[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 184 (Thursday, September 22, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65460-65461]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-22793]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 32264; 812-14432]


Northern Lights Fund Trust and Dearborn Capital Management, LLC; 
Notice of Application

September 16, 2016.
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 Section 15(a) of 
the Act and Rule 18f-2 under the Act, as well as from certain 
disclosure requirements in Rule 20a-1 under the Act, Item 19(a)(3) of 
Form N-1A, Items 22(c)(1)(ii), 22(c)(1)(iii), 22(c)(8) and 22(c)(9) of 
Schedule 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Sections 6-
07(2)(a), (b), and (c) of Regulation S-X (``Disclosure Requirements''). 
The requested exemption would permit an investment adviser to hire and 
replace certain sub-advisers without shareholder approval and grant 
relief from the Disclosure Requirements as they relate to fees paid to 
the sub-advisers.

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Applicants:  Northern Lights Fund Trust (the ``Trust''), a Delaware 
statutory trust registered under the Act as an open-end management 
investment company with multiple series, and Dearborn Capital 
Management, LLC, a limited liability company organized under Illinois 
law and registered as an investment adviser under the Investment 
Advisers Act of 1940 (``the ``Adviser,'' and, collectively with the 
Trust, the ``Applicants'').

Filing Dates:  The application was filed March 11, 2015 and amended on 
April 14, 2016, and June 20, 2016.

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 October 11, 2016, and should be accompanied by proof of service 
on the applicants, in the form of an affidavit or, for lawyers, a 
certificate of service. Pursuant to Rule 0-5 under the Act, hearing 
requests should state the nature of the writer's interest, any facts 
bearing upon the desirability of a hearing on the matter, 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: Trust Counsel: JoAnn 
Strasser, Esq., Thompson Hine LLP, 41 South High Street, Suite 1700, 
Columbus, OH 43215 and Trust: James P. Ash, Esq., Gemini Fund Services, 
LLC, 80 Arkay Drive, Suite 110, Hauppauge, NY 11788.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Deepak T. Pai, Senior Counsel, at 
(202) 551-6876, or Mary Kay Frech, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-6821 
(Division of Investment Management, Chief Counsel's Office).

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.

Summary of the Application

    1. The Adviser will serve as the investment adviser to the Funds 
pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Trust (the 
``Advisory Agreement'').\1\ The Adviser will provide the Funds with 
continuous and

[[Page 65461]]

comprehensive investment management services subject to the supervision 
of, and policies established by, each Fund's board of trustees 
(``Board''). The Advisory Agreement permits the Adviser, subject to the 
approval of the Board, to delegate to one or more sub-advisers (each, a 
``Sub-Adviser'' and collectively, the ``Sub-Advisers'') the 
responsibility to provide the day-to-day portfolio investment 
management of each Fund, subject to the supervision and direction of 
the Adviser. The primary responsibility for managing the Funds will 
remain vested in the Adviser. The Adviser will hire, evaluate, allocate 
assets to and oversee the Sub-Advisers, including determining whether a 
Sub-Adviser should be terminated, at all times subject to the authority 
of the Board.
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    \1\ Applicants request relief with respect to any existing and 
any future series of the Trust and any other registered open-end 
management company or series thereof that: (a) Is advised by the 
Adviser or its successor or by a person controlling, controlled by, 
or under common control with the Adviser or its successor (each, 
also an ``Adviser''); (b) uses the manager of managers structure 
described in the application; and (c) complies with the terms and 
conditions of the application (any such series, a ``Fund'' and 
collectively, the ``Funds''). For purposes of the requested order, 
``successor'' is limited to an entity that results from a 
reorganization into another jurisdiction or a change in the type of 
business organization.
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    2. Applicants request an exemption to permit the Adviser, subject 
to Board approval, to hire certain Sub-Advisers pursuant to Sub-
Advisory Agreements and materially amend existing Sub-Advisory 
Agreements without obtaining the shareholder approval required under 
Section 15(a) of the Act and Rule 18f-2 under the Act.\2\ Applicants 
also seek an exemption from the Disclosure Requirements to permit a 
Fund to disclose (as both a dollar amount and a percentage of the 
Fund's net assets): (a) The aggregate fees paid to the Adviser; and (b) 
the aggregate fees paid to Sub-Advisers other than Affiliated Sub-
Advisers; and (c) the fee paid to each Affiliated Sub-Adviser 
(collectively, ``Aggregate Fee Disclosure'').
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    \2\ The requested relief will not extend to any Sub-Adviser that 
is an affiliated person, as defined in Section 2(a)(3) of the Act, 
of the Trust, a Fund, or the Adviser, other than by reason of 
serving as a sub-adviser to one or more of the Funds, or as an 
investment adviser or sub-adviser to any series of the Trust other 
than the Funds (``Affiliated Sub-Adviser'').
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    3. Applicants agree that any order granting the requested relief 
will be subject to the terms and conditions stated in the application. 
Such terms and conditions provide for, among other safeguards, 
appropriate disclosure to Fund shareholders and notification about sub-
advisory changes and enhanced Board oversight to protect the interests 
of the Funds' shareholders.
    4. Section 6(c) 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 provisions of the Act, or 
any rule thereunder, if such relief is necessary or appropriate in the 
public interest and consistent with the protection of investors and 
purposes fairly intended by the policy and provisions of the Act. 
Applicants believe that the requested relief meets this standard 
because, as further explained in the application, the Advisory 
Agreements will remain subject to shareholder approval, while the role 
of the Sub-Advisers is substantially similar to that of individual 
portfolio managers, so that requiring shareholder approval of Sub-
Advisory Agreements would impose unnecessary delays and expenses on the 
Funds. Applicants believe that the requested relief from the Disclosure 
Requirements meets this standard because it will improve the Adviser's 
ability to negotiate fees paid to the Sub-Advisers that are more 
advantageous for the Funds.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-22793 Filed 9-21-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P