[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 12, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63918-63919]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26795]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Investment Company Act Release No. 33317; File No. 812-14942]
Symmetry Panoramic Trust and Symmetry Partners, LLC
December 6, 2018.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').
ACTION: Notice.
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Notice of an application for an order under section 12(d)(1)(J) of
the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the ``Act'') for an exemption from
sections 12(d)(1)(A), (B), and (C) of the Act and under sections 6(c)
and 17(b) of the Act for an exemption from sections 17(a)(1) and (2) of
the Act. The requested order would permit certain registered open-end
investment companies to acquire shares of certain registered open-end
investment companies, registered closed-end investment companies,
business development companies, as defined in section 2(a)(48) of the
Act, and registered unit investment trusts (collectively, ``Underlying
Funds'') that are within and outside the same group of investment
companies as the acquiring investment companies, in excess of the
limits in section 12(d)(1) of the Act.
Applicants: Symmetry Panoramic Trust (the ``Trust''), a Delaware
statutory trust that is registered under the Act as an open-end
management investment company with multiple series, and Symmetry
Partners, LLC (the ``Applying Manager''), a Connecticut limited
liability company registered as an investment adviser under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940.
Filing Dates: The application was filed on August 30, 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 December 31, 2018, 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: John A. Mooney, Esq.,
Symmetry Partners, LLC, 151 National Drive, Glastonbury, CT 06033; Mark
C. Amorosi, Esq., K&L Gates LLP, 1601 K Street NW, Washington, DC
20006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce R. MacNeil, Senior Counsel, at
(202) 551-6817, or Kaitlin C. Bottock, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-6825
(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 to permit (a) a Fund \1\ (each a
``Fund of Funds'') to acquire shares of Underlying Funds \2\ in excess
of the limits in sections 12(d)(1)(A) and (C) of the Act and (b) the
Underlying Funds that are registered open-end investment companies or
series thereof, their principal underwriters and any broker or dealer
registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to sell shares of
the Underlying Fund to the Fund of Funds in excess of the limits in
section 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act.\3\ Applicants also request an order of
exemption under sections 6(c) and 17(b) of the Act from the prohibition
on certain affiliated transactions in section 17(a) of the Act to the
extent necessary to permit the Underlying Funds to sell their shares
to, and redeem their shares from, the Funds of Funds.\4\ Applicants
state that such transactions will be consistent with the policies of
each Fund of Funds and each Underlying Fund and with the general
purposes of the Act and will be based on the net asset values of the
Underlying Funds.
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\1\ Applicants request that the order apply to each existing and
future series of the Trust and to each existing and future
registered open-end management investment company or series thereof
that is advised by the Applying Manager or its successor-in-interest
or by any other investment adviser controlling, controlled by or
under common control with the Applying Manager or its successor-in-
interest and is part of the same ``group of investment companies,''
as defined in section 12(d)(1)(G)(ii) of the Act, as the Trust
(each, a ``Fund''). For purposes of the requested order,
``successor-in-interest'' is limited to an entity that results from
a reorganization into another jurisdiction or a change in the type
of business organization. For purposes of the request for relief,
the term ``group of investment companies'' means any two or more
registered investment companies, including closed-end investment
companies and business development companies, that hold themselves
out to investors as related companies for purposes of investment and
investor services.
\2\ Certain of the Underlying Funds have obtained exemptions
from the Commission necessary to permit their shares to be listed
and traded on a national securities exchange at negotiated prices
and, accordingly, to operate as an exchange-traded fund (``ETF'').
\3\ Applicants do not request relief for Funds of Funds to
invest in reliance on the order in business development companies
and registered closed-end investment companies that are not listed
and traded on a national securities exchange.
\4\ A Fund of Funds generally would purchase and sell shares of
an Underlying Fund that operates as an ETF through secondary market
transactions rather than through principal transactions with the
Underlying Fund. Applicants nevertheless request relief from
sections 17(a)(1) and (2) to permit each ETF that is an affiliated
person, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, as defined
in section 2(a)(3) of the Act, of a Fund of Funds, to sell shares to
or redeem shares from the Fund of Funds. This includes, in the case
of sales and redemptions of shares of ETFs, the in-kind transactions
that accompany such sales and redemptions. Applicants are not
seeking relief from section 17(a) for, and the requested relief will
not apply to, transactions where an ETF could be deemed an
affiliated person, or an affiliated person of an affiliated person,
of a Fund of Funds because an investment adviser to the ETF or an
entity controlling, controlled by or under common control with the
investment adviser to the ETF is also an investment adviser to the
Fund of Funds. A Fund of Funds will purchase and sell shares of an
Underlying Fund that is a closed-end fund (including a business
development company) through secondary market transactions at market
prices rather than through principal transactions with the closed-
end fund. Accordingly, applicants are not requesting section 17(a)
relief with respect to principal transactions with closed-end funds.
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2. 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 are designed to, among other things, help
prevent any potential (a) undue influence over an Underlying Fund that
is not in the same ``group of investment companies'' as the Fund of
Funds through control or voting power, or in connection with certain
services, transactions, and underwritings, (b) excessive layering of
fees, and (c) overly complex fund structures, which are the concerns
underlying the limits in sections 12(d)(1)(A), (B), and (C) of the Act.
3. Section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act provides that the Commission may
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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. 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.
For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management,
pursuant to delegated authority.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-26795 Filed 12-11-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P