[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 180 (Wednesday, September 17, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54507-54508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-23797]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Sunshine Act Meetings

Federal Register Citation of Previous Announcement: 68 FR 53618, 
September 11, 2003.

Status: Open Meeting.

Place: 450 Fifth Street, NW., Room 6600, Washington, DC.

Date and Time of Previously Announced Meeting: Wednesday, September 17, 
2003.

Change in the Meeting: Rescheduled Item.

Agenda for the Week of: September 22, 2003.
    The following item previously scheduled for the Open Meeting on 
September 17, 2003 has been rescheduled and will be considered at the 
Open Meeting of Wednesday, September 24, 2003 at 10 a.m., in Room 1C30, 
the William O. Douglas Room: Proposal for public comment of new rules 
12d1-1, 12d1-2, and 12d1-3 under the Investment Company Act of 1940.
    Notice is hereby given, pursuant to the provisions of the 
Government in the Sunshine Act, Pub. L. 94-409, that the Securities and 
Exchange Commission

[[Page 54508]]

will hold the following meetings during the week of September 22, 2003: 
Closed Meetings will be held on Tuesday, September 23, 2003 at 2 p.m., 
Wednesday, September 24, 2003 at 11 a.m., and Thursday, September 25, 
2003 at 10 a.m., and an Open Meeting will be held on Wednesday, 
September 24, 2003 at 10 a.m., in Room 1C30, the William O. Douglas 
Room.
    Commissioners, Counsel to the Commissioners, the Secretary to the 
Commission, and recording secretaries will attend the Closed Meetings. 
Certain staff members who have an interest in the matters may also be 
present.
    The General Counsel of the Commission, or his designee, has 
certified that, in his opinion, one or more of the exemptions set forth 
in 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) (3), (5), (7), (9)(B) and (10) and 17 CFR 
200.402(a) (3), (5), (7), (9)(ii) and (10), permit consideration of the 
scheduled matters at the Closed Meetings.
    The subject matter of the Closed Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, 
September 23, 2003 will be:
    Institution and settlement of administrative proceedings of an 
enforcement nature;
    Institution and settlement of injunctive actions; and
    Formal orders of investigation.
    The subject matter of the Open Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 
September 24, 2003 will be:
    Item 1: The Commission will consider whether to propose for public 
comment new rules 12d1-1, 12d1-2, and 12d1-3 under the Investment 
Company Act of 1940. The recommended rules would broaden the ability of 
an investment company (``fund'') to acquire shares of another fund 
consistent with the protection of investors and the purposes of the 
Act. The Commission also will consider a recommendation to amend forms 
N-1A, N-2, N-3, N-4, and N-6, which are used by investment companies to 
register under the Investment Company Act and to offer their shares 
under the Securities Act of 1933. The recommended amendments would 
improve the transparency of the expenses of funds that invest in other 
funds by requiring that the expenses of the acquired funds be 
aggregated and shown as an additional expense in the fee table of the 
acquiring funds.
    For further information, please contact Penelope Saltzman at (202) 
942-0690.
    Item 2: The Commission will consider whether to adopt amendments to 
Rules 134, 156, and 482 under the Securities Act of 1933; Rule 34b-1 
under the Investment Company Act of 1940; and four investment company 
registrations forms (Forms N-1A, N-3, N-4, and N-6). The amendments 
would require enhanced disclosure in mutual fund advertisements and are 
designed to encourage advertisements that convey balanced information 
to prospective investors, particularly with respect to past 
performance. The amendments also would implement a provision of the 
National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996 by eliminating the 
requirement that Rule 482 advertisements for an investment company 
contain only information the substance of which is included in the 
investment company's statutory prospectus.
    For further information, please contact Christopher P. Kaiser at 
(202) 942-0721.
    Item 3: The Commission will hear oral argument on an appeal by the 
Rockies Fund, Inc. (the ``Fund''), a closed end investment company, 
Stephen G. Calandrella, president and director of the Fund, Charles M. 
Powell and Clifford C. Thygesen, independent directors of the Fund, and 
John C. Power, from the decision of an administrative law judge.
    The law judge found that:
    a. Calandrella and Power violated Section 10(b) of the Securities 
Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 10b-5 thereunder by manipulating the 
price of securities;
    b. The Fund, Calandrella, Powell, and Thygesen violated Exchange 
Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 by making untrue statements of 
material facts in the Fund's annual and quarterly reports by 
misclassifying restricted shares and overvaluing such shares, and that 
the Fund and Calandrella violated those provisions by overstating the 
number of shares in the Fund's portfolio;
    c. The Fund violated, and Calandrella, Powell, and Thygesen, aided 
and abetted the Fund's violations, of Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act 
and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, and 13a-13 by filing reports that made untrue 
statements of material facts and that did not comply with GAAP and 
Regulation S-X.
    d. Calandrella violated Section 57(k)(1) of the Investment Company 
Act of 1940 by causing the Fund to purchase stock to settle a legal 
claim threatened against Calandrella personally, and Calandrella 
violated Exchange Act Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 by failing to 
disclose this settlement to the independent board members of the Fund.
    The law judge ordered all of the respondents to cease and desist 
from committing or causing any further violations of the provisions 
that they were found to have violated. The law judge further ordered 
Calandrella to pay a civil money penalty of $500,000 and Thygesen and 
Powell each to pay a civil money penalty of $160,000. The law judge 
permanently barred Calandrella and, for a period of three years, barred 
Thygesen and Powell, from associating with or acting as an affiliated 
person of an investment company.
    Among the issues likely to be argued are:
    a. Whether the evidence supports the allegations; and
    b. Whether and to what extent sanctions should be imposed in the 
public interest.
    For further information, please contact the Office of the Secretary 
at (202) 942-7070.
    The subject matter of the Closed Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, 
September 24, 2003 will be: Post-argument discussion.
    The subject matter of the Closed Meeting scheduled for Thursday, 
September 25, 2003 will be:
    Institution and settlement of administrative proceedings of an 
enforcement nature;
    Institution and settlement of injunctive actions;
    Adjudication matter; and
    Formal orders of investigation.
    At times, changes in Commission priorities require alterations in 
the scheduling of meeting items. For further information and to 
ascertain what, if any, matters have been added, deleted or postponed, 
please contact: The Office of the Secretary at (202) 942-7070.

    Dated: September 12, 2003.
Jonathan G. Katz,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 03-23797 Filed 9-12-03; 4:54 pm]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P