[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 66 (Wednesday, April 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17798-17799]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7846]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 29198; File No. 812-13727]


Pioneer Bond Fund, et al.; Notice of Application

March 31, 2010.
AGENCY:  Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION:  Notice of an application under section 6(c) of the Investment 
Company Act of 1940 (``Act'') for an exemption from rule 12d1-2(a) 
under the Act.

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Summary of Application:  Applicants request an order to permit 
registered open-end investment companies relying on rule 12d1-2 under 
the Act to invest in certain financial instruments.

Applicants: Pioneer Bond Fund, Pioneer High Yield Fund, Pioneer 
Ibbotson Asset Allocation Series, Pioneer Series Trust VI, Pioneer 
Series Trust VII, Pioneer Short Term Income Fund, Pioneer Strategic 
Income Fund, Pioneer Variable Contracts Trust (together, the 
``Trusts'') and Pioneer Investment Management, Inc. (the ``Adviser'').

Filing Dates: The application was filed on December 10, 2009 and 
amended on March 26, 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 April 26, 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, c/o Dorothy E. 
Bourassa, Esq., Pioneer Investment Management, Inc., 60 State Street, 
Boston, Massachusetts 02109-1820.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Jill Ehrlich, Attorney Adviser, at 
(202) 551-6819, or Mary Kay Frech, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-6821 
(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 (202) 551-8090.

Applicants' Representations

    1. The Trusts are organized as Delaware statutory trusts and are 
registered under the Act as open-end management investment companies. 
The Adviser, a Delaware corporation, is a direct, wholly-owned 
subsidiary of Pioneer Investment Management USA Inc. and is an 
indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Pioneer Global Asset Management 
S.p.A. and its parent UniCredit S.p.A. The Adviser is registered as an 
investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The 
Adviser serves as the investment adviser to each Applicant Fund (as 
defined below).
    2. Applicants request an exemption from rule 12d1-2(a) under the 
Act to the extent necessary to permit any existing or future series of 
the Trusts and any other registered open-end investment company advised 
by the Adviser or any person controlling, controlled by or under common 
control with the Adviser that operates, or is permitted to operate, as 
a ``fund of funds'' (the ``Applicant Funds'') and invests, or is 
permitted to invest, in other registered investment companies in 
reliance on section 12(d)(1)(G) of the Act, and is also 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, to the extent 
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'').\1\
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    \1\ Every existing entity that currently intends to rely on the 
requested order is named as an applicant. Any existing or future 
entity that relies on the order in the future will do so only in 
accordance with the terms and conditions in the application.
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    3. Consistent with its fiduciary obligations under the Act, each 
Applicant Fund's board of trustees will review the advisory fees 
charged by the Applicant Fund's 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 Applicant Fund may invest.

Applicants' Legal Analysis

    1. Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act provides that no registered 
investment company (``acquiring company'') may acquire securities of 
another investment company (``acquired company'') if such securities 
represent more than 3% of the acquired company's outstanding voting 
stock or more than 5% of the acquiring company's total assets, or if 
such securities, together with the securities of other investment 
companies, represent more than 10% of the acquiring company's total 
assets. Section 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act provides that no registered 
open-end investment company may sell its securities 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 cause more than 
10% of the acquired company's voting stock to be owned by investment 
companies.
    2. 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 Securities Exchange Act of 1934 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 
12(d)(1)(G) of the Act.
    3. 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

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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.
    4. Section 6(c) of the Act provides that the Commission may exempt 
any person, security, or transaction from any provision of the Act, or 
from any rule under 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 policies and 
provisions of the Act.
    5. Applicants state that the proposed arrangement would comply with 
the provisions of rule 12d1-2 under the Act, but for the fact that the 
Applicant 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 Applicant Funds to 
invest in Other Investments. Applicants assert that permitting the 
Applicant 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' Condition

    Applicants agree that the order granting the requested relief will 
be subject to the following condition:
    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 
Applicant Fund 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.
[FR Doc. 2010-7846 Filed 4-6-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P