[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 12 (Wednesday, January 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3077-3078]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-175]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Release No. IC-26723; 812-13135]


Wachovia Corporation, et al.; Notice of Application and Temporary 
Order

January 12, 2005.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Temporary order and notice of application for a permanent order 
under section 9(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``Act'').

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Summary of Application: Applicants have received a temporary order 
exempting them from section 9(a) of the Act, with respect to an 
injunction entered against Wachovia Corporation (``Wachovia'') \1\ on 
or about November 12, 2004 by the United States District Court for the 
District of Columbia (the ``Injunction''), from January 12, 2005 until 
the Commission takes final action on an application for a permanent 
order. Applicants also have requested a permanent order.
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    \1\ Wachovia is the surviving entity of the merger between First 
Union Corporation and the company known as Wachovia Corporation 
(``Legacy Wachovia'') on September 1, 2001.

Applicants: Wachovia, Evergreen Investment Management Co, LLC 
(``EIMCO''), Evergreen Investment Services, Inc. (``EIS''), First 
International Advisors, LLC (d/b/a Evergreen International Advisors) 
(``FIA''), JL Kaplan Associates, LLC (``Kaplan''), SouthTrust 
Investment Advisors, A Division of SouthTrust Bank (``STIA''), and 
Tattersall Advisory Group, Inc. (``TAG'') (EIMCO, FIA, Kaplan, STIA and 
TAG are collectively referred to as the ``Advisers''), and Evergreen 
Investment Services, Inc. (``EIS'') (the ``Underwriter'' and, together 
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with the Advisers and Wachovia, the ``Applicants'').\2\

Filing Dates: The application was filed on November 5, 2004, and 
amended on January 5, 2005.
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    \2\ Applicants request that any relief granted pursuant to the 
application also apply to any other company of which Wachovia is or 
hereafter becomes an affiliated person in the future (included in 
the term ``Applicants'').

Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the application 
will be issued unless the Commission orders a hearing or further 
extends the temporary exemption. 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 February 7, 2005, 
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 
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Commission's Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC 
20549-0609. Applicants, c/o Mark C. Treanor, Esq., Wachovia 
Corporation, 301 South College Street, Suite 4000, One Wachovia Center, 
Charlotte, NC 28288-0013.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Janis F. Kerns, Senior Counsel, or 
Todd F. Kuehl, Branch Chief, at 202-942-0564 (Division of Investment 
Management, Office of Investment Company Regulation).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is a temporary order and a 
summary of the application. The complete application may be obtained 
for a fee at the Commission's Public Reference Branch, 450 Fifth 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549-0102 (telephone 202-942-8090).

Applicants' Representations

    1. Wachovia is a holding company that, through its subsidiaries and 
affiliates, provides banking, investment, financing, advisory, and 
related products and services on a global basis. Wachovia is the 
ultimate parent company of the Advisers and Underwriter. Each Adviser 
is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act 
of 1940 and serves as investment adviser or sub-adviser to certain 
registered investment companies (``Funds''). The Underwriter is a 
broker-dealer registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
(``Exchange Act'') that acts as a principal underwriter for certain 
Funds.
    2. On or about November 12, 2004, the United States District Court 
for the District of Columbia entered the Injunction against Wachovia in 
a matter brought by the Commission.\3\ The Commission alleged in its 
complaint (``Complaint'') that Legacy Wachovia and First Union 
Corporation (``First Union'') violated sections 13(a) and 14(a) of the 
Exchange Act and rules 12b-20, 13a-3 and 14a-9 thereunder.\4\ The 
alleged violations occurred in connection with material factual 
omissions in a joint proxy statement/prospectus and quarterly reports 
filed by Legacy Wachovia and First Union in May and June 2001 during 
the pendency of First Union's offer to purchase Legacy Wachovia. 
Without admitting or denying any of the allegations in the Complaint, 
except as to jurisdiction, Wachovia consented to the entry of the 
Injunction and the payment of a civil penalty.
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    \3\ Securities and Exchange Commission v. Wachovia Corporation, 
et al., Civil Action No. 04-1911 (D.D.C. filed Nov. 12, 2004).
    \4\ Securities and Exchange Commission v. Wachovia Corporation, 
et al., Civil Action No. 04-1910 (D.D.C. filed Nov. 4, 2004).
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Applicants' Legal Analysis

    1. Section 9(a)(2) of the Act, in relevant part, prohibits a person 
who has been enjoined from engaging in or continuing any conduct or 
practice in connection with the purchase or sale of a security from 
acting, among other things, as an investment adviser or depositor of 
any registered investment company or a principal underwriter for any 
registered open-end investment company, registered unit investment 
trust or registered face-amount certificate company. Section 9(a)(3) of 
the Act makes the prohibition in section 9(a)(2) applicable to a 
company, any affiliated person of which has been disqualified under the 
provisions of section 9(a)(2). Section 2(a)(3) of the Act defines 
``affiliated person'' to include any person directly or indirectly 
controlling, controlled by, or under common control with, the other 
person. Applicants state that Wachovia is an affiliated person of each 
of the other Applicants within the meaning of section 2(a)(3) of the 
Act. Applicants state that, as a result of the Injunction, they became 
subject to the prohibitions of Section 9(a).
    2. Section 9(c) of the Act provides that the Commission shall grant 
an application for exemption from the disqualification provisions of 
section 9(a) if it is established that these provisions, as applied to 
Applicants, are unduly or disproportionately severe or that Applicants' 
conduct has been such as not to make it against the public interest or 
the protection of investors to grant the application. Applicants have 
filed an application pursuant to section 9(c) seeking temporary and 
permanent orders exempting them from the disqualification provisions of 
section

[[Page 3078]]

9(a) of the Act with respect to the Injunction.
    On November 12, 2004, the Applicants received a temporary 
conditional order from the Commission exempting them from section 9(a) 
of the Act with respect to the Injunction until the Commission takes 
final action on an application for a permanent order or, if earlier, 
January 12, 2005 (``Existing Temporary Order'').\5\
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    \5\ Investment Company Act Release No. 26654 (Nov. 12, 2004).
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    3. Applicants believe they meet the standards for exemption 
specified in section 9(c). Applicants state that the prohibitions of 
section 9(a) as applied to them would be unduly and disproportionately 
severe and that the conduct of Applicants has been such as not to make 
it against the public interest or the protection of investors to grant 
the exemption from section 9(a).
    4. Applicants state that the conduct alleged in the Complaint did 
not involve any of the Applicants acting in the capacity of investment 
adviser, subadviser, depositor or principal underwriter for any Fund. 
Applicants state that none of the current or former officers, directors 
or employees of the Advisers or the Underwriter who are or were 
involved in providing investment advisory, subadvisory, or underwriting 
services to the Funds were involved in the conduct underlying the 
Injunction.
    5. Applicants state that the inability of the Advisers to continue 
providing advisory or subadvisory services to the Funds, and of the 
Underwriter from serving as principal underwriter to the Funds, would 
result in potentially severe hardships for the Funds and their 
shareholders. Applicants assert that section 9(a) disqualifications 
would deprive Fund shareholders of the services they selected in 
investing in the Funds, cause uncertainty by frustrating efforts to 
effectively manage Fund assets, and could increase the Funds' expense 
ratios to the detriment of the Funds' shareholders. The Advisers and 
Underwriter have distributed, or will distribute as soon as reasonably 
practical, written materials, including an offer to meet in person to 
discuss the materials, to the boards of directors or trustees of the 
Funds (the ``Boards''), including the directors or trustees who are not 
``interested persons,'' as defined in section 2(a)(19) of the Act, of 
such Funds and their independent legal counsel as defined in rule 0-
1(a)(6) under the Act, if any, regarding the Injunction, any impact on 
the Funds, and the application. Applicants will provide the Boards with 
all information concerning the Injunction and the application that is 
necessary for the Funds to fulfill their disclosure and other 
obligations under the federal securities laws.
    6. The Advisers and Underwriter also state that, if they were 
barred from providing services to the Funds, the effect on their 
businesses and employees would be severe. The Advisers and Underwriter 
state that they have committed substantial resources to establish an 
expertise in advising, subadvising, and distributing the Funds. The 
Advisers and Underwriter state that prohibiting them from providing 
advisory and distribution services to the Funds would adversely affect 
not only the viability of their businesses, but also the livelihoods of 
the hundreds of employees of the Advisers and Underwriter. Applicants 
state that they have not received any orders under section 9(c) of the 
Act in the past.

Applicants' Condition

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

    Any temporary exemption granted pursuant to the application 
shall be without prejudice to, and shall not limit the Commission's 
rights in any manner with respect to, any Commission investigation 
of, or administrative proceedings involving or against, Applicants, 
including without limitation, the consideration by the Commission of 
a permanent exemption from section 9(a) of the Act requested 
pursuant to the application, or the revocation or removal of any 
temporary exemptions granted in connection with the application.

Temporary Order

    The Commission has considered the matter and finds that Applicants 
have made the necessary showing to justify granting a temporary 
exemption.
    Accordingly,
    It is hereby ordered, pursuant to section 9(c) of the Act, that 
Applicants are granted a temporary exemption from the provisions of 
section 9(a) of the Act, solely with respect to the Injunction, subject 
to the condition in the application, from January 12, 2005 until the 
Commission takes final action on the application for a permanent order.

    By the Commission.
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E5-175 Filed 1-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P