[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 78 (Tuesday, April 23, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16920-16921]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-08067]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Investment Company Act Release No. 33449; File No. 812-14970]
Putnam Managed Municipal Income Trust, et al.
April 17, 2019.
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 (``Act'') for an exemption from section 19(b) of
the Act and rule 19b-1 under the Act to permit registered closed-end
investment companies to make periodic distributions of long-term
capital gains more frequently than permitted by section 19(b) or rule
19b-1.
Applicants: Putnam Managed Municipal Income Trust (``PMM''), a
diversified closed-end investment company registered under the Act and
organized as a Massachusetts business trust; Putnam Master Intermediate
Income Trust (``PIM''), a diversified closed-end investment company
registered under the Act and organized as a Massachusetts business
trust; Putnam Municipal Opportunities Trust (``PMO''), a non-
diversified closed-end investment company registered under the Act and
organized as a Massachusetts business trust; Putnam Premier Income
Trust (``PPT,'' and together with PMM, PIM, and PMO, the ``Funds''), a
non-diversified closed-end investment company registered under the Act
and organized as a Massachusetts business trust; Putnam Investment
Management, LLC (``Putnam Management''), a limited liability company
organized under the laws of Massachusetts; and Putnam Investments
Limited (``Putnam Investments,'' and together with Putnam Management,
the ``Advisers''), a private limited company organized under the laws
of the United Kingdom, each of Putnam Management and Putnam Investments
registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and serving as
investment adviser and sub-adviser to the Funds, respectively (the
Advisers, together with the Funds, the ``Applicants'').\1\
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\1\ Applicants request that the order also apply to each other
registered closed-end investment company advised or to be advised in
the future by Putnam Management, Putnam Investments, or by an entity
controlling, controlled by, or under common control (within the
meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act) with Putnam Management or
Putnam Investments (including any successor in interest) (each such
entity, including the Advisers, also the ``Adviser'') that in the
future seeks to rely on the order (such investment companies,
together with the Funds, are collectively the ``Funds'' and,
individually, a ``Fund''). A successor in interest is limited to
entities that result from a reorganization into another jurisdiction
or a change in the type of business organization.
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Filing Dates: The application was filed on November 6, 2018, and
amended on March 18, 2019.
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 May 13, 2019, 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:
Bryan Chegwidden, Esq., Ropes & Gray LLP, 1211 Avenue of the Americas,
New York, New York 10036 and Robert T. Burns, Vice President, Putnam
Investment Management, LLC, 100 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts
02110.
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. Section 19(b) of the Act generally makes it unlawful for any
registered investment company to make long-term capital gains
distributions more than once every twelve months. Rule 19b-1 under the
Act limits to one the number of capital gain dividends, as defined in
section 852(b)(3)(C) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (``Code,''
and such dividends, ``distributions''), that a
[[Page 16921]]
registered investment company may make with respect to any one taxable
year, 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 investors in certain closed-end funds
may prefer an investment vehicle that provides regular current income
through a fixed distribution policy (``Distribution Policy'').
Applicants propose that a Fund be permitted to adopt a Distribution
Policy, pursuant to which the Fund would distribute periodically (as
frequently as twelve times in a taxable year) to its common
stockholders a fixed percentage of the market price of the Fund's
common stock at a particular point in time or a fixed percentage of net
asset value (``NAV'') at a particular time or a fixed amount per share
of common stock, any of which may be adjusted from time to time.
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 a 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.
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019-08067 Filed 4-22-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P