Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Act”) and Rule 19b-4 thereunder, notice is hereby given that, on January 4, 2013, NYSE Arca, Inc. (the “Exchange” or “NYSE Arca”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
15 U.S.C. 78a.
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”): Newfleet Multi-Sector Income ETF. The text of the proposed rule change is available on the Exchange's Web site at www.nyse.com,, at the principal office of the Exchange, and at 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 the Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to list and trade the shares (“Shares”) of the Newfleet Multi-Sector Income ETF (the “Fund”) under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600, which governs the listing and trading of Managed Fund Shares. The Shares will be offered by AdvisorSharesTrust (the “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.
The Commission has previously approved the listing and trading on the Exchange of other 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); 60981 (November 10, 2009), 74 FR 59594 (November 18, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-79) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of five fixed income funds of the PIMCO ETF Trust); 66321 (February 3, 2012) 77 FR 6850 (February 9, 2012) (SR-NYSEArca-2011-95) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of PIMCO Total Return ETF); 66670 (March 28, 2012) 77 FR 20087 (April 3, 2012) (SR-NYSEArca-2012-09) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of PIMCO Global Advantage Inflation-Linked Bond Strategy Fund).
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.
The Trust is registered under the 1940 Act. On June 25, 2012, the Trust filed with the Commission an amendment to its registration statement on Form N-1A under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a) and 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”).
The investment manager to the Fund will be AdvisorShares Investments LLC (the “Adviser”). Newfleet Asset Management, LLC will serve as sub-adviser to the Fund (“Sub-Adviser”). Foreside Fund Services, LLC will serve as the distributor for the Fund (“Distributor”). The Bank of New York Mellon will serve as the custodian and transfer agent for the Fund (“Custodian”, “Transfer Agent” or “Administrator”).
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 will 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. 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 nonpublic information regarding the open-end fund's portfolio. The Sub-Adviser is affiliated with a broker-dealer and has implemented 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 the portfolio. The Adviser is not affiliated with a broker-dealer. In the event (a) the Adviser or the Sub-Adviser becomes newly affiliated with a broker-dealer, or (b) any new adviser or sub-adviser becomes affiliated with a broker-dealer, they 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.
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 and 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.
Description of the Fund
Principal Investments
The Fund will, under normal market conditions, invest at least eighty percent (80%) in investment-grade fixed income securities, which are fixed income securities with credit ratings within the four highest rating categories of a nationally recognized statistical rating organization. The Fund may invest in unrated securities to a limited extent if such security is determined by the Sub-Adviser to be of comparable quality. The average duration of the Fund's fixed income investments will range from one to three years.
The term “under normal market conditions” includes, but is not limited to, the absence of extreme volatility or trading halts in the 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.
In determining whether a security is of “comparable quality”, the Sub-Adviser will consider, for example, whether the issuer of the security has issued other rated securities; whether the obligations under the security are guaranteed by another entity and the rating of such guarantor (if any); whether and (if applicable) how the security is collateralized; other forms of credit enhancement (if any); the security's maturity date; liquidity features (if any); relevant cash flow(s); valuation features; other structural analysis; macroeconomic analysis and sector or industry analysis.
According to the Registration Statement, the Fund's investment objective is to provide a competitive level of current income, consistent with preservation of capital, while limiting fluctuations in net asset value (“NAV”) due to changes in interest rates. The Fund seeks to apply extensive credit research and a time tested approach to capitalize on opportunities across undervalued areas of the bond markets.
The Sub-Adviser will seek to provide diversification by allocating the Fund's investments among various sectors of the fixed income markets including investment grade debt securities issued primarily by U.S. issuers and secondarily by non-U.S. issuers, as follows:
- Securities issued or guaranteed as to principal and interest by the U.S. government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities, including collateralized mortgage obligations (“CMOs”), real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”) and other pass-through securities;
- Non-agency commercial mortgage-backed securities (“CMBS”), agency and “non-agency” residential mortgage-backed securities (“RMBS”) and other asset backed securities;
- Taxable municipal bonds, tax-exempt municipal bonds; and
- Debt securities issued by foreign governments and their political subdivisions.
The Fund represents that the portfolio will include a minimum of 13 non-affiliated issuers of fixed income securities. The Fund will only purchase performing securities, not distressed debt. Distressed debt is debt that is currently in default and is not expected to pay the current coupon.
In seeking to achieve the Fund's investment objective, the Sub-Adviser will employ active sector rotation and disciplined risk management in the construction of the Fund's portfolio. The Fund's investable assets will be allocated among various sectors of the fixed income market using a “top-down” relative value approach that looks at factors such as yield and spreads, supply and demand, investment environment, and sector fundamentals. The Sub-Adviser will select particular investments using a bottom-up, fundamental research driven analysis that includes assessment of credit risk, company management, issuer capital structure, technical market conditions, and valuations. The Sub-Adviser will select securities it believes offer the best potential to achieve the Fund's investment objective of providing a high level of total return, including a competitive level of current income, while preserving capital.
A “top-down” portfolio management style utilizes a tactical and globally diversified allocation strategy in an attempt to reduce risk and increase overall performance. This management style begins with a look at the overall economic picture and current market conditions and then narrows its focus down to sectors, industries or countries and ultimately to individual companies. The final step is a fundamental analysis of each individual security and to a lesser extent technical analysis.
Other Investments
As disclosed in the Registration Statement, while the Fund will invest at least eighty percent (80%) in investment-grade fixed income securities, the Fund may invest 100% of its total assets, without limitation, in short term high-quality debt securities and money market instruments either directly or through exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) in the absence of normal market conditions. The Fund may be invested in this manner for extended periods depending on the Sub-Adviser's assessment of market conditions. These short-term debt instruments and money market instruments include shares of other mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, U.S. government securities, repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements and bonds that are rated BBB or higher.
The ETFs in which the Fund may invest will be registered under the 1940 Act and include Investment Company Units (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(3)); Portfolio Depositary Receipts (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.100); Managed Fund Shares (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600); and closed-end funds. Such ETFs all will be listed and traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges. While the Fund may invest in inverse ETFs, the Fund will not invest in leveraged or inverse leveraged ETFs (e.g., 2X or 3X).
The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with financial institutions, which may be deemed to be loans. The Fund follows certain procedures designed to minimize the risks inherent in such agreements. These procedures include effecting repurchase transactions only with large, well-capitalized and well-established financial institutions whose condition will be continually monitored by the Sub-Adviser. 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. In the event of a default or bankruptcy by a selling financial institution, the Fund will seek to liquidate such collateral. 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 may invest up to 20% of its total assets in fixed-income securities that are rated below investment grade at the time of purchase. Such securities include corporate high yield debt securities, emerging market high yield debt securities, and bank loans. In addition, such securities may include non-investment grade CMBS, RMBS, or other asset-backed securities, or debt securities issued by foreign issuers. If certain of the Fund's holdings experience a decline in their credit quality and fall below investment grade, the Fund may continue to hold the securities and they will not count toward the Fund's 20% investment limit; however, the Fund will make reasonable investment decisions relating to the Fund's holdings aligned with its investment objective with respect to such securities. Generally, the Fund will limit its investments in corporate high yield debt securities to 10% of its assets and will limit its investments in non-U.S. issuers to 30% of its assets. The Sub-Adviser will regularly review the Fund's portfolio construction, endeavoring to minimize risk exposure by closely monitoring portfolio characteristics such as sector concentration and portfolio duration and by investing no more than 5% of the Fund's total assets in securities of any single issuer (excluding the U.S. government, its agencies, authorities or instrumentalities).
The Fund may invest in equity securities. Equity securities represent ownership interests in a company or partnership and consist not only of common stocks, which are one of the Fund's primary types of investments, but also preferred stocks, warrants to acquire common stock, securities convertible into common stock, and investments in master limited partnerships. The Fund will purchase such equity securities traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges. Additionally, the Fund may invest in the equity securities of foreign issuers, including the securities of foreign issuers in emerging countries. With respect to its equity securities investments, the Fund will invest only in equity securities (including Equity Financial Instruments) that trade in markets that are members of the Intermarket Surveillance Group (“ISG”) or are parties to a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement with the Exchange.
As disclosed in the Registration Statement, the Fund may invest in issuers located outside the United States directly, or in financial instruments that are indirectly linked to the performance of foreign issuers. Examples of such financial instruments include American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”), “ordinary shares,” and “New York shares” (each of which is issued and traded in the U.S.); and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”), European Depository Receipts (“EDRs”) and International Depository Receipts (“IDRs”), which are traded on foreign exchanges (all of the foregoing financial instruments collectively defined as “Equity Financial Instruments”). ADRs are U.S. dollar denominated receipts typically issued by U.S. banks and trust companies that evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign issuer. The underlying securities may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the securities into which they may be converted. The underlying securities are held in trust by a custodian bank or similar financial institution in the issuer's home country. The depositary bank may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. Generally, ADRs in registered form are designed for use in domestic securities markets. GDRs, EDRs, and IDRs are similar to ADRs in that they are certificates evidencing ownership of shares of a foreign issuer, however, GDRs, EDRs, and IDRs may be issued in bearer form and denominated in other currencies, and are generally designed for use in specific or multiple securities markets outside the U.S. EDRs, for example, are designed for use in European securities markets while GDRs are designed for use throughout the world. Ordinary shares are shares of foreign issuers that are traded abroad and on a U.S. exchange. New York shares are shares that a foreign issuer has allocated for trading in the U.S. ADRs, ordinary shares, and New York shares all may be purchased with and sold for U.S. dollars, which protects the Fund from foreign settlement risks.
See note 35, infra.
The Fund may invest in exchange-traded notes (“ETNs”).
ETNs, also called index-linked securities as would be listed, for example, under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(6), are senior, unsecured unsubordinated debt securities issued by an underwriting bank that are designed to provide returns that are linked to a particular benchmark less investor fees.
The Fund may invest in, to the extent permitted by Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder, other affiliated and unaffiliated funds, such as open-end or closed-end management investment companies, including other ETFs; provided that the Fund, immediately after such purchase or acquisition, does not own in the aggregate: (i) More than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of the acquired company; (ii) securities issued by the acquired company having an aggregate value in excess of 5% of the value of the total assets of the Fund; or (iii) securities issued by the acquired company and all other investment companies (other than Treasury stock of the Fund) having an aggregate value in excess of 10% of the value of the total assets of the Fund.
As disclosed in the Registration Statement, investment companies may include index-based investments, such as ETFs that hold substantially all of their assets in securities representing a specific index.
According to the Registration Statement, the Fund also may invest in the securities of other investment companies if the Fund is part of a “master-feeder” structure or operates as a fund of funds in compliance with Section 12(d)(1)(E), (F) and (G) of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder. Section 12(d)(1) prohibits another investment company from selling its shares to the Fund if, after the sale: (i) The Fund owns more than 3% of the other investment company's voting stock or (ii) the Fund and other investment companies, and companies controlled by them, own more than 10% of the voting stock of such other investment company. The Trust has entered into agreements with several unaffiliated ETFs that permit, pursuant to a Commission order, the Fund to purchase shares of those ETFs beyond the Section 12(d)(1) limits described above. The Fund will only make such investments in conformity with the requirements of Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). According to the Registration Statement, the Fund will seek to qualify for treatment as a Regulated Investment Company (“RIC”) under the Code.
15 U.S.C. 80a-12(d)(1)(E),(F) and (G).
The Fund may invest in the exchange traded securities of pooled vehicles that are not investment companies and, thus, not required to comply with the provisions of the 1940 Act. Such pooled vehicles would be required to comply with the provisions of other federal securities laws, such as the Securities Act of 1933. These pooled vehicles typically hold commodities, such as gold or oil, currency, or other property that is itself not a security.
The Fund may invest in shares of exchange-traded real estate investment trusts (“REITs”).
The Fund may hold up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities (calculated at the time of investment), including Rule 144A securities and loan participation interests (e.g. bank loans). 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. Illiquid securities 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.
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), footnote 34. See also, Investment Company Act Release No. 5847 (October 21, 1969), 35 FR 19989 (December 31, 1970) (Statement Regarding “Restricted Securities”); 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); 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 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.
The diversification standard is set forth in Section 5(b)(1) of the 1940 Act (15 U.S.C. 80a-5).
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 in any investment company that so concentrates.
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).
The Fund will not invest in options contracts, futures contracts or swap agreements.
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, 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. The Fund's investments will be consistent with the Fund's investment objective and will not be used to enhance leverage.
17 CFR 240.10A-3.
The term “Disclosed Portfolio” is defined in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(c)(2).
Creations and Redemptions of Shares
According to the Registration Statement, Shares of the Fund will be “created” at their NAV by authorized participants only in block-size aggregations of at least 50,000 Shares (“Creation Units”). The consideration for purchase of a Creation Unit of the Fund will generally consist of an in-kind deposit of a designated portfolio of securities (“Deposit Securities”) per each Creation Unit constituting a substantial replication, or a representation, of the securities included in the Fund's portfolio and an amount of cash (the “Cash Component”). Together, the Deposit Securities and the Cash Component will constitute the “Fund Deposit,” which will represent the minimum initial and subsequent investment amount for a Creation Unit of the Fund. The Cash Component will be an amount equal to the difference between the NAV of the Shares (per Creation Unit) and the market value of the Deposit Securities. If the Cash Component is a positive number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit exceeds the market value of the Deposit Securities), the Cash Component will be such positive amount. If the Cash Component is a negative number (i.e., the NAV per Creation Unit is less than the market value of the Deposit Securities), the Cash Component will be such negative amount and the creator will be entitled to receive cash from the Fund in an amount equal to the Cash Component. The Cash Component will serve the function of compensating for any differences between the NAV per Creation Unit and the market value of the Deposit Securities.
The Fund will calculate NAV by: (i) Taking the current market value of its total assets; (ii) subtracting any liabilities; and (iii) dividing that amount by the total number of Shares owned by shareholders. NAV will be calculated once each business day as of the regularly scheduled close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange, LLC (“NYSE”) (normally, 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). For more information regarding the valuation of Fund investments in calculating the Fund's NAV, see the Registration Statement.
The Administrator, through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”) will make available on each business day, immediately prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time), the list of the names and the required amount of Deposit Securities to be included in the current Fund Deposit (based on information at the end of the previous business day) for the Fund. Such Fund Deposit will be applicable, subject to any adjustments as described above, in order to effect creations of Creation Units of the Fund until such time as the next-announced composition of the Deposit Securities is made available.
According to the Registration statement, the identity and amount of Deposit Securities required for a Fund Deposit for the Fund will change as rebalancing adjustments and corporate action events are reflected from time to time by the Sub-Adviser with a view to the investment objective of the Fund. In addition, 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 which may not be available in sufficient quantity for delivery or which may not be eligible for transfer, or which may not be eligible for trading. In addition to the list of names and numbers of securities constituting the current Deposit Securities of a Fund Deposit, the Administrator, through the NSCC, will also make available on each business day, the estimated Cash Component, effective through and including the previous business day, per outstanding Creation Unit of the Fund.
Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by the Distributor and the Fund through the Administrator and only on a business day. The Trust will not redeem Shares in amounts less than Creation Units. Unless cash redemptions are available or specified for the Fund, the redemption proceeds for a Creation Unit generally consist of “Fund Securities”—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 the Fund Securities (the “Cash Redemption Amount”), less a redemption transaction fee. In the event that the Fund Securities have a value greater than the NAV of the Shares, a compensating cash payment equal to the differential is required to be made by or through an authorized participant by the redeeming shareholder.
The Administrator, through the NSCC, will make available immediately prior to the opening of business on the Exchange (currently 9:30 a.m., Eastern time) on each business day, the Fund Securities that will be applicable (subject to possible amendment or correction) to redemption requests received in proper form on that day. Fund Securities received on redemption may not be identical to Deposit Securities which are applicable to creations of Creation Units.
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.
Availability of Information
The Trust's Web site ( www.Advisorshares.com ), which will be publicly available, will include a form of the prospectus for the Fund that may be downloaded. The Trust'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 (the “Bid/Ask Price”), 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” (9:30 a.m. Eastern time to 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) on the Exchange, the Fund will disclose on the Trust's 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.
The Bid/Ask Price of the Fund will be 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.
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.
On a daily basis, the Fund will disclose for each portfolio security and other financial instrument of the Fund the following information: ticker symbol (if applicable), name of security and financial instrument, number of shares or dollar value of securities and financial instruments held in the portfolio, and percentage weighting of the security and financial instrument in the portfolio. The Web site information will be publicly available at no charge. In addition, price information for the debt and other securities and investments held by the Fund will be available through major market data vendors or on the exchanges on which they are traded.
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. 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. 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.
Currently, it is the Exchange's understanding that several major market data vendors display and/or make widely available Portfolio Indicative Values taken from the CTA or other data feeds.
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. 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.
See NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.12, Commentary .04.
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 4:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time 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 represents that trading in the Shares will be subject to the existing trading surveillances, administered by 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. 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 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. The Exchange will communicate as needed regarding trading in the Shares with other markets that are members of the Intermarket Surveillance Group (“ISG”) or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.
For a list of the current members of ISG, see http://www.isgportal.org. The Exchange notes that not all components of the Fund's portfolio may trade on markets that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.
As stated earlier, the Fund will invest only in equity securities and Equity Financial Instruments that trade in markets that are members of the ISG or are parties to a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement with the Exchange.
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 Commission from any rules under the Exchange Act. The Bulletin will also disclose that the NAV for the Shares will be calculated after 4:00 p.m. Eastern time 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) 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. The Fund will, under normal market conditions, principally invest in investment-grade securities, which are securities with credit ratings within the four highest rating categories of a nationally recognized statistical rating organization or, if unrated, those securities that the Sub-Adviser determines to be of comparable quality. The Sub-Adviser is affiliated with a broker-dealer and has implemented 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 the portfolio. The Adviser is not affiliated with a broker-dealer. In the event (a) the Adviser becomes newly affiliated with a broker-dealer, or (b) any new adviser or sub-adviser becomes affiliated with a broker-dealer, they 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 the portfolio. Price information for the debt and other securities and investments held by the Fund will be available through major market data vendors or on the exchanges on which they are traded. The Fund's investments will be consistent with the Fund's investment objective and will not be used to enhance leverage. The Fund may invest up to 20% of its total assets in fixed-income securities that are rated below investment grade at the time of purchase. Generally, the Fund will limit its investments in corporate high yield debt securities to 10% of its assets and will limit its investments in non-U.S. issuers to 30% of its assets. The Fund may hold up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities (calculated at the time of investment), including Rule 144A securities and loan participation interests (e.g. bank loans). 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. With respect to its equity securities investments, the Fund will invest only in equity securities (including Equity Financial Instruments) that trade in markets that are members of the ISG or are parties to a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement with the Exchange. The Fund will not invest in options contracts, futures contracts or swap agreements.
See note 9, supra.
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. Moreover, the Portfolio Indicative Value will be widely disseminated by one or more major market data vendors at least every 15 seconds during the Exchange's Core Trading Session. On each business day, before commencement of trading in Shares in the Core Trading Session on the Exchange, the Fund will disclose on the Trust's Web site the Disclosed Portfolio that will form the basis for the Fund's calculation of NAV at the end of the business day. The Trust's Web site will include a form of the prospectus for the Fund and additional data relating to NAV and other applicable quantitative information. 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, and 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. The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change 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.
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
- Use the Commission's Internet comment form ( http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml ); or
- Send an email to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include File Number SR-NYSEArca-2013-01 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
- Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2013-01. 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 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-2013-01 and should be submitted on or before February 13, 2013.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.
Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2013-01222 Filed 1-22-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P