[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11375-11379]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05704]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Release No. 34-85375; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2018-98]
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing
of Amendment No. 2 and Order Instituting Proceedings To Determine
Whether To Approve or Disapprove a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by
Amendment No. 2, To List and Trade Shares of the iShares Commodity
Multi-Strategy ETF Under NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E
March 20, 2019.
I. Introduction
On December 21, 2018, NYSE Arca, Inc. (``Exchange'' or ``NYSE
Arca'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission''), pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 (``Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ a
proposed rule change to list and trade shares (``Shares'') of the
iShares Commodity Multi-Strategy ETF (``Fund'') under NYSE Arca Rule
8.600-E. On February 1, 2019, pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the
Act,\3\ the Commission noticed the proposed rule change and, pursuant
to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,\4\ designated a longer period within
which to approve the proposed rule change, disapprove the proposed rule
change, or institute proceedings to determine whether to approve or
disapprove the proposed rule change.\5\ On March 6, 2019, the Exchange
filed Amendment No. 1 to the proposed rule change, which replaced and
superseded the proposed rule change as originally filed.\6\ On March
14, 2019, the Exchange filed Amendment No. 2 to the proposed rule
change, which replaced and superseded the proposed rule change, as
modified by Amendment No. 1.\7\ The Commission has received no comment
letters on the proposal. The Commission is publishing this notice and
order to solicit comments on the proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 2, from interested persons and to institute proceedings
pursuant to Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the Act \8\ to determine whether to
approve or disapprove the proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 2.
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\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\3\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\4\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2).
\5\ See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 85033, 84 FR 2618
(February 7, 2019). The Commission designated March 21, 2019, as the
date by which the Commission shall approve the proposed rule change,
disapprove the proposed rule change, or institute proceedings to
determine whether to approve or disapprove the proposed rule change.
\6\ Amendment No. 1 is available at: https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nysearca-2018-98/srnysearca201898-5031693-183046.pdf.
\7\ In Amendment No. 2, the Exchange: (1) Identified the
Reference Benchmark (as defined below); (2) clarified that the Fund
is not obligated to invest in any futures contracts included in, and
does not seek to replicate the performance of, the Reference
Benchmark; (3) modified the types of derivative instruments and
reference assets for such derivative instruments that the Fund may
invest in; (4) clarified that commodity-linked notes are among the
Fixed Income Instruments (as defined below) that the Fund may invest
in; (5) specified that the Fund may invest in ETNs and ETFs (each as
defined below); (6) added a representation that to the extent the
Trust (as defined below) effects the redemption of Shares in cash,
such transactions will be effected in the same manner or in an
equitable manner for all Authorized Participants (as defined below),
subject to the best interests of the Fund; (7) added a
representation that the Fund's holdings in OTC Derivatives (as
defined below) will satisfy the criteria applicable to holdings in
listed derivatives in Commentary .01(d)(2) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E
on an initial and continued listing basis; (8) added a
representation that the Adviser (as defined below) and its
affiliates actively monitor counterparty credit risk exposure
(including for OTC derivatives) and evaluate counterparty credit
quality on a continuous basis; (8) stated that the Reference
Benchmark price is available via Bloomberg and that the Reference
Benchmark methodology and constituent list is available via ICE Data
Services; and (9) made technical and conforming changes. Amendment
No. 2 is available at: https://www.sec.gov/comments/sr-nysearca-2018-98/srnysearca201898-5123714-183326.pdf.
\8\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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II. Summary of the Exchange's Description of the Proposal, as Modified
by Amendment No. 2 \9\
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\9\ For a complete description of the Exchange's proposal, see
Amendment No. 2, supra note 7.
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The Exchange proposes to list and trade Shares of the Fund under
NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E, which governs the listing and trading of
Managed Fund Shares on the Exchange. The Shares will be offered by
iShares U.S. ETF Trust (``Trust''), which is registered with the
Commission as an open-end management investment company.\10\ The Fund
is a series of the Trust.
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\10\ According to the Exchange, on December 3, 2018, the Trust
filed with the Commission its registration statement on Form N-1A
under the Securities Act of 1933 and under the Investment Company
Act of 1940 (``1940 Act'') relating to the Fund (File Nos. 333-
179904 and 811-22649) (``Registration Statement''). In addition, the
Exchange states that the Commission has issued an order upon which
the Trust may rely, granting certain exemptive relief under the 1940
Act. See Investment Company Act Release No. 29571 (January 24, 2011)
(File No. 812-13601).
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BlackRock Fund Advisors (``Adviser'') will be the investment
adviser for the Fund.\11\ BlackRock Investments, LLC will be the
distributor for the Fund's Shares. State Street Bank and Trust Company
will serve as the administrator, custodian and transfer agent for the
Fund.
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\11\ According to the Exchange, the Adviser is not registered as
a broker-dealer but is affiliated with a broker-dealer, and has
implemented and will maintain a fire wall with respect to its
broker-dealer affiliate regarding access to information concerning
the composition and/or changes to the portfolio. In the event (a)
the Adviser becomes registered as a broker-dealer or newly
affiliated with a broker-dealer, or (b) any new adviser or sub-
adviser is a registered broker-dealer or becomes affiliated with a
broker-dealer, it will implement and maintain a fire wall with
respect to its relevant personnel or its broker-dealer affiliate
regarding access to information concerning the composition and/or
changes to the portfolio, and will be subject to procedures designed
to prevent the use and dissemination of material non-public
information regarding such portfolio. The Exchange also represents
that the Adviser and its related personnel are subject to the
provisions of Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940
relating to codes of ethics.
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A. Fund Investments
According to the Exchange, the investment objective of the Fund
will be to seek to provide exposure, on a total return basis, to a
group of commodities with characteristics of carry, momentum, and
value. The Fund is actively managed and seeks to achieve its investment
objective in part \12\ by, under normal market conditions,\13\
investing in listed and over-the-counter (``OTC'') total return swaps
referencing the ICE BofAML Commodity Multi-Factor Total Return Index
(``Reference Benchmark'').\14\ In connection with
[[Page 11376]]
investments in swaps on the Reference Benchmark, the Fund is expected
to establish new swaps contracts on an ongoing basis and replace
expiring contracts.\15\ Swaps subsequently entered into by the Fund may
have terms that differ from the swaps the Fund previously held. The
Fund expects generally to pay a fixed payment rate and certain swap
related fees to the swap counterparty and receive the total return of
the Reference Benchmark, including in the event of negative performance
by the Reference Benchmark, negative return (i.e., a payment from the
Fund to the swap counterparty). In seeking total return, the Fund
additionally aims to generate interest income and capital appreciation
through a cash management strategy consisting primarily of cash, cash
equivalents,\16\ and fixed income securities other than cash
equivalents, as described below.
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\12\ The Fund's investment objective is also achieved by
investing in cash, cash equivalents, Commodity Investments, Fixed
Income Securities and Short-Term Fixed Income Securities (each as
defined or described below).
\13\ The term ``normal market conditions'' is defined in NYSE
Arca Rule 8.600-E(c)(5).
\14\ Although the Fund may hold swaps on the Reference
Benchmark, or direct investments in, the same futures contracts as
those included in the Reference Benchmark, the Fund is not obligated
to invest in any futures contracts included in, and does not seek to
replicate the performance of, the Reference Benchmark.
\15\ Swaps on the Reference Benchmark are included in
``Commodity Investments'' as defined below.
\16\ Cash equivalents are the short-term instruments enumerated
in Commentary .01(c) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E.
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The Fund intends to follow a multifactor strategy reflected by the
Reference Benchmark, which Reference Benchmark equally weights three
sub-indices designed to provide exposure to carry, momentum, and value
factors. The Fund will invest in financial instruments described below
that provide exposure to commodities and not in the physical
commodities themselves. The ``carry'' sub-index emphasizes commodities
and contract months with the greatest degree of backwardation or lowest
degree of contango.\17\ Second, the ``momentum'' sub-index underweights
or overweights commodities based on the strength of performance
patterns over multiple time periods. Third, the ``value'' sub-index
measures value for each commodity by the ratio of its 3-month average
spot price to its 5-year average. Sector weights are held constant
versus a broad non-factor weighted commodity index, but within each
sector, weights of individual commodities are tilted to favor those
with the lowest valuation ratio. Within each sub-index, contract months
are selected to maximize backwardation and minimize contango.
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\17\ According to the Exchange, in order to maintain exposure to
a futures contract on a particular commodity, an investor must sell
the position in the expiring contract and buy a new position in a
contract with a later delivery month, which is referred to as
``rolling.'' If the price for the new futures contract is less than
the price of the expiring contract, then the market for the
commodity is said to be in ``backwardation.'' In these markets, roll
returns are positive, which is referred to as ``positive carry.''
The term ``contango'' is used to describe a market in which the
price for a new futures contract is more than the price of the
expiring contract. In these markets, roll returns are negative,
which is referred to as ``negative carry.'' The ``carry'' sub-index
seeks to employ a positive carry strategy that emphasizes
commodities and futures contract months with the greatest degree of
backwardation and lowest degree of contango, resulting in net gains
through positive roll returns.
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The Fund expects to obtain a substantial amount of its exposure to
the carry, momentum, and value strategies by entering into total return
swaps that pay the returns of the commodity futures contracts
referenced in the Reference Benchmark. The Reference Benchmark includes
20 futures contracts on physical agricultural, energy, livestock,
precious metals, and industrial metals listed on U.S. regulated futures
exchanges.
The Fund (through its Subsidiary (as defined below)) may hold the
following listed derivative instruments: Futures, options, and swaps on
commodities (which commodities are from the same sectors as those
included in the Reference Benchmark); currencies; U.S. and non-U.S.
equity securities; fixed income securities (as defined in Commentary
.01(b) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E, but excluding Short-Term Fixed Income
Securities (as defined below)); interest rates; and financial rates; or
a basket or index of any of the foregoing (collectively, ``Listed
Derivatives'').\18\ Listed Derivatives will comply with the criteria in
Commentary .01(d) of NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E.
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\18\ Examples of Listed Derivatives the Fund may invest in
include: Exchange traded futures contracts similar to those found in
the Reference Benchmark, exchange traded futures contracts on the
Reference Benchmark, swaps on commodity futures contracts similar to
those found in the Reference Benchmark, and futures and options that
correlate to the investment returns of commodities without investing
directly in physical commodities.
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The Fund (through its Subsidiary (as defined below)) may hold the
following OTC derivative instruments: Forwards, options, and swaps on
commodities (which commodities are from the same sectors as those
included in the Reference Benchmark); currencies; U.S. and non-U.S.
equity securities; fixed income securities (as defined in Commentary
.01(b) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E, but excluding Short-Term Fixed Income
Securities); interest rates; and financial rates; or a basket or index
of any of the foregoing (collectively, ``OTC Derivatives,'' \19\ and
together with Listed Derivatives, ``Commodity Investments'').\20\
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\19\ As discussed below under ``Application of Generic Listing
Requirements,'' the Fund's and the Subsidiary's holdings in OTC
Derivatives will not comply with the criteria in Commentary .01(e)
of NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E.
\20\ Examples of OTC Derivatives the Fund may invest in include
swaps on commodity futures contracts similar to those found in the
Reference Benchmark and options that correlate to the investment
returns of commodities without investing directly in physical
commodities.
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The Fund may hold cash, cash equivalents, and fixed income
securities other than cash equivalents, as described further below.
Specifically, the Fund may invest in Short-Term Fixed Income
Securities (as defined below) other than cash equivalents on an ongoing
basis to provide liquidity or for other reasons.\21\ Short-Term Fixed
Income Securities will have a maturity of no longer than 397 days and
include only the following: (i) Money market instruments; (ii)
obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies
or instrumentalities (including government-sponsored enterprises);
(iii) negotiable certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, fixed-
time deposits and other obligations of U.S. and non-U.S. banks
(including non-U.S. branches) and similar institutions; (iv) commercial
paper; (v) non-convertible corporate debt securities (e.g., bonds and
debentures); (vi) repurchase agreements; (vii) short-term U.S. dollar-
denominated obligations of non-U.S. banks (including U.S. branches)
that, in the opinion of the Adviser, are of comparable quality to
obligations of U.S. banks that may be purchased by the Fund; and (viii)
sovereign obligations (collectively, ``Short-Term Fixed Income
Securities''). Any of these securities may be purchased on a current or
forward-settled basis.\22\
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\21\ As discussed under ``Application of Generic Listing
Requirements'' below, investments in Short-Term Fixed Income
Securities will not comply with the requirements of Commentary
.01(b)(1)-(4) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E.
\22\ To the extent that the Fund and the Subsidiary invest in
cash and Short-Term Fixed Income Securities that are cash
equivalents (i.e., that have maturities of less than 3 months) as
specified in Commentary .01(c) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E, such
investments will comply with Commentary .01(c) and may be held
without limitation. Non-convertible corporate debt securities and
sovereign obligations are not included as cash equivalents in
Commentary .01(c).
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The Fund also may invest in fixed income securities as defined in
Commentary .01(b) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E,\23\ other than cash
equivalents and Short-Term Fixed Income Securities, with remaining
maturities longer than 397 days (``Fixed Income
[[Page 11377]]
Securities''). Such Fixed Income Securities will comply with
requirements of Commentary .01(b) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E.\24\
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\23\ Commentary .01(b) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E defines fixed
income securities as debt securities that are notes, bonds,
debentures or evidence of indebtedness that include, but are not
limited to, U.S. Department of Treasury securities (``Treasury
Securities''), government-sponsored entity securities (``GSEs''),
municipal securities, trust preferred securities, supranational debt
and debt of a foreign country or a subdivision thereof, investment
grade and high yield corporate debt, bank loans, mortgage and asset
backed securities, and commercial paper.
\24\ Among the Fixed Income Securities in which the Fund may
invest are commodity-linked notes.
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The Fund may also hold exchange-traded notes (``ETNs'') \25\ and
exchange-traded funds (``ETFs'').\26\
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\25\ ETNs are securities as described in NYSE Arca Rule 5.2-
E(j)(6) (Equity Index-Linked Securities, Commodity-Linked
Securities, Currency-Linked Securities, Fixed Income Index-Linked
Securities, Futures-Linked Securities and Multifactor Index-Linked
Securities).
\26\ For purposes of the filing, the term ``ETFs'' includes
Investment Company Units (as described in NYSE Arca Rule 5.2-
E(j)(3)); Portfolio Depositary Receipts (as described in NYSE Arca
Rule 8.100-E); and Managed Fund Shares (as described in NYSE Arca
Rule 8.600-E). All ETFs will be listed and traded in the U.S. on a
national securities exchange. The Fund will not invest in inverse or
leveraged (e.g., 2X, -2X, 3X or -3X) ETFs.
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The Fund's exposure to Commodity Investments is obtained by
investing through a wholly-owned subsidiary organized in the Cayman
Islands (``Subsidiary'').\27\ The Fund controls the Subsidiary, and the
Subsidiary is advised by the Adviser and has the same investment
objective as the Fund. In compliance with the requirements of Sub-
Chapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, the Fund may invest up
to 25% of its total assets in the Subsidiary. The Subsidiary is not an
investment company registered under the 1940 Act and is a company
organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands. The Trust's Board of
Trustees (``Board'') has oversight responsibility for the investment
activities of the Fund, including its investment in the Subsidiary, and
the Fund's role as sole shareholder of the Subsidiary.
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\27\ The Exchange represents that all statements related to the
Fund's investments and restrictions are applicable to the Fund and
Subsidiary collectively.
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The Fund's Commodity Investments held in the Subsidiary are
intended to provide the Fund with exposure to broad commodities. The
Subsidiary may hold cash and cash equivalents.
B. Investment Restrictions
The Fund and the Subsidiary will not invest in securities or other
financial instruments that have not been described in the proposed rule
change. The Fund's investments, including derivatives, will be
consistent with the Fund's investment objective and will not be used to
enhance leverage (although certain derivatives and other investments
may result in leverage). That is, the Fund's investments will not be
used to seek performance that is the multiple or inverse multiple
(e.g., 2X or -3X) of the Fund's Reference Benchmark.
C. Use of Derivatives by the Fund
Investments in derivative instruments will be made in accordance
with the Fund's investment objective and policies. To limit the
potential risk associated with such transactions, the Fund will enter
into offsetting transactions or segregate or ``earmark'' assets
determined to be liquid by the Adviser in accordance with procedures
established by the Board. In addition, the Fund has included
appropriate risk disclosure in its offering documents, including
leveraging risk. Leveraging risk is the risk that certain transactions
of the Fund, including the Fund's use of derivatives, may give rise to
leverage, causing the Fund to be more volatile than if it had not been
leveraged.
The Adviser believes there will be minimal, if any, impact to the
arbitrage mechanism as a result of the Fund's use of derivatives. The
Adviser understands that market makers and participants should be able
to value derivatives as long as the positions are disclosed with
relevant information. The Adviser believes that the price at which
Shares of the Fund trade will continue to be disciplined by arbitrage
opportunities created by the ability to purchase or redeem Shares of
the Fund at their net asset value (``NAV''), which should ensure that
Shares of the Fund will not trade at a material discount or premium in
relation to their NAV.
The Adviser does not believe there will be any significant impacts
to the settlement or operational aspects of the Fund's arbitrage
mechanism due to the use of derivatives.
D. Application of Generic Listing Requirements
The Exchange represents that the portfolio for the Fund will not
meet all of the ``generic'' listing requirements of Commentary .01 to
NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E applicable to the listing of Managed Fund
Shares. The Exchange represents that, other than Commentary .01(b)(1)-
(4) (with respect to Short-Term Fixed Income Securities) and .01(e)
(with respect to OTC Derivatives) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E, as
described below, the Fund's portfolio will meet all other requirements
of NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E.
According to the Exchange, the Fund's investments in Short-Term
Fixed Income Securities will not comply with the requirements set forth
in Commentary .01(b)(1)-(4) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E.\28\ The Exchange
states that while the requirements set forth in Commentary .01(b)(1)-
(4) include rules intended to ensure that the fixed income securities
included in a fund's portfolio are sufficiently large and diverse, and
have sufficient publicly available information regarding the issuances,
the Exchange believes that any concerns, regarding non-compliance are
mitigated by the types of instruments that the Fund would hold. The
Exchange represents that the Fund's Short-Term Fixed Income Securities
primarily would include those instruments that are included in the
definition of cash and cash equivalents,\29\ but are not considered
cash and cash equivalents because they have maturities of three months
or longer. The Exchange believes, however, that, because all Short-Term
Fixed Income Securities, including non-convertible corporate debt
securities and sovereign obligations (which are not cash equivalents as
enumerated in Commentary .01(c) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E), are highly
liquid they are less susceptible than other types of fixed income
instruments both to price manipulation and volatility and that the
holdings as proposed are generally consistent with the policy concerns
which Commentary .01(b)(1)-(4) is intended to address. Because the
Short-Term Fixed Income Securities will consist of high-quality fixed
income securities described above, the Exchange believes that the
policy concerns that Commentary .01(b)(1)-(4)
[[Page 11378]]
is intended to address are otherwise mitigated and that the Fund should
be permitted to hold these securities in a manner that may not comply
with Commentary .01(b)(1)-(4).
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\28\ Commentary .01(b)(1)-(4) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E requires
that the components of the fixed income portion of a portfolio meet
the following criteria initially and on a continuing basis: (1)
Components that in the aggregate account for at least 75% of the
fixed income weight of the portfolio each shall have a minimum
original principal amount outstanding of $100 million or more; (2)
no component fixed-income security (excluding Treasury Securities
and GSE Securities) shall represent more than 30% of the fixed
income weight of the portfolio, and the five most heavily weighted
component fixed income securities in the portfolio (excluding
Treasury Securities and GSE Securities) shall not in the aggregate
account for more than 65% of the fixed income weight of the
portfolio; (3) an underlying portfolio (excluding exempted
securities) that includes fixed income securities shall include a
minimum of 13 non-affiliated issuers, provided, however, that there
shall be no minimum number of non-affiliated issuers required for
fixed income securities if at least 70% of the weight of the
portfolio consists of equity securities as described in Commentary
.01(a); and (4) component securities that in aggregate account for
at least 90% of the fixed income weight of the portfolio must be
either (a) from issuers that are required to file reports pursuant
to Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; (b)
from issuers that have a worldwide market value of its outstanding
common equity held by non-affiliates of $700 million or more; (c)
from issuers that have outstanding securities that are notes, bonds
debentures, or evidence of indebtedness having a total remaining
principal amount of at least $1 billion; (d) exempted securities as
defined in Section 3(a)(12) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934;
or (e) from issuers that are a government of a foreign country or a
political subdivision of a foreign country.
\29\ See supra note 16.
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The Exchange represents that the Fund's portfolio with respect to
OTC Derivatives will not comply with the requirements set forth in
Commentary .01(e) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E.\30\ Specifically, the
Exchange states that up to 60% of the Fund's assets (calculated as the
aggregate gross notional value) may be invested in OTC Derivatives. The
Exchange states that the Adviser believes that it is important to
provide the Fund with additional flexibility to manage risk associated
with its investments and, depending on market conditions, it may be
critical that the Fund be able to utilize available OTC Derivatives to
efficiently gain exposure to the multiple commodities that underlie the
Reference Benchmark, as well as commodity futures contracts similar to
those found in the Reference Benchmark. The Exchange states that OTC
Derivatives can be tailored to provide specific exposure to the Fund's
Reference Benchmark, as well as commodity futures contracts similar to
those found in the Reference Benchmark, allowing the Fund to more
efficiently meet its investment objective.\31\ The Exchange further
states that if the Fund were to gain commodity exposure exclusively
through the use of listed futures, the Fund's holdings in Listed
Derivatives would be subject to position limits and accountability
levels established by an exchange, and such limitations would restrict
the Fund's ability to gain efficient exposure to the commodities in the
Reference Benchmark, or futures contracts similar to those found in the
Reference Benchmark, thereby impeding the Fund's ability to satisfy its
investment objective.
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\30\ Commentary .01(e) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E provides that,
on an initial and continuing basis, no more than 20% of the assets
in the portfolio may be invested in OTC derivatives (calculated as
the aggregate gross notional value of the OTC derivatives).
\31\ As an example, the Exchange states that the Reference
Benchmark is composed of 20 futures contracts across 20 physical
commodities, which may not be sufficiently liquid and would not
provide the commodity exposure the Fund requires to meet its
investment objective if the Fund were to invest in the futures
directly. The Exchange states that a total return swap can be
structured to provide exposure to the same futures contracts as
exist in the Reference Benchmark, as well as commodity futures
contracts similar to those found in the Reference Benchmark, while
providing sufficient efficiency to allow the Fund to more easily
meet its investment objective.
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The Exchange states that the Adviser represents that the Fund's
holdings in OTC Derivatives will satisfy the criteria applicable to
holdings in Listed Derivatives in Commentary .01(d)(2) to NYSE Arca
Rule 8.600-E on an initial and continued listing basis.\32\ Thus, with
respect to the Fund's holdings in OTC Derivatives, the aggregate gross
notional value of OTC Derivatives based on any five or fewer underlying
reference assets will not exceed 65% of the weight of the portfolio
(including gross notional exposures), and the aggregate gross notional
value of OTC Derivatives based on any single underlying reference asset
will not exceed 30% of the weight of the portfolio (including gross
notional exposures). The Exchange also represents that the Adviser and
its affiliates actively monitor counterparty credit risk exposure
(including for OTC derivatives) and evaluate counterparty credit
quality on a continuous basis. Finally, the Exchange states that the
Adviser represents that futures contracts on all commodities in the
Reference Benchmark are traded on futures exchanges that are members of
the Intermarket Surveillance Group.
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\32\ Commentary .01(d)(2) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E provides
that, with respect to a fund's portfolio, the aggregate gross
notional value of listed derivatives based on any five or fewer
underlying reference assets shall not exceed 65% of the weight of
the portfolio (including gross notional exposures), and the
aggregate gross notional value of listed derivatives based on any
single underlying reference asset shall not exceed 30% of the weight
of the portfolio (including gross notional exposures).
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III. Proceedings To Determine Whether To Approve or Disapprove SR-
NYSEArca-2018-98, as Modified by Amendment No. 2, and Grounds for
Disapproval Under Consideration
The Commission is instituting proceedings pursuant to Section
19(b)(2)(B) of the Act \33\ to determine whether the proposed rule
change should be approved or disapproved. Institution of such
proceedings is appropriate at this time in view of the legal and policy
issues raised by the proposed rule change. Institution of proceedings
does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with
respect to any of the issues involved. Rather, as described below, the
Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments
on the proposed rule change.
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\33\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B).
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Pursuant to Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the Act,\34\ the Commission is
providing notice of the grounds for disapproval under consideration.
The Commission is instituting proceedings to allow for additional
analysis of the proposed rule change's consistency with Section 6(b)(5)
of the Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a
national securities exchange be ``designed to prevent fraudulent and
manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable
principles of trade,'' and ``to protect investors and the public
interest.'' \35\
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\34\ Id.
\35\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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IV. Procedure: Request for Written Comments
The Commission requests that interested persons provide written
submissions of their views, data, and arguments with respect to the
issues identified above, as well as any other concerns they may have
with the proposal. In particular, the Commission invites the written
views of interested persons concerning whether the proposed rule
change, as modified by Amendment No. 2, is consistent with Section
6(b)(5) or any other provision of the Act, or the rules and regulations
thereunder. Although there do not appear to be any issues relevant to
approval or disapproval that would be facilitated by an oral
presentation of views, data, and arguments, the Commission will
consider, pursuant to Rule 19b-4 under the Act,\36\ any request for an
opportunity to make an oral presentation.\37\
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\36\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
\37\ Section 19(b)(2) of the Act, as amended by the Securities
Acts Amendments of 1975, Public Law 94-29 (June 4, 1975), grants the
Commission flexibility to determine what type of proceeding--either
oral or notice and opportunity for written comments--is appropriate
for consideration of a particular proposal by a self-regulatory
organization. See Securities Acts Amendments of 1975, Senate Comm.
on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs, S. Rep. No. 75, 94th Cong., 1st
Sess. 30 (1975).
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Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and
arguments regarding whether the proposed rule change, as modified by
Amendment No. 2, should be approved or disapproved by April 16, 2019.
Any person who wishes to file a rebuttal to any other person's
submission must file that rebuttal by April 30, 2019. The Commission
asks that commenters address the sufficiency of the Exchange's
statements in support of the proposal, which are set forth in Amendment
No. 2,\38\ in addition to any other comments they may wish to submit
about the proposed rule change.
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\38\ See supra note 7.
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In this regard, the Commission seeks comment on the Exchange's
statements that the Fund will not comply with the requirement in
Commentary .01(e) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E that
[[Page 11379]]
investments in OTC Derivatives be limited to 20% of the assets of the
Fund's portfolio. Instead, the Fund's investments in OTC Derivatives
would be limited to 60% of the Fund's assets. Such OTC Derivatives may
be forwards, options, and swaps on commodities (which commodities are
from the same sectors as those included in the Reference Benchmark);
currencies; U.S. and non-U.S. equity securities; fixed income
securities (as defined in Commentary .01(b) to NYSE Arca Rule 8.600-E,
but excluding Short-Term Fixed Income Securities); interest rates; and
financial rates; or a basket or index of any of the foregoing. The
Commission specifically seeks comment on whether the Fund's proposed
investments in OTC Derivatives are consistent with the requirement that
the rules of a national securities exchange be ``designed to prevent
fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and
equitable principles of trade,'' and ``to protect investors and the
public interest.'' \39\ Has the Exchange has provided sufficient
information relating to OTC Derivatives, including the underlying
reference assets of such OTC Derivatives, for the Commission to
determine that trading of the Fund's Shares would be consistent with
the Act?
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\39\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
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Comments may be submitted by any of the following methods:
Electronic Comments
Use the Commission's internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml); or
Send an email to [email protected]. Please include
File Number SR-NYSEArca-2018-98 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Secretary, Securities
and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2018-98. This
file number should be included on the subject line if email is used. To
help the Commission process and review your comments more efficiently,
please use only one method. The Commission will post all comments on
the Commission's internet website (http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro.shtml).
Copies of the submission, all subsequent amendments, all written
statements with respect to the proposed rule change that are filed with
the Commission, and all written communications relating to the proposed
rule change between the Commission and any person, other than those
that may be withheld from the public in accordance with the provisions
of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be available for website viewing and printing in
the Commission's Public Reference Room, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC
20549 on official business days between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and
3:00 p.m. Copies of the filing also will be available for inspection
and copying at the principal office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change. Persons submitting comments are
cautioned that we do not redact or edit personal identifying
information from comment submissions. You should submit only
information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions
should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2018-98 and should be submitted
by April 16, 2019. Rebuttal comments should be submitted by April 30,
2019.
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\40\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12); 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(57).
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets,
pursuant to delegated authority.\40\
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-05704 Filed 3-25-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P