[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 116 (Friday, June 15, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28016-28018]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12902]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 33120; 812-14880]


Aptus Capital Advisors, LLC and ETF Series Solutions

June 12, 2018.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice of an application for an order under section 6(c) of the 
Investment Company Act of 1940 (the ``Act'') for an exemption from 
sections 2(a)(32), 5(a)(1), 22(d), and 22(e) of the Act and rule 22c-1 
under the Act, under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act for an 
exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and 17(a)(2) of the Act, and under 
section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act for an exemption from sections 
12(d)(1)(A) and 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act. The requested order would 
permit (a) actively-managed series of certain open-end management 
investment companies (``Funds'') to issue shares redeemable in large 
aggregations only (``Creation Units''); (b) secondary market 
transactions in Fund shares to occur at negotiated market prices rather 
than at net asset value (``NAV''); (c) certain Funds to pay redemption 
proceeds,

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under certain circumstances, more than seven days after the tender of 
shares for redemption; (d) certain affiliated persons of a Fund to 
deposit securities into, and receive securities from, the Fund in 
connection with the purchase and redemption of Creation Units; (e) 
certain registered management investment companies and unit investment 
trusts outside of the same group of investment companies as the Funds 
(``Funds of Funds'') to acquire shares of the Funds; and (f) certain 
Funds (``Feeder Funds'') to create and redeem Creation Units in-kind in 
a master-feeder structure.
    Applicants: Aptus Capital Advisors, LLC (the ``Initial Adviser''), 
an Alabama limited liability company registered as an investment 
adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and ETF Series 
Solutions (the ``Trust''), a Delaware statutory trust registered under 
the Act as an open-end management investment company with multiple 
series.
    Filing Dates: The application was filed on February 26, 2018.
    Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An order granting the requested 
relief 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 July 9, 2018, 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: Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street 
NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090; Applicants: Aptus Capital Advisors, LLC, 
407 Johnson Ave., Fairhope, Alabama 36532 and ETF Series Solutions, 615 
East Michigan Street, 4th Floor, Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jill Ehrlich, Senior Counsel, at (202) 
551-6819, or Andrea Ottomanelli Magovern, 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 website 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. Applicants request an order that would allow Funds to operate as 
actively-managed exchange traded funds (``ETFs'').\1\ Fund shares will 
be purchased and redeemed at their NAV in Creation Units only. All 
orders to purchase Creation Units and all redemption requests will be 
placed by or through an ``Authorized Participant'' which will have 
signed a participant agreement with the Distributor. Shares will be 
listed and traded individually on a national securities exchange, where 
share prices will be based on the current bid/offer market. Certain 
Funds may operate as Feeder Funds in a master-feeder structure. Any 
order granting the requested relief would be subject to the terms and 
conditions stated in the application.
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    \1\ Applicants request that the order apply to the new series of 
the Trust as well as to additional series of the Trust and any other 
open-end management investment company or series thereof that 
currently exist or that may be created in the future (each, included 
in the term ``Fund''), each of which will operate as an actively-
managed ETF. Any Fund will (a) be advised by the Initial Adviser or 
an entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with 
the Initial Adviser (each such entity and any successor thereto is 
included in the term ``Adviser'') and (b) comply with the terms and 
conditions of the application. For purposes of the requested order, 
the term ``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. Each Fund will consist of a portfolio of securities and other 
assets and investment positions (``Portfolio Instruments''). Each Fund 
will disclose on its website the identities and quantities of the 
Portfolio Instruments that will form the basis for the Fund's 
calculation of NAV at the end of the day.
    3. Shares will be purchased and redeemed in Creation Units only and 
generally on an in-kind basis. Except where the purchase or redemption 
will include cash under the limited circumstances specified in the 
application, purchasers will be required to purchase Creation Units by 
depositing specified instruments (``Deposit Instruments''), and 
shareholders redeeming their shares will receive specified instruments 
(``Redemption Instruments''). The Deposit Instruments and the 
Redemption Instruments will each correspond pro rata to the positions 
in the Fund's portfolio (including cash positions) except as specified 
in the application.
    4. Because shares will not be individually redeemable, applicants 
request an exemption from section 5(a)(1) and section 2(a)(32) of the 
Act that would permit the Funds to register as open-end management 
investment companies and issue shares that are redeemable in Creation 
Units only.
    5. Applicants also request an exemption from section 22(d) of the 
Act and rule 22c-1 under the Act as secondary market trading in shares 
will take place at negotiated prices, not at a current offering price 
described in a Fund's prospectus, and not at a price based on NAV. 
Applicants state that (a) secondary market trading in shares does not 
involve a Fund as a party and will not result in dilution of an 
investment in shares, and (b) to the extent different prices exist 
during a given trading day, or from day to day, such variances occur as 
a result of third-party market forces, such as supply and demand. 
Therefore, applicants assert that secondary market transactions in 
shares will not lead to discrimination or preferential treatment among 
purchasers. Finally, applicants represent that share market prices will 
be disciplined by arbitrage opportunities, which should prevent shares 
from trading at a material discount or premium from NAV.
    6. With respect to Funds that hold non-U.S. Portfolio Instruments 
and that effect creations and redemptions of Creation Units in kind, 
applicants request relief from the requirement imposed by section 22(e) 
in order to allow such Funds to pay redemption proceeds within fifteen 
calendar days following the tender of Creation Units for redemption. 
Applicants assert that the requested relief would not be inconsistent 
with the spirit and intent of section 22(e) to prevent unreasonable, 
undisclosed or unforeseen delays in the actual payment of redemption 
proceeds.
    7. Applicants request an exemption to permit Funds of Funds to 
acquire Fund shares beyond the limits of section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 
Act; and the Funds, and any principal underwriter for the Funds, and/or 
any broker or dealer registered under the Exchange Act, to sell shares 
to Funds of Funds beyond the limits of section 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act. 
The application's terms and conditions are designed to, among other 
things, help prevent any potential (i) undue influence over a Fund 
through control or voting power, or in connection with certain 
services, transactions, and underwritings, (ii) excessive layering of 
fees, and (iii) overly complex fund structures, which are the concerns 
underlying the limits

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in sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (B) of the Act.
    8. Applicants request an exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and 
17(a)(2) of the Act to permit persons that are affiliated persons, or 
second-tier affiliates, of the Funds, solely by virtue of certain 
ownership interests, to effectuate purchases and redemptions in-kind. 
The deposit procedures for in-kind purchases of Creation Units and the 
redemption procedures for in-kind redemptions of Creation Units will be 
the same for all purchases and redemptions and Deposit Instruments and 
Redemption Instruments will be valued in the same manner as those 
Portfolio Instruments currently held by the Funds. Applicants also seek 
relief from the prohibitions on affiliated transactions in section 
17(a) to permit a Fund to sell its shares to and redeem its shares from 
a Fund of Funds, and to engage in the accompanying in-kind transactions 
with the Fund of Funds.\2\ The purchase of Creation Units by a Fund of 
Funds directly from a Fund will be accomplished in accordance with the 
policies of the Fund of Funds and will be based on the NAVs of the 
Funds.
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    \2\ The requested relief would apply to direct sales of shares 
in Creation Units by a Fund to a Fund of Funds and redemptions of 
those shares. Applicants, moreover, are not seeking relief from 
section 17(a) for, and the requested relief will not apply to, 
transactions where a Fund could be deemed an Affiliated Person, or a 
Second-Tier Affiliate, of a Fund of Funds because an Adviser or an 
entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with an 
Adviser provides investment advisory services to that Fund of Funds.
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    9. Applicants also request relief to permit a Feeder Fund to 
acquire shares of another registered investment company managed by the 
Adviser having substantially the same investment objectives as the 
Feeder Fund (``Master Fund'') beyond the limitations in section 
12(d)(1)(A) and permit the Master Fund, and any principal underwriter 
for the Master Fund, to sell shares of the Master Fund to the Feeder 
Fund beyond the limitations in section 12(d)(1)(B).
    10. Section 6(c) of the Act permits the Commission to exempt any 
persons or transactions from any provision of 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 
policy and provisions of the Act. Section 12(d)(1)(J) 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 provision of section 12(d)(1) if the exemption 
is consistent with the public interest and the protection of investors. 
Section 17(b) of the Act authorizes the Commission to grant an order 
permitting a transaction otherwise prohibited by section 17(a) if it 
finds that (a) the terms of the proposed transaction are fair and 
reasonable and do not involve overreaching on the part of any person 
concerned; (b) the proposed transaction is consistent with the policies 
of each registered investment company involved; and (c) the proposed 
transaction is consistent with the general purposes of the Act.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-12902 Filed 6-14-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P