[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 99 (Wednesday, May 24, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23883-23884]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-10578]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 32640; 812-14213]


The Mexico Equity & Income Fund, Inc. and Pichardo Asset 
Management, S.A. de C.V.

May 18, 2017.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice of an application under section 6(c) of the Investment 
Company Act of 1940 (the ``Act'') for an exemption from section 19(b) 
of the Act and rule 19b-1 under the Act to permit a registered closed-
end investment company to make periodic distributions of long-term 
capital gains more frequently than permitted by section 19(b) or rule 
19b-1.

Applicants:  The Mexico Equity & Income Fund, Inc. (the ``Fund''), a 
non-diversified closed-end investment company registered under the Act 
and organized as a corporation under the laws of Maryland and Pichardo 
Asset Management, S.A. de C.V. (the ``Adviser'') (together with the 
Fund, the ``Applicants''), registered under the Investment Advisers Act 
of 1940, organized as a corporation under the laws of Mexico, and 
serving as investment adviser to the Fund.

Filing Dates:  The application was filed on September 23, 2013 and 
amended on December 2, 2013, March 21, 2016, August 2, 2016, and 
December 5, 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 June 12, 2017, and should be accompanied by proof of service on 
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: The Commission: Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange 
Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090. Applicants: 
Phillip Goldstein, The Mexico Equity & Income Fund, Inc., c/o U.S. 
Bancorp Fund Services, LLC, 615 East Michigan Street, Milwaukee, WI 
53202 and Maria Eugenia Pichardo, Pichardo Asset Management, S.A. de 
C.V., Andres Bello 45, 22nd Floor, Col. Chapultepec Polanco, Del. 
Miguel Hidalgo, CDMX 11560.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Laura L. Solomon, Senior Counsel at 
(202) 551-6915, or David J. Marcinkus, 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 for 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. Section 19(b) of the Act generally makes it unlawful for any 
registered investment company (``fund'') to distribute long-term 
capital gains more often than once every twelve months. Rule 19b-1 
under the Act limits the number of capital gains dividends, as defined 
in section 852(b)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (``Code,'' 
and such dividends, ``distributions''), that a fund may make with 
respect to any one taxable year to one, plus a supplemental 
distribution made pursuant to section 855 of the Code not exceeding 10% 
of the total amount distributed for the year, plus one additional 
capital gain dividend made in whole or in part to avoid the excise tax 
under section 4982 of the Code.
    2. Applicants believe that the Fund's stockholders may prefer an 
investment vehicle that provides for more frequent capital gains 
distributions and a consistent cash flow. Applicants propose that the 
Fund be permitted to adopt a distribution policy pursuant to which the 
Fund would distribute periodically to its stockholders a fixed monthly 
percentage of the market price of the Fund's common stock at a 
particular point in time or a fixed monthly percentage of net asset 
value at a particular time or a fixed monthly

[[Page 23884]]

amount per share of common stock, any of which may be adjusted from 
time to time (a ``Distribution Policy'').
    3. Applicants request an order under section 6(c) of the Act 
granting an exemption from section 19(b) of the Act and rule 19b-1 to 
permit the Fund to distribute periodic capital gain dividends (as 
defined in section 852(b)(3)(C) of the Code) as frequently as twelve 
times in any one taxable year in respect of its common stock and as 
often as specified by, or determined in accordance with the terms of, 
any preferred stock issued by the Fund. Section 6(c) of the Act 
provides, in relevant part, that the Commission may exempt any person 
or transaction from any provision of the Act to the extent that such 
exemption is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and 
consistent with the protection of investors and the purposes fairly 
intended by the policy and provisions of the Act.
    4. Applicants state that any order granting the requested relief 
will be subject to the terms and conditions stated in the application, 
which generally are designed to address the concerns underlying section 
19(b) and rule 19b-1, including concerns about proper disclosures and 
shareholders' understanding of the source(s) of a Fund's distributions 
and concerns about improper sales practices. Among other things, such 
terms and conditions require that (1) the board of directors or 
trustees of the Fund (the ``Board'') review such information as is 
reasonably necessary to make an informed determination of whether to 
adopt the proposed Distribution Policy and that the Board periodically 
review the amount of the distributions in light of the investment 
experience of the Fund, and (2) that the Fund's shareholders receive 
appropriate disclosures concerning the distributions.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-10578 Filed 5-23-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P