[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

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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