Self-Regulatory Organizations; Proposed Rule Changes:
Federal Register: May 2, 2011 (Volume 76, Number 84)
Notices
Page 24548-24554
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
DOCID:fr02my11-132
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Release No. 34-64342; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2011-17
Self-Regulatory Organizations; NYSE Arca, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Listing and Trading of the
Madrona Forward Domestic ETF, Madrona Forward International ETF, and
Madrona Forward Global Bond ETF
April 26, 2011.
Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
(``Act'' or ``Exchange Act'') \1\ and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,\2\ notice is hereby given that on April 13, 2011, NYSE Arca, Inc. (``Exchange'' or ``NYSE Arca'') filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
(``Commission'') the proposed rule change as described in Items I and
II below, which Items have been prepared by the Exchange. The
Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons.
\1\ 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1).
\2\ 17 CFR 240.19b-4.
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Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change
The Exchange proposes to list and trade the following under NYSE
Arca Equities Rule 8.600 (``Managed Fund Shares''): Madrona Forward
Domestic ETF; Madrona Forward International ETF; and Madrona Forward
Global Bond ETF. The text of the proposed rule change is available at the Exchange, the Commission's Public Reference Room, and http:// www.nyse.com.
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Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change
In its filing with the Commission, the self-regulatory organization included statements concerning the purpose of, and basis for, the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change. The text of those statements may be examined at the places specified in Item IV below. The Exchange has prepared summaries, set forth in sections A, B, and C below, of the most significant parts of such statements.
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Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement of the Purpose of, and
Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change 1. Purpose
The Exchange proposes to list and trade the following Managed Fund
Shares \3\ (``Shares'') under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600: Madrona
Forward Domestic ETF; Madrona Forward International ETF; and Madrona
Forward Global Bond ETF (each, a ``Fund'' and, collectively,
``Funds'').\4\ The Shares will be offered by AdvisorShares Trust
(``Trust''), a statutory trust organized under the laws of the State of
Delaware and registered with the Commission as an open-end management investment company.\5\ The investment adviser to the Funds is
AdvisorShares Investments, LLC (``Adviser''). Madrona Funds LLC is the
Funds' sub-adviser (``Sub-Adviser'') and provides day-to-day portfolio management of the Funds. Foreside Fund Services, LLC (``Distributor'') is the principal underwriter and distributor of the Funds' Shares. The
Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (``Administrator'') serves as administrator, custodian, and transfer agent for the Funds.
\3\ A Managed Fund Share is a security that represents an interest in an investment company registered under the Investment
Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a) (``1940 Act'') organized as an open-end investment company or similar entity that invests in a portfolio of securities selected by its investment adviser consistent with its investment objectives and policies. In contrast, an open-end investment company that issues Investment Company Units, listed and traded on the Exchange under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(3), seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of a specific foreign or domestic stock index, fixed income securities index, or combination thereof.
\4\ The Commission approved NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 and the listing and trading of certain funds of the PowerShares Actively
Managed Exchange-Traded Funds Trust on the Exchange pursuant to Rule 8.600 in Securities Exchange Act Release No. 57619 (April 4, 2008), 73 FR 19544 (April 10, 2008) (SR-NYSEArca-2008-25). The Commission also previously approved listing and trading on the Exchange of a number of actively managed funds under Rule 8.600. See, e.g.,
Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 57801 (May 8, 2008), 73 FR 27878 (May 14, 2008) (SR-NYSEArca-2008-31) (order approving Exchange listing and trading of twelve actively-managed funds of the
WisdomTree Trust); 60460 (August 7, 2009), 74 FR 41468 (August 17, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-55) (order approving listing of Dent
Tactical ETF); 61365 (January 15, 2010), 75 FR 4124 (January 26, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-114) (order approving listing and trading of
Grail McDonnell Fixed Income ETFs); 60981 (November 10, 2009), 74 FR 59594 (November 18, 2009) (SR-NYSEArca-2009-79) (order approving listing of five fixed income funds of the PIMCO ETF Trust); 62502
(July 15, 2010), 75 FR 42471 (July 21, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-57)
(order approving listing of AdvisorShares WCM/BNY Mellon Focused
Growth ADR ETF); 63076 (October 12, 2010), 75 FR 63874 (October 18, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-79) (order approving listing of Cambria
Global Tactical ETF); 63329 (November 17, 2010), 75 FR 71760
(November 24, 2010) (SR-NYSEArca-2010-86) (order approving listing of Peritus High Yield ETF).
\5\ The Trust is registered under the 1940 Act. On November 30, 2010, the Trust filed with the Commission Form N-1A under the
Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a) and under the 1940 Act relating to the Funds (File Nos. 333-157876 and 811-22110)
(``Registration Statement''). The Trust has also filed an
Application for an Order under Section 6(c) of the 1940 Act for exemptions from various provisions of the 1940 Act and rules thereunder (File No. 812-13677, dated May 6, 2010) (``Exemptive
Application''). The description of the operation of the Trust and the Funds herein is based on the Registration Statement.
Commentary .06 to Rule 8.600 provides that, if the investment adviser to the Investment Company issuing Managed Fund Shares is affiliated with a broker-dealer, such investment adviser shall erect a
``fire wall'' between the investment adviser and the broker-dealer with respect to access to information concerning the composition and/or changes to such Investment Company portfolio. In addition, Commentary
.06 further requires that personnel who make decisions on the open-end fund's portfolio composition must be subject to procedures designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material non-public information regarding the open-end fund's
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portfolio.\6\ Commentary .06 to Rule 8.600 is similar to Commentary
.03(a)(i) and (iii) to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(3); however,
Commentary .06 in connection with the establishment of a ``fire wall'' between the investment adviser and the broker-dealer reflects the applicable open-end fund's portfolio, not an underlying benchmark index, as is the case with index-based funds. Neither the Adviser nor the Sub-Adviser is affiliated with a broker-dealer. In the event (a) the Adviser or the Sub-Adviser becomes newly affiliated with a broker- dealer, or (b) any new adviser or sub-adviser becomes affiliated with a broker-dealer, they will implement a fire wall with respect to such broker-dealer regarding access to information concerning the composition and/or changes to a portfolio, and will be subject to procedures designed to prevent the use and dissemination of material non-public information regarding such portfolio.
\6\ An investment adviser to an open-end fund is required to be registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (``Advisers
Act''). As a result, the Adviser and Sub-Adviser and their related personnel are subject to the provisions of Rule 204A-1 under the
Advisers Act relating to codes of ethics. This Rule requires investment advisers to adopt a code of ethics that reflects the fiduciary nature of the relationship to clients as well as compliance with other applicable securities laws. Accordingly, procedures designed to prevent the communication and misuse of non- public information by an investment adviser must be consistent with
Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act. In addition, Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act makes it unlawful for an investment adviser to provide investment advice to clients unless such investment adviser has (i) adopted and implemented written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation, by the investment adviser and its supervised persons, of the Advisers Act and the Commission rules adopted thereunder; (ii) implemented, at a minimum, an annual review regarding the adequacy of the policies and procedures established pursuant to subparagraph (i) above and the effectiveness of their implementation; and (iii) designated an individual (who is a supervised person) responsible for administering the policies and procedures adopted under subparagraph (i) above.
According to the Registration Statement, with respect to each of the Funds, the Sub-Adviser employs a forward-looking fundamental investment process when making capital allocation decisions across investment strategies for the Funds. The underlying investment process for the Madrona Forward Domestic ETF and the Madrona Forward
International ETF is based on a measure of forecasted earnings and projected growth relative to the price of the equities. The underlying investment process for the Madrona Forward Global Bond ETF is based on fundamental yield curve analysis and a measure of mean reversion for future expected yield curve trajectory.
Each Fund utilizes a core investment allocation strategy which seeks to replace what the Sub-Adviser's investment committee deems inefficient index methodologies for core investing that are prevalent in the marketplace. The Funds invest in actively managed, broadly diversified portfolios and differ from most traditional indices in that the proportion, or weighting, of the securities in the Funds are based on forward-looking fundamental analysis rather than only on market capitalization of such securities. Risk management guidelines are employed to protect against dramatic over- or under-weighting of individual securities, reducing company specific risks.
Madrona Forward Domestic ETF
According to the Registration Statement, the Madrona Forward
Domestic ETF seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation above the capital appreciation of its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The Sub-
Adviser seeks to achieve the Fund's investment objective primarily by selecting a portfolio of up to 500 of the largest U.S. exchange-traded equity securities.\7\ The Sub-Adviser selects the securities for the
Fund's portfolio using a weighted allocation system based on a consensus of analyst estimates of the present value of future expected earnings relative to the share price of each security. The Sub-
Adviser's investment committee meets on a bi-weekly basis to monitor the portfolio and make allocation decisions. The investment committee uses third-party analyst research and a proprietary fundamental process to make allocation decisions, and employs guidelines to protect against dramatic over- or under-weighting of individual securities in the
Fund's portfolio. The investment committee relies heavily on a stock's price and market cap relative to its future expected earnings in its analysis of individual securities. Changes to the Fund's portfolio typically occur upon the reporting and analysis of individual securities through the earnings season and rely heavily on a stock's price and market cap relative to the future expected earnings.
\7\ The Fund may hold only equity securities traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges and will hold a minimum of 13 equity components.
According to the Registration Statement, the Fund utilizes the following investment process:
Step 1: The Sub-Adviser's use of third-party research consists of analyzing the consensus analyst valuation estimates to drive the proprietary models that derive the present value of future expected earnings relative to the current stock price of each stock.
Step 2: The Sub-Adviser reviews this data on a company-by- company basis, and the companies are put in order from most attractive to least attractive, and the Fund weights these companies accordingly.
Step 3: Risk management guidelines are established to allocate the total percentage invested in each quartile of securities. In other words, each group of up to 125 securities will receive a certain investment percentage within the Sub-Adviser's established guidelines. This process ensures no dramatic over-weighting or under-weighting of individual securities.
Step 4: The Fund's portfolio is consistently monitored when company-specific data is released, and the Sub-Adviser's models are updated to drive allocation changes.
Madrona Forward International ETF
According to the Registration Statement, the Madrona Forward
International ETF seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation above the capital appreciation of its international benchmarks, the MSCI EAFE
Index, the Fund's primary benchmark, and the BNY Mellon Classic ADR
Index, the Fund's secondary benchmark. The Fund seeks to achieve the
Fund's investment objective by selecting a portfolio primarily composed of U.S. exchange-listed American Depository Receipts (``ADRs'') from among the largest issuers of Europe, Australasia and the Far East
(``EAFE''), and Canada. The Fund's portfolio may also include U.S. exchange-listed equity securities of large-capitalization non-U.S. issuers that provide exposure to certain markets deemed to be emerging markets. Securities are selected, weighted, and sold based upon the
Sub-Adviser's proprietary investment process. The Sub-Adviser's investment committee meets on a bi-weekly basis to monitor the portfolio and make allocation decisions. The investment committee uses third-party analyst research and a proprietary fundamental process to make allocation decisions. Changes to the Fund's portfolio typically occur upon the reporting and analysis of individual securities through the earnings season and rely heavily on a security's price and market cap relative to future earnings.
The composition of the Fund's portfolio, on a continual basis, will be subject to the following:
(1) Component stocks, including component stocks underlying ADRs, that, in the aggregate, account for at least 90% of the weight of the portfolio, each shall have a minimum market value of at least $100 million;
(2) Component stocks, including component stocks underlying ADRs, that, in the aggregate, account for at least 70% of the weight of the portfolio, each shall have a minimum global
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monthly trading volume of 250,000 shares, or minimum global notional volume traded per month of $25,000,000, averaged over the last six months;
(3) A minimum of 20 component stocks, including component stocks underlying ADRs, of which the most heavily weighted component stock shall not exceed 25% of the weight of the portfolio, and the five most heavily weighted component stocks shall not exceed 60% of the weight of the portfolio; and
(4) Each non-U.S. equity security underlying ADRs held by the Fund will be listed and traded on an exchange that has last-sale reporting.
According to the Registration Statement, the Fund utilizes the following investment process:
Step 1: The Sub-Adviser's use of third-party research consists of analyzing the consensus analyst valuation estimates to drive the proprietary models that derive the present value of future expected earnings relative to the current stock price of each stock.
Step 2: The Sub-Adviser reviews this data on a company-by- company basis, and the companies are put in order from most attractive to least attractive, and the Fund weights these companies accordingly.
Step 3: Risk management guidelines are established to allocate the total percentage invested in each quartile of securities. Each quartile will receive a certain investment percentage within the
Sub-Adviser's established guidelines. This process ensures no dramatic over-weighting or under-weighting of individual securities.
Step 4: The Fund's portfolio is consistently monitored when company specific data is released, and the Sub-Adviser's models are updated to drive allocation changes.
Madrona Forward Global Bond ETF
According to the Registration Statement, the Madrona Forward Global
Bond ETF seeks investment results that exceed the price and yield performance of its benchmark, the Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond
Index. The Sub-Adviser seeks to achieve the Fund's investment objective primarily by selecting a portfolio of fixed income (bond) U.S. exchange-traded funds (``ETFs'') and other U.S. exchange-traded products (``ETPs,'' and, together with ETFs, ``Underlying ETPs''), including but not limited to, exchange-traded notes (``ETNs''), exchange-traded currency trusts, and exchange-traded commodity pools.\8\ The Fund will invest in indexed Underlying ETPs that provide exposure to at least 12 distinct bond classes, including, but not limited to, short-term treasury bonds, municipal bonds, and high-yield
U.S. corporate bonds (sometimes referred to as ``junk bonds''). The
Sub-Adviser will construct the Fund's portfolio using a weighted allocation system based on yield-curve analysis of each bond category.
The investment committee meets on a bi-weekly basis to monitor the
Fund's portfolio and make allocation decisions. The investment committee uses third-party analyst research and a proprietary fundamental process to make allocation decisions. Each major bond category would have a three percent minimum percentage inclusion in the
Fund's portfolio.
\8\ Underlying ETPs include Investment Company Units (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(3)); Index-Linked
Securities (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.2(j)(6));
Portfolio Depositary Receipts (as described in NYSE Arca Equities
Rule 8.100); Trust Issued Receipts (as described in NYSE Arca
Equities Rule 8.200); Commodity-Based Trust Shares (as described in
NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.201); Currency Trust Shares (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.202); Commodity Index Trust Shares (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.203); Trust Units (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.500); Managed Fund Shares (as described in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600); and closed-end funds.
The Underlying ETPs all will be listed and traded in the U.S. on registered exchanges. The Madrona Forward Global Bond ETF may invest in the securities of Underlying ETPs consistent with the requirements of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act, or any rule, regulation, or order of the Commission or interpretation thereof.
The Funds will only make such investments in conformity with the requirements of Section 817 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
The Underlying ETPs in which the Fund may invest will primarily be index-based ETFs that hold substantially all of their assets in securities representing a specific index.
Through its investments in Underlying ETPs, the Fund will invest in at least 12 distinct global bond classes, including, but not limited to, the following: Mortgage Backed/Agency; Investment Grade U.S.
Corporate; Short-Term Treasury; Intermediate-Term Treasury; Long-Term
Treasury; Inflation Protected Treasury (TIPS); High-Yield U.S.
Corporate; International Treasury; Convertible and Preferred; Emerging
Markets; Municipal; International Investment Grade Corporate;
International High Yield; and Build America Bonds.
The Fund will invest in an Underlying ETP for each of the bond classes held in the portfolio. Changes to the Fund's portfolio typically occur upon the reporting and analysis of each bond category's risk assessment.
According to the Registration Statement, the Fund utilizes the following investment process:
Step 1: The Sub-Adviser selects an Underlying ETP for each bond category based on expense ratios and institutional strengths of each
Underlying ETP provider to ensure efficient internal trading.
Step 2: The Sub-Adviser's use of third-party research consists of analyzing the historical class by class yield-curve analysis and how the curve stands in relation to the current yield-curve of the particular bond class. Based on the research, the Sub-Adviser determines which bond classes will receive higher- and lower-than- average allocations as compared to typical bond indices.
Step 3: Risk management guidelines are established to allocate the total percentage invested in each bond class. Each class will receive a minimum investment within the Sub-Adviser's established guidelines. This process ensures no dramatic over-weighting or under-weighting of individual bond categories.
Step 4: The Fund's portfolio is consistently monitored when bond class data is released, and the Sub-Adviser's models are updated to drive allocation changes.
Other Investments of the Funds
With respect to each of the Funds, to respond to adverse market, economic, or political conditions, a Fund may invest 100% of its total assets, without limitation, in short-term, high-quality debt securities and money market instruments either directly or through Underlying
ETPs.\9\ A Fund may be invested in these instruments for extended periods, depending on the Sub-Adviser's assessment of market conditions. These debt securities and money market instruments include shares of other mutual funds, commercial paper, certificates of deposit, bankers' acceptances, U.S. Government securities,\10\ repurchase
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agreements,\11\ and bonds that are BBB or higher. The Funds also may invest in shares of REITs. REITs are pooled investment vehicles which invest primarily in real estate or real estate related loans.
\9\ Adverse market conditions would include large downturns in the broad market value of two or more times current average volatility, where the Sub-Adviser views such downturns as likely to continue for an extended period of time. Adverse economic conditions would include significant negative results in factors deemed critical at the time by the Sub-Adviser, including significant negative results regarding unemployment, Gross Domestic Product, consumer spending or housing numbers. Adverse political conditions would include events such as government overthrows or instability, where the Sub-Adviser expects that such events may potentially create a negative market or economic condition for an extended period of time.
\10\ Securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities include U.S. Treasury securities, including U.S. Treasury bills, U.S. Treasury notes, and U.S.
Treasury bonds. Certain U.S. government securities are issued or guaranteed by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. government including, but not limited to, obligations of U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities such as Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the
Government National Mortgage Association, the Small Business
Administration, the Federal Farm Credit Administration, the Federal
Home Loan Banks, Banks for Cooperatives (including the Central Bank for Cooperatives), the Federal Land Banks, the Federal Intermediate
Credit Banks, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, the Commodity Credit Corporation, the Federal
Financing Bank, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the National
Credit Union Administration, and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage
Corporation (``Farmer Mac''). The Funds may invest in U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds. These securities are U.S. Treasury bonds which have been stripped of their unmatured interest coupons, the coupons themselves, and receipts or certificates representing interests in such stripped debt obligations and coupons.
\11\ The Funds may enter into repurchase agreements with financial institutions, which may be deemed to be loans. The Funds follow certain procedures designed to minimize the risks inherent in such agreements. These procedures include effecting repurchase transactions only with large, well-capitalized and well-established financial institutions whose condition will be continually monitored by the Sub-Adviser. The Funds may enter into reverse repurchase agreements as part of the Funds' investment strategy. Reverse repurchase agreements involve sales by a Fund of portfolio assets concurrently with an agreement by the Fund to repurchase the same assets at a later date at a fixed price.
A Fund may not (i) with respect to 75% of its total assets, purchase securities of any issuer (except securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or shares of investment companies) if, as a result, more than 5% of its total assets would be invested in the securities of such issuer; or
(ii) acquire more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of any one issuer.\12\ For purposes of this policy, the issuer of the underlying security will be deemed to be the issuer of any respective
ADR.
\12\ The diversification standard is set forth in Section 5(b)(1) of the 1940 Act (15 U.S.C. 80e).
A Fund may not invest 25% or more of its total assets in the securities of one or more issuers conducting their principal business activities in the same industry or group of industries. This limitation does not apply to investments in securities issued or guaranteed by the
U.S. Government, its agencies or instrumentalities, or shares of investment companies. The Funds will not invest 25% or more of its total assets in any investment company that so concentrates.\13\
\13\ See Form N-1A, Item 9. The Commission has taken the position that a fund is concentrated if it invests more than 25% of the value of its total assets in any one industry. See, e.g.,
Investment Company Act Release No. 9011 (Oct. 30, 1975), 40 FR 54241
(November 21, 1975).
For purposes of this policy, the issuer of the underlying security will be deemed to be the issuer of any respective ADR.
The Funds may not purchase illiquid securities if, in the aggregate, more than 15% of their net assets would be invested in illiquid securities.\14\
\14\ The Commission has stated that long-standing Commission guidelines have required open-end funds to hold no more than 15% of their net assets in illiquid securities and other illiquid assets.
See Investment Company Act Release No. 28193 (March 11, 2008), 73 FR 14617 (March 18, 2008), footnote 34. See also Investment Company Act
Release No. 5847 (October 21, 1969), 35 FR 19989 (December 31, 1970)
(Statement Regarding ``Restricted Securities''); Investment Company
Act Release No. 18612 (March 12, 1992), 57 FR 9828 (March 20, 1992)
(Revisions of Guidelines to Form N-1A). A fund's portfolio security is illiquid if it cannot be disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the value ascribed to it by the ETF. See Investment Company Act Release No. 14983 (March 12, 1986), 51 FR 9773 (March 21, 1986) (adopting amendments to Rule 2a-7 under the 1940 Act); Investment Company Act Release No. 17452 (April 23, 1990), 55 FR 17933 (April 30, 1990) (adopting Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933).
According to the Registration Statement, the Funds will seek to qualify for treatment as a Regulated Investment Company (``RIC'') under the Internal Revenue Code.\15\
\15\ 26 U.S.C. 851. One of several requirements for RIC qualification is that a Fund must receive at least 90% of the Fund's gross income each year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to the Fund's investments in stock, securities, foreign currencies, and net income from an interest in a qualified publicly traded partnership (``90% Test''). A second requirement for qualification as a RIC is that a Fund must diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each fiscal quarter of the
Fund's taxable year: (a) At least 50% of the market value of the
Fund's total assets is represented by cash and cash items, U.S.
Government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities, with these other securities limited, in respect to any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the
Fund's total assets or 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer; and (b) not more than 25% of the value of its total assets are invested in the securities (other than U.S. Government securities or securities of other RICs) of any one issuer or two or more issuers which the Fund controls and which are engaged in the same, similar, or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnership (``Asset Test'').
Except for Underlying ETPs that may hold non-U.S. issues, the Funds will not otherwise invest in non-U.S.-registered issues.
Pursuant to the terms of the Exemptive Application, the Funds will not invest in options contracts, futures contracts, or swap agreements.
The Funds' investments will be consistent with the each Fund's investment objective and will not be used to enhance leverage.
Net Asset Value
Each Fund calculates net asset value (``NAV'') by: (i) Taking the current market value of its total assets; (ii) subtracting any liabilities; and (iii) dividing that amount by the total number of
Shares owned by shareholders. The Funds calculate NAV once each business day as of the regularly scheduled close of normal trading on the New York Stock Exchange (``NYSE'') (normally, 4 p.m. Eastern Time).
In calculating NAV, the Funds generally value investment portfolios at market price. If market prices are unavailable or a Fund thinks that they are unreliable, or when the value of a security has been materially affected by events occurring after the relevant market closes, the Funds will price those securities at fair value as determined in good faith using methods approved by the Funds' Board of
Trustees.
Creation and Redemption of Shares
The Funds offer and issue Shares on a continuous basis at NAV only in aggregated lots of 25,000 or more Shares (each a ``Creation Unit'' or ``Creation Unit Aggregation''), generally in exchange for: (i) A basket of equity securities (``Deposit Securities'') and (ii) an amount of cash (``Cash Component''). Shares are redeemable only in Creation
Unit Aggregations, and, generally, in exchange for portfolio securities and a specified cash payment.
A ``creator'' enters into an authorized participant agreement
(``Participant Agreement'') with the Distributor or uses a Depository
Trust Company (``DTC'') participant who has executed a Participant
Agreement (``Authorized Participant''), and deposits into a Fund a portfolio of securities closely approximating the holdings of that Fund and a specified amount of cash, together totaling the NAV of the
Creation Unit(s), in exchange for 25,000 Shares of the Fund (or multiples thereof).
All orders to purchase Creation Units must be received by the
Distributor no later than the close of the regular trading session on the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time) on the date such order is placed in order for the purchase of Creation Units to be effected based on the NAV of Shares of a Fund as next determined on such date after receipt of the order in proper form.
Shares may be redeemed only in Creation Units at their NAV next determined after receipt of a redemption request in proper form by a
Fund through the Administrator and only on a business day.
The Shares will conform to the initial and continued listing criteria under NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600. The Exchange represents that, for initial and/or continued listing, the Funds will be in compliance with Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act,\16\ as provided by
NYSE Arca Equities Rule 5.3. A minimum of 100,000 Shares for each Fund will be outstanding at the commencement of trading on the Exchange. The
Exchange will obtain a
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representation from the issuer of the Shares that the NAV per Share will be calculated daily and that the NAV and the Disclosed Portfolio will be made available to all market participants at the same time.
\16\ 17 CFR 240.10A-3.
Availability of Information
The Funds' Web site (http://www.advisorshares.com), which will be publicly available prior to the public offering of Shares, will include a form of the Prospectus for the Funds that may be downloaded. The
Funds' Web site will include additional quantitative information updated on a daily basis, including, for the Funds, (1) daily trading volume, the prior business day's reported closing price, NAV and mid- point of the bid/ask spread at the time of calculation of such NAV
(``Bid/Ask Price''),\17\ and a calculation of the premium and discount of the Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, and (2) data in chart format displaying the frequency distribution of discounts and premiums of the daily Bid/Ask Price against the NAV, within appropriate ranges, for each of the four previous calendar quarters. On each business day, before commencement of trading in Shares in the Core Trading Session on the Exchange, the Funds will disclose on their Web site the Disclosed
Portfolio, as defined in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(c)(2), that will form the basis for the Funds' calculation of NAV at the end of the business day.\18\
\17\ The Bid/Ask Price of the Funds is determined using the highest bid and the lowest offer on the Exchange as of the time of calculation of the Funds' NAV. The records relating to Bid/Ask
Prices will be retained by the Funds and their service providers.
\18\ Under accounting procedures followed by the Funds, trades made on the prior business day (``T'') will be booked and reflected in NAV on the current business day (``T+1''). Accordingly, the Funds will be able to disclose at the beginning of the business day the portfolio that will form the basis for the NAV calculation at the end of the business day.
On a daily basis, the Adviser will disclose for each portfolio security or other financial instrument of the Funds the following information on the Funds' Web site: Ticker symbol (if applicable); name of security or financial instrument; number of shares or dollar value of financial instruments held in the portfolio; and percentage weighting of the security or financial instrument in the portfolio. The
Web site information will be publicly available at no charge.
In addition, a basket composition file, which includes the security names and share quantities required to be delivered in exchange for a
Fund's Shares, together with estimates and actual cash components, will be publicly disseminated daily prior to the opening of the NYSE via the
National Securities Clearing Corporation. The basket represents one
Creation Unit of each Fund.
Investors can also obtain the Trust's Statement of Additional
Information (``SAI''), the Funds' Shareholder Reports, and the Trust's
Form N-CSR and Form N-SAR, filed twice a year. The Trust's SAI and
Shareholder Reports are available free upon request from the Trust, and those documents and the Form N-CSR and Form N-SAR may be viewed on- screen or downloaded from the Commission's Web site at http:// www.sec.gov. Information regarding market price and trading volume of the Shares is and will be continually available on a real-time basis throughout the day on brokers' computer screens and other electronic services. Information regarding the previous day's closing price and trading volume information will be published daily in the financial section of newspapers. Quotation and last-sale information for the
Shares will be available via the Consolidated Tape Association
(``CTA'') high-speed line. In addition, the Portfolio Indicative Value, as defined in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600 (c)(3), will be disseminated by the Exchange at least every 15 seconds during the Core
Trading Session by one or more major market data vendors. The dissemination of the Portfolio Indicative Value, together with the
Disclosed Portfolio, will allow investors to determine the value of the underlying portfolio of the Funds on a daily basis and to provide a close estimate of that value throughout the trading day. The intra-day, closing, and settlement prices of the portfolio securities are also readily available from the national securities exchanges trading such securities, automated quotation systems, published or other public sources, or on-line information services such as Bloomberg or Reuters.
Additional information regarding the Trust and the Shares, including investment strategies, risks, creation and redemption procedures, fees, portfolio holdings disclosure policies, distributions, and taxes is included in the Registration Statement. All terms relating to the Funds that are referred to, but not defined in, this proposed rule change are defined in the Registration Statement.
Trading Halts
With respect to trading halts, the Exchange may consider all relevant factors in exercising its discretion to halt or suspend trading in the Shares of the Funds.\19\ Trading in Shares of the Funds will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Equities
Rule 7.12 have been reached. Trading also may be halted because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable. These may include: (1) The extent to which trading is not occurring in the securities and/or the financial instruments comprising the Disclosed Portfolio of the Funds; or (2) whether other unusual conditions or circumstances detrimental to the maintenance of a fair and orderly market are present. Trading in the Shares will be subject to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(d)(2)(D), which sets forth circumstances under which Shares of a Fund may be halted.
\19\ See NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.12, Commentary .04.
Trading Rules
The Exchange deems the Shares to be equity securities, thus rendering trading in the Shares subject to the Exchange's existing rules governing the trading of equity securities. Shares will trade on the NYSE Arca Marketplace from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time in accordance with NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.34 (Opening, Core, and Late
Trading Sessions). The Exchange has appropriate rules to facilitate transactions in the Shares during all trading sessions. As provided in
NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.6, Commentary .03, the minimum price variation (``MPV'') for quoting and entry of orders in equity securities traded on the NYSE Arca Marketplace is $0.01, with the exception of securities that are priced less than $1.00 for which the
MPV for order entry is $0.0001.
Surveillance
The Exchange intends to utilize its existing surveillance procedures applicable to derivative products (which include Managed
Fund Shares) to monitor trading in the Shares. The Exchange represents that these procedures are adequate to properly monitor Exchange trading of the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws.
The Exchange's current trading surveillance focuses on detecting securities trading outside their normal patterns. When such situations are detected, surveillance analysis follows and investigations are opened, where appropriate, to review the behavior of all relevant parties for all relevant trading violations.
The Exchange may obtain information via the Intermarket
Surveillance Group (``ISG'') from other exchanges that are members of
ISG or with which the
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Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.\20\
\20\ For a list of the current members of ISG, see http:// www.isgportal.org. The Exchange notes that not all components of the
Disclosed Portfolio for the Funds may trade on markets that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has in place a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement.
The Exchange may obtain surveillance information from all securities exchanges holding the securities held by the Funds.
In addition, the Exchange also has a general policy prohibiting the distribution of material, non-public information by its employees.
Information Bulletin
Prior to the commencement of trading, the Exchange will inform its
Equity Trading Permit (``ETP'') Holders in an Information Bulletin
(``Bulletin'') of the special characteristics and risks associated with trading the Shares. Specifically, the Bulletin will discuss the following: (1) The procedures for purchases and redemptions of Shares in Creation Unit Aggregations (and that Shares are not individually redeemable); (2) NYSE Arca Equities Rule 9.2(a), which imposes a duty of due diligence on its ETP Holders to learn the essential facts relating to every customer prior to trading the Shares; (3) the risks involved in trading the Shares during the Opening and Late Trading
Sessions when an updated Portfolio Indicative Value will not be calculated or publicly disseminated; (4) how information regarding the
Portfolio Indicative Value is disseminated; (5) the requirement that
ETP Holders deliver a prospectus to investors purchasing newly issued
Shares prior to or concurrently with the confirmation of a transaction; and (6) trading information.
In addition, the Bulletin will reference that the Funds are subject to various fees and expenses described in the Registration Statement.
The Bulletin will discuss any exemptive, no-action, and interpretive relief granted by the Commission from any rules under the Exchange Act.
The Bulletin will also disclose that the NAV for the Shares will be calculated after 4 p.m. Eastern Time each trading day. 2. Statutory Basis
The basis under the Exchange Act for this proposed rule change is the requirement under Section 6(b)(5) \21\ that an exchange have rules that are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, to promote just and equitable principles of trade, to remove impediments to, and perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest.
\21\ 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5).
The Exchange believes that the proposed rule change is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices in that the
Shares will be listed and traded on the Exchange pursuant to the initial and continued listing criteria in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600. The Exchange has in place surveillance procedures that are adequate to properly monitor trading in the Shares in all trading sessions and to deter and detect violations of Exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws. The Exchange may obtain information via ISG from other exchanges that are members of ISG or with which the
Exchange has entered into a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. The equity holdings of the Madrona Forward Domestic ETF and
Madrona Forward International ETF will be comprised of U.S. exchange- listed equities, including ADRs, and the Madrona Forward Global Bond
ETF's Underlying ETP holdings will be U.S. exchange-listed. The listing and trading of such equity holdings and Underlying ETPs is subject to rules of the exchanges on which they are listed and traded, as approved by the Commission. Except for Underlying ETPs that may hold non-U.S. issues, the Funds will not otherwise invest in non-U.S.-registered issues. The Funds will not invest in options contracts, futures contracts, or swap agreements.
The proposed rule change is designed to promote just and equitable principles of trade and to protect investors and the public interest in that the Exchange will obtain a representation from the issuer of the
Shares that the NAV per Share will be calculated daily and that the NAV and the Disclosed Portfolio will be made available to all market participants at the same time. In addition, a large amount of information is publicly available regarding the Funds and the Shares, thereby promoting market transparency. The Funds' portfolio holdings will be disclosed on their Web site daily after the close of trading on the Exchange and prior to the opening of trading on the Exchange the following day. Moreover, the Portfolio Indicative Value will be disseminated by one or more major market data vendors at least every 15 seconds during the Exchange's Core Trading Session. On each business day, before commencement of trading in Shares in the Core Trading
Session on the Exchange, the Funds will disclose on their Web site the
Disclosed Portfolio that will form the basis for the Funds' calculation of NAV at the end of the business day. Information regarding market price and trading volume of the Shares is and will be continually available on a real-time basis throughout the day on brokers' computer screens and other electronic services, and quotation and last-sale information will be available via the CTA high-speed line. The Web site for the Funds will include a form of the Prospectus for the Funds and additional data relating to NAV and other applicable quantitative information. Moreover, prior to the commencement of trading, the
Exchange will inform its ETP Holders in an Information Bulletin of the special characteristics and risks associated with trading the Shares.
Trading in Shares of the Funds will be halted if the circuit breaker parameters in NYSE Arca Equities Rule 7.12 have been reached or because of market conditions or for reasons that, in the view of the Exchange, make trading in the Shares inadvisable, and trading in the Shares will be subject to NYSE Arca Equities Rule 8.600(d)(2)(D), which sets forth circumstances under which Shares of the Funds may be halted. In addition, as noted above, investors will have ready access to information regarding the Funds' holdings, the Portfolio Indicative
Value, the Disclosed Portfolio, and quotation and last-sale information for the Shares.
The proposed rule change is designed to perfect the mechanism of a free and open market and, in general, to protect investors and the public interest in that it will facilitate the listing and trading of additional types of actively managed exchange-traded products that will enhance competition among market participants, to the benefit of investors and the marketplace. As noted above, the Exchange has in place surveillance procedures relating to trading in the Shares and may obtain information via ISG from other exchanges that are members of ISG or with which the Exchange has entered into a comprehensive surveillance sharing agreement. In addition, as noted above, investors will have ready access to information regarding the Funds' holdings, the Portfolio Indicative Value, the Disclosed Portfolio, and quotation and last-sale information for the Shares.
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Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Burden on Competition
The Exchange does not believe that the proposed rule change will impose any burden on competition that is not necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Act.
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Self-Regulatory Organization's Statement on Comments on the Proposed
Rule Change Received From Members, Participants or Others
No written comments were solicited or received with respect to the proposed rule change.
-
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Date of Effectiveness of the Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Within 45 days of the date of publication of this notice in the
Federal Register or within such longer period (i) as the Commission may designate up to 90 days of such date if it finds such longer period to be appropriate and publishes its reasons for so finding or (ii) as to which the self-regulatory organization consents, the Commission shall:
(A) By order approve or disapprove such proposed rule change, or
(B) Institute proceedings to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved.
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Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to submit written data, views, and arguments concerning the foregoing, including whether the proposed rule change is consistent with the Act. 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 e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include
File Number SR-NYSEArca-2011-17 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
Send paper comments in triplicate to Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE.,
Washington DC 20549-1090.
All submissions should refer to File Number SR-NYSEArca-2011-17. This file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail 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 Web site (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 Web site 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 a.m. and 3 p.m. Copies of the filing will also be available for inspection and copying at the principal office of the
Exchange. All comments received will be posted without change; the
Commission does not edit personal identifying information from submissions. You should submit only information that you wish to make available publicly. All submissions should refer to File No. SR-
NYSEArca-2011-17 and should be submitted on or before May 23, 2011.
For the Commission, by the Division of Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated authority.\22\
\22\ 17 CFR 200.30-3(a)(12).
Cathy H. Ahn,
Deputy Secretary.
FR Doc. 2011-10502 Filed 4-29-11; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
