[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 18 (Monday, January 30, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8779-8780]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01897]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 32432; 812-14389]


Aspiration Funds and Aspiration Fund Adviser, LLC; Notice of 
Application

January 24, 2017.
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. The requested exemption would 
permit an investment adviser to hire and replace certain

[[Page 8780]]

subadvisers without shareholder approval.

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Applicants:  Aspiration Funds (the ``Trust''), a Delaware statutory 
trust registered under the Act as an open-end management investment 
company with multiple series, and Aspiration Fund Adviser, LLC, a 
Delaware limited liability company 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 November 25, 2014, and amended 
on March 7, 2016, August 30, 2016 and January 6, 2017.

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 February 21, 2017, 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: 4640 Admiralty Way, 
Marina Del Rey, CA 90292.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara T. Heussler, Senior Counsel, 
at (202) 551-6990, 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 serves as the investment adviser to the Funds 
pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with the Trust (the 
``Advisory Agreement'').\1\ The Adviser is responsible for the overall 
management of the Funds' business affairs and selecting investments 
according to each Fund's respective investment objective, policies, and 
restrictions, subject to the oversight and authority of 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 subadvisers (each, a ``Subadviser'' and collectively, the 
``Subadvisers'') 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 Subadvisers, including 
determining whether a Subadviser 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 or 
future series of the Trust and any other existing or future 
registered open-end management investment company or series thereof 
that: (a) Is advised by the Adviser, including any entity 
controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Adviser 
or its successors (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 Subadvisers pursuant to Subadvisory 
Agreements and materially amend existing Subadvisory Agreements without 
obtaining the shareholder approval required under section 15(a) of the 
Act and rule 18f-2 under the Act.\2\
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    \2\ The requested relief will not extend to any subadviser 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 subadviser to one or more of the Funds.
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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 Subadvisers is substantially similar to that of individual 
portfolio managers, so that requiring shareholder approval of 
Subadvisory Agreements would impose unnecessary delays and expenses on 
the Funds.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-01897 Filed 1-27-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P