rise to the policy concerns underlying sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B), which include concerns about undue influence by a fund of funds or its affiliated persons over underlying funds, excessive layering of fees, and overly complex fund structures. Accordingly, applicants believe that the requested exemption is consistent with the public interest and the protection of investors.

4. Applicants state that the proposed arrangement will not result in undue influence by a Fund of Funds or its affiliated persons over the Underlying Funds. The concern about undue influence does not arise in connection with a Fund of Funds' investment in the Affiliated Underlying Funds, since they are part of the same group of investment companies. To limit the control that a Fund of Funds or its affiliated persons may have over an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund, applicants propose a condition prohibiting: (a) Any investment adviser within the meaning of section 2(a)(20)(A) of the Act to a Fund of Funds (“Fund of Funds' Adviser”), any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Fund of Funds' Adviser and any investment company or issuer that would be an investment company but for section 3(c)(1) or section 3(c)(7) of the Act advised or sponsored by the Fund of Funds' Adviser or any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Fund of Funds' Adviser (collectively, the “Group”), and (b) any investment adviser within the meaning of section 2(a)(20)(B) of the Act to a Fund of Funds (“Fund of Funds' Subadviser”), any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Fund of Funds' Subadviser, and any investment company or issuer that would be an investment company but for section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act (or portion of such investment company or issuer) advised or sponsored by the Fund of Funds' Subadviser or any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with the Fund of Funds' Subadviser (collectively, the “Subadviser Group”) from controlling (individually or in the aggregate) an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act.

5. Applicants further state that condition 2 precludes a Fund of Funds, a Fund of Funds' Adviser, any Fund of Funds' Subadviser, promoter or principal underwriter of a Fund of Funds, and any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with any of those entities (each, a “Fund of Funds Affiliate”) from taking advantage of an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund, with respect to transactions between the Fund of Funds or a Fund of Funds Affiliate and the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund or the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund's investment adviser(s), sponsor, promoter, principal underwriter or any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with any of these entities (each, an “Unaffiliated Fund Affiliate”). Condition 5 precludes a Fund of Funds or Fund of Funds Affiliate (except to the extent it is acting in its capacity as an investment adviser to an Unaffiliated Fund or sponsor to an Unaffiliated Trust) from causing an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund to purchase a security in an offering of securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling syndicate of which a principal underwriter is an officer, director, trustee, member of an advisory board, Fund of Fund's Adviser, Fund of Funds' Subadviser, or employee of the Fund of Funds, or a person of which any such officer, director, trustee, investment adviser, Fund of Funds' Subadviser, member of an advisory board, or employee is an affiliated person (each, an “Underwriting Affiliate,” except that any person whose relationship to the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund is covered by section 10(f) of the Act is not an Underwriting Affiliate). An offering of securities during the existence of any underwriting or selling syndicate of which a principal underwriter is an Underwriting Affiliate is an “Affiliated Underwriting.”

6. As an additional assurance that an Unaffiliated Fund understands the implications of an investment by a Fund of Funds under the requested order, prior to a Fund of Funds' investment in the Unaffiliated Fund in excess of the limit in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i), condition 8 requires that the Fund of Funds and Unaffiliated Fund execute an agreement stating, without limitation, that their boards of directors or trustees (“Boards”) and their investment advisers understand the terms and conditions of the order and agree to fulfill their responsibilities under the order (“Participation Agreement”). Applicants note that an Unaffiliated Fund (other than an ETF whose shares are purchased by a Fund of Funds in the secondary market) will retain the right to reject an investment by a Fund of Funds.^[4]

7. Applicants do not believe that the proposed arrangement will involve excessive layering of fees. With respect to investment advisory fees, applicants state that, in connection with the approval of any investment advisory contract under section 15 of the Act, the Board of each Fund of Funds, including a majority of the directors or trustees who are not “interested persons,” as defined in section 2(a)(19) of the Act (“Independent Board Members”), will find that the advisory fees charged under the advisory contract are based on services provided that are in addition to, rather than duplicative of, services provided pursuant to any Underlying Fund's advisory contract(s). Applicants further state that the Fund of Funds' Adviser will waive fees otherwise payable to it by a Fund of Funds in an amount at least equal to any compensation (including fees received pursuant to any plan adopted by an Unaffiliated Fund pursuant to rule 12b-1 under the Act) received from an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund by the Fund of Funds' Adviser, or an affiliated person of the Fund of Funds' Adviser, other than any advisory fees paid to the Fund of Funds' Adviser or an affiliated person of the Fund of Funds' Adviser by an Unaffiliated Fund, in connection with the investment by the Fund of Funds in the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund.

8. Applicants state that with respect to Registered Separate Accounts that invest in a Fund of Funds, no sales load will be charged at the Fund of Funds level or at the Underlying Fund level. Other sales charges and service fees, as defined in Rule 2830 of the Conduct Rules of the National Association of Securities Dealers (“NASD Conduct Rule 2830”),^[5] if any, will only be charged at the Fund of Funds level or at the Underlying Fund level, not both. With respect to other investments in a Fund of Funds, any sales charges and/or service fees charged with respect to shares of the Fund of Funds will not exceed the limits applicable to funds of funds as set forth in NASD Conduct Rule 2830.

9. Applicants represent that each Fund of Funds will represent in the Participation Agreement that no insurance company sponsoring a Registered Separate Account funding variable insurance contracts will be permitted to invest in the Fund of Funds unless the insurance company has certified to the Fund of Funds that the aggregate of all fees and charges associated with each contract that invests in the Fund of Funds, including fees and charges at the Separate Account, Fund of Funds, and Underlying Fund levels, are reasonable in relation to the services rendered, the expenses expected to be incurred, and the risks assumed by the insurance company.

10. Applicants state that the proposed arrangement will not create an overly complex fund structure. Applicants note that an Underlying Fund will be prohibited from acquiring securities of any investment company or company relying on section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act in excess of the limits contained in section 12(d)(1)(A), except to the extent that such Underlying Fund: (a) Acquires such securities in compliance with section 12(d)(1)(E) of the Act; (b) receives securities of another investment company as a dividend or as a result of a plan of reorganization of a company (other than a plan devised for the purpose of evading section 12(d)(1) of the Act); or (c) acquires (or is deemed to have acquired) securities of another investment company pursuant to exemptive relief from the Commission permitting such Underlying Fund to: (i) Acquire securities of one or more investment companies for short-term cash management purposes, or (ii) engage in interfund borrowing and lending transactions.

B. Section 17(a)

1. Section 17(a) of the Act generally prohibits sales or purchases of securities between a registered investment company and its affiliated persons or affiliated persons of such persons. Section 2(a)(3) of the Act defines an “affiliated person” of another person to include (a) any person directly or indirectly owning, controlling, or holding with power to vote, 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the other person; (b) any person 5% or more of whose outstanding voting securities are directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or held with power to vote by the other person; and (c) any person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the other person.

2. Applicants state that the Funds of Funds and the Affiliated Funds may be deemed to be under common control of the Fund of Funds' Adviser and therefore affiliated persons of one another. Applicants also state that the Funds of Funds and the Underlying Funds may be deemed to be affiliated persons of one another if a Fund of Funds acquires 5% or more of an Underlying Fund's outstanding voting securities. In light of these possible affiliations, section 17(a) could prevent an Underlying Fund from selling shares to and redeeming shares from a Fund of Funds.^[6]

3. 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 person 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.

4. Applicants submit that the proposed transactions satisfy the requirements for relief under sections 17(b) and 6(c) of the Act as the terms are fair and reasonable and do not involve overreaching. Applicants state that the terms upon which an Underlying Fund will sell its shares to or purchase its shares from a Fund of Funds will be based on the net asset value of each Underlying Fund.^[7] Applicants also state that the proposed transactions will be consistent with the policies of each Fund of Funds and Underlying Fund, and with the general purposes of the Act.

Other Investments by Same Group Fund of Funds

1. Section 12(d)(1)(G) of the Act provides that section 12(d)(1) will not apply to securities of an acquired company purchased by an acquiring company if: (i) The acquiring company and acquired company are part of the same group of investment companies; (ii) the acquiring company holds only securities of acquired companies that are part of the same group of investment companies, government securities, and short-term paper; (iii) the aggregate sales loads and distribution-related fees of the acquiring company and the acquired company are not excessive under rules adopted pursuant to section 22(b) or section 22(c) of the Act by a securities association registered under section 15A of the Exchange Act or by the Commission; and (iv) the acquired company has a policy that prohibits it from acquiring securities of registered open-end management investment companies or registered unit investment trusts in reliance on section 12(d)(1)(F) or (G) of the Act.

2. Rule 12d1-2 under the Act permits a registered open-end investment company or a registered unit investment trust that relies on section 12(d)(1)(G) of the Act to acquire, in addition to securities issued by another registered investment company in the same group of investment companies, government securities, and short-term paper: (1) Securities issued by an investment company that is not in the same group of investment companies, when the acquisition is in reliance on section 12(d)(1)(A) or 12(d)(1)(F) of the Act; (2) securities (other than securities issued by an investment company); and (3) securities issued by a money market fund, when the investment is in reliance on rule 12d1-1 under the Act. For the purposes of rule 12d1-2, “securities” means any security as defined in section 2(a)(36) of the Act.

3. Applicants state that the proposed arrangement would comply with the provisions of rule 12d1-2 under the Act, but for the fact that the Same Group Fund of Funds may invest a portion of their assets in Other Investments. Applicants request an order under section 6(c) of the Act for an exemption from rule 12d1-2(a) to allow the Same Group Fund of Funds to invest in Other Investments. Applicants assert that permitting the Same Group Fund of Funds to invest in Other Investments as described in the application would not raise any of the concerns that the requirements of section 12(d)(1) were designed to address.

Applicants' Conditions

A. Investments in Underlying Funds by Funds of Funds

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

1. The members of the Group will not control (individually or in the aggregate) an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act. The members of a Subadviser Group will not control (individually or in the aggregate) an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act. If, as a result of a decrease in the outstanding voting securities of an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund, the Group or the Subadviser Group, each in the aggregate, becomes a holder of more than 25% of the outstanding voting securities of the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund, then the Group or the Subadviser Group (except for any member of the Group or the Subadviser Group that is a Separate Account) will vote its shares of the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund's shares. This condition will not apply to the Subadviser Group with respect to the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund for which the Fund of Funds' Subadviser or a person controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Fund of Funds' Subadviser acts as the investment adviser within the meaning section 2(a)(20)(A) of the Act (in the case of an Unaffiliated Fund) or as the sponsor (in the case of an Unaffiliated Trust). A Registered Separate Account will seek voting instructions from its contract holders and will vote its shares of an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund in accordance with the instructions received and will vote those shares for which no instructions were received in the same proportion as the shares for which instructions were received. An Unregistered Separate Account will either (a) vote its shares of the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund in the same proportion as the vote of all other holders of the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund's shares; or (b) seek voting instructions from its contract holders and vote its shares in accordance with the instructions received and vote those shares for which no instructions were received in the same proportion as the shares for which instructions were received.

2. No Fund of Funds or Fund of Funds Affiliate will cause any existing or potential investment by the Fund of Funds in shares of an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund to influence the terms of any services or transactions between the Fund of Funds or a Fund of Funds Affiliate and the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund or an Unaffiliated Fund Affiliate.

3. The Board of each Fund of Funds, including a majority of the Independent Board Members, will adopt procedures reasonably designed to assure that the Funds of Funds' Adviser and any Fund of Funds' Subadviser are conducting the investment program of the Fund of Funds without taking into account any consideration received by the Fund of Funds or a Fund of Funds Affiliate from an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund or an Unaffiliated Fund Affiliate in connection with any services or transactions.

4. Once an investment by a Fund of Funds in the securities of an Unaffiliated Fund exceeds the limit of section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, the Board of the Unaffiliated Fund, including a majority of the Independent Board Members, will determine that any consideration paid by the Unaffiliated Fund to a Fund of Funds or a Fund of Funds Affiliate in connection with any services or transactions: (a) Is fair and reasonable in relation to the nature and quality of the services and benefits received by the Unaffiliated Fund; (b) is within the range of consideration that the Unaffiliated Fund would be required to pay to another unaffiliated entity in connection with the same services or transactions; and (c) does not involve overreaching on the part of any person concerned. This condition does not apply with respect to any services or transactions between an Unaffiliated Fund and its investment adviser(s), or any person controlling, controlled by, or under common control with such investment adviser(s).

5. No Fund of Funds or Fund of Funds Affiliate (except to the extent it is acting in its capacity as an investment adviser to an Unaffiliated Fund or sponsor to an Unaffiliated Trust) will cause an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund to purchase a security in an Affiliated Underwriting.

6. The Board of an Unaffiliated Fund, including a majority of the Independent Board Members, will adopt procedures reasonably designed to monitor any purchases of securities by the Unaffiliated Fund in an Affiliated Underwriting, once an investment by a Fund of Funds in the securities of the Unaffiliated Fund exceeds the limit of section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, including any purchases made directly from an Underwriting Affiliate. The Board of the Unaffiliated Fund will review these purchases periodically, but no less frequently than annually, to determine whether the purchases were influenced by the investment by the Fund of Funds in shares of the Unaffiliated Fund. The Board of the Unaffiliated Fund will consider, among other things: (a) Whether the purchases were consistent with the investment objectives and policies of the Unaffiliated Fund; (b) how the performance of securities purchased in an Affiliated Underwriting compares to the performance of comparable securities purchased during a comparable period of time in underwritings other than Affiliated Underwritings or to a benchmark such as a comparable market index; and (c) whether the amount of securities purchased by the Unaffiliated Fund in Affiliated Underwritings and the amount purchased directly from an Underwriting Affiliate have changed significantly from prior years. The Board of the Unaffiliated Fund will take any appropriate actions based on its review, including, if appropriate, the institution of procedures designed to assure that purchases of securities in Affiliated Underwritings are in the best interests of shareholders.

7. Each Unaffiliated Fund will maintain and preserve permanently in an easily accessible place a written copy of the procedures described in the preceding condition, and any modifications to such procedures, and will maintain and preserve for a period of not less than six years from the end of the fiscal year in which any purchase in an Affiliated Underwriting occurred, the first two years in an easily accessible place, a written record of each purchase of securities in an Affiliated Underwriting once an investment by a Fund of Funds in the securities of an Unaffiliated Fund exceeds the limit of section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, setting forth from whom the securities were acquired, the identity of the underwriting syndicate's members, the terms of the purchase, and the information or materials upon which the determinations of the Unaffiliated Fund's Board were made.

8. Prior to an investment in shares of an Unaffiliated Fund in excess of the limit in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act, the Fund of Funds and the Unaffiliated Fund will execute a Participation Agreement stating, without limitation, that their boards of directors or trustees and their investment advisers understand the terms and conditions of the order and agree to fulfill their responsibilities under the order. At the time of its investment in shares of an Unaffiliated Fund in excess of the limit in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i), a Fund of Funds will notify the Unaffiliated Fund of the investment. At such time, the Fund of Funds also will transmit to the Unaffiliated Fund a list of the names of each Fund of Funds Affiliate and Underwriting Affiliate. The Fund of Funds will notify the Unaffiliated Fund of any changes to the list as soon as reasonably practicable after a change occurs. The Unaffiliated Fund and the Fund of Funds will maintain and preserve a copy of the order, the Participation Agreement, and the list with any updated information for the duration of the investment and for a period of not less than six years thereafter, the first two years in an easily accessible place.

9. Prior to reliance on the requested order and subsequently in connection with the approval of any investment advisory contract under section 15 of the Act, the Board of each Fund of Funds, including a majority of the Independent Board Members, will find that the advisory fees charged under the advisory contract are based on services provided that are in addition to, rather than duplicative of, the services provided under the advisory contract(s) of any Underlying Fund in which the Fund of Funds may invest. This finding, and the basis upon which the finding was made, will be recorded fully in the minute books of the appropriate Fund of Funds.

10. The Funds of Funds' Adviser will waive fees otherwise payable to it by the Fund of Funds in an amount at least equal to any compensation (including fees received pursuant to a plan adopted by an Unaffiliated Fund pursuant to rule 12b-1 under the Act) received by the Fund of Funds' Adviser or an affiliated person of the Fund of Funds' Adviser from an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund, other than any advisory fees paid to the Fund of Funds' Adviser or its affiliated person by the Unaffiliated Fund, in connection with the investment by the Fund of Funds in the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund. Any Fund of Funds' Subadviser will waive fees otherwise payable to the Fund of Funds' Subadviser, directly or indirectly, by the Fund of Funds in an amount at least equal to any compensation received from an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund by the Fund of Funds' Subadviser, or an affiliated person of the Fund of Funds' Subadviser, other than any advisory fees paid to the Fund of Funds' Subadviser or its affiliated person by an Unaffiliated Fund, in connection with the investment by the Fund of Funds in the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund made at the direction of the Fund of Funds' Subadviser. In the event that the Fund of Funds' Subadviser waives fees, the benefit of the waiver will be passed through to the Fund of Funds.

11. With respect to Registered Separate Accounts that invest in a Fund of Funds, no sales load will be charged at the Fund of Funds level or at the Underlying Fund level. Other sales charges and service fees, as defined in NASD Conduct Rule 2830, if any, will only be charged at the Fund of Funds level or at the Underlying Fund level, not both. With respect to other investments in a Fund of Funds, any sales charges and/or service fees charged with respect to shares of a Fund of Funds will not exceed the limits applicable to funds of funds set forth in NASD Conduct Rule 2830.

12. No Underlying Fund will acquire securities of any other investment company or company relying on section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act in excess of the limits contained in section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act, except to the extent that such Underlying Fund: (a) Acquires such securities in compliance with section 12(d)(1)(E) of the Act; (b) receives securities of another investment company as a dividend or as a result of a plan of reorganization of a company (other than a plan devised for the purpose of evading section 12(d)(1) of the Act); or (c) acquires (or is deemed to have acquired) securities of another investment company pursuant to exemptive relief from the Commission permitting such Underlying Fund to: (i) acquire securities of one or more investment companies for short-term cash management purposes, or (ii) engage in interfund borrowing and lending transactions.

B. Other Investments by Same Group Fund of Funds

Applicants agree that the relief to permit the Same Group Fund of Funds to invest in Other Investments shall be subject to the following condition:

13. Applicants will comply with all provisions of rule 12d1-2 under the Act, except for paragraph (a)(2), to the extent that it restricts any Same Group Fund of Funds from investing in Other Investments as described in the application.

For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, pursuant to delegated authority.

Florence E. Harmon,

Deputy Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  Applicants request that the order extend to any future series of the Trusts and any other existing or future registered open-end management investment company and any series thereof that is part of the same “group of investment companies,” as defined in section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act, as the Trusts and that is, or may in the future be advised by the Adviser or any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser (included in the term “Funds.”). All existing entities that currently intend to rely on the requested order are named as applicants. Any other entity that relies on the order in the future will do so only in accordance with the terms and conditions of the application.

2.  A Fund of Funds may not invest in an Underlying Fund that operates as a feeder fund unless the feeder fund is part of the same group of investment companies (as defined in section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii)) of the Act as its corresponding master fund.

3.  Certain of the Unaffiliated Underlying Funds may be registered under the Act as either UITs or open-end management investment companies and have obtained exemptions from the Commission necessary to permit their shares to be listed and traded on a national securities exchange at negotiated prices (each, an “ETF”).

4.  An Unaffiliated Fund, including an ETF, would retain its right to reject any initial investment by a Fund of Funds in excess of the limit in section 12(d)(1)(A)(i) of the Act by declining to execute the Participation Agreement with the Funds.

5.  Any reference to NASD Conduct Rule 2830 includes any successor or replacement rule to NASD Conduct Rule 2830 that may be adopted by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

6.  Applicants acknowledge that receipt of any compensation by (a) an affiliated person of a Funds of Funds, or an affiliated person of such person, for the purchase by the Fund of Funds of shares of an Underlying Fund or (b) an affiliated person of an Underlying Fund, or an affiliated person of such person, for the sale by the Underlying Fund of its shares to a Fund of Funds may be prohibited by section 17(e)(1) of the Act. The Participation Agreement also will include this acknowledgement.

7.  Applicants note that a Fund of Funds generally would purchase and sell shares of an Unaffiliated Underlying Fund that operates as an ETF through secondary market transactions at market prices rather than through principal transactions with the Unaffiliated Underlying Fund at net asset value. To the extent that a Fund of Funds purchases or redeems shares from an ETF that is an affiliated person, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person of the Fund of Funds, in exchange for a basket of specified securities as described in the application for the exemptive order upon which the ETF relies, applicants also request relief from section 17(a) for those transactions.