67 FR 196 pgs. 62995-62997 - The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, et al.; Notice of Application
Type: NOTICEVolume: 67Number: 196Pages: 62995 - 62997
Docket number: [Investment Company Act Release No. 25762; 812-12682]
FR document: [FR Doc. 02-25676 Filed 10-8-02; 8:45 am]
Agency: Securities and Exchange Commission
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[Investment Company Act Release No. 25762; 812-12682]
The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, et al.; Notice of Application
October 3, 2002.
AGENCY:
Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission").
ACTION:
Notice of an application under section 6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") for an exemption from section 15(a) of the Act and rule 18f-2 under the Act, as well as from certain disclosure requirements.
APPLICANTS:
The Charles Schwab Family of Funds, Schwab Investments, Schwab Capital Trust, and Schwab Annuity Portfolios (collectively, the "Trusts") and Charles Schwab Investment Management, Inc. ("CSIM").
SUMMARY OF THE APPLICATION:
Applicants request an order to permit them to enter into and materially amend sub-advisory agreements without shareholder approval and to grant relief from certain disclosure requirements.
FILING DATES:
The application was filed on November 14, 2001, and amended on October 1, 2002.
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 October 28, 2002, and should be accompanied by proof of service on applicants in the form of an affidavit or, for lawyers, a certificate of service. Hearing requests should state the nature of the writer's interest, the reason for the request, and the issues contested. Persons who wish to be notified of a hearing may request notification by writing to the Commission's Secretary.
ADDRESSES:
Secretary, Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549-0609. Applicants, 101 Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94104.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Christine Y. Greenlees, Senior Counsel, at (202) 942-0581, or Mary Kay Frech, Branch Chief, at (202) 942-0564 (Division of Investment Management, Office of Investment Company Regulation).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The following is a summary of the application. The complete application may be obtained for a fee from the Commission's Public Reference Branch, 450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549-0102 (telephone (202) 942-8090).
Applicants' Representations
1. Each Trust is organized as a Massachusetts business trust and is registered under the Act as an open-end management investment company. Each Trust currently offers multiple series, each with its own investment objectives, policies and restrictions. CSIM, registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 ("Advisers Act"), serves as the investment adviser to certain series of the Trusts that use or may use the multi-manager structure described in the application (together, the "Funds," and each a "Fund"). CSIM has entered into an investment advisory agreement with each Trust (each an "Advisory Agreement" and collectively, the "Advisory Agreements") that was approved by the board of trustees of each Trust (the "Board"), including a majority of the trustees who are not "interested persons," as defined in section 2(a)(19) of the Act ("Independent Trustees"), and the sole shareholder or shareholders of each Fund.1
Footnotes:
1 Applicants also request relief with respect to future Funds, and any other registered open-end management investment companies or series thereof (a) that are advised by CSIM or any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with CSIM, and (b) use the multi-manager structure described in the application ("Future Funds," and together with the Funds, the "Funds"). Any Fund that relies on the requested order will do so only in accordance with the terms and conditions contained in the application. The Trusts are the only existing investment companies that currently intend to rely on the order. If the name of any Fund contains the name of a Sub-Adviser (as defined below), the name Schwab, CSIM, or the name of the entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with CSIM that serves as the primary adviser to such Fund will precede the name of the Sub-Adviser.
2. Under the terms of the Advisory Agreement, CSIM serves as investment adviser to each Fund and provides investment sub-adviser selection, monitoring and asset allocation services to the Funds and may hire one or more sub-advisers ("Sub-Advisers") to exercise day-to-day investment discretion over all or a portion of the assets of a Fund pursuant to separate investment sub-advisory agreements. Each Sub-Adviser is or will be either registered or exempt from registration under the Advisers Act. Sub-Advisers are recommended to the Board by CSIM and selected and approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees. Each Sub-Adviser's fee is paid by CSIM out of the management fee received by CSIM from the respective Fund.
3. Applicants request relief to permit CSIM, subject to the Board's approval, to enter into and materially amend sub-advisory agreements without shareholder approval. The requested relief will not extend to a Sub-Adviser that is an affiliated person, as defined in section 2(a)(3) of the Act, of a Fund or CSIM, other than by reason of serving as a Sub-Adviser to one or more of the Funds (an "Affiliated Sub-Adviser").
4. Applicants also request an exemption from the various disclosure provisions described below that may require the Funds to disclose the fees paid by CSIM to the Sub-Advisers. An exemption is requested to permit a Fund to disclose (as both a dollar amount and as a percentage of a Fund's net assets): (a) Aggregate fees paid to CSIM and any Affiliated Sub-Adviser; and (b) aggregate fees paid to Sub-Advisers other than Affiliated Sub-Advisers ("Aggregate Fees"). If a Fund employs an Affiliated Sub-Adviser, the Fund will provide separate disclosure of any fees paid to the Affiliated Sub-Adviser.
Applicants' Legal Analysis
1. Section 15(a) of the Act provides, in relevant part, that it is unlawful for any person to act as an investment adviser to a registered investment company except pursuant to a written contract that has been approved by the vote of the majority of the company's outstanding voting securities. Rule 18f-2 under the Act provides that each series or class of stock in a series company affected by a matter must approve such matter if the Act requires shareholder approval.
2. Form N-1A is the registration statement used by open-end investment companies. Item 15(a)(3) of Form N-1A requires disclosure of the method and amount of the investment adviser's compensation.
3. Rule 20a-1 under the Act requires proxies solicited with respect to an investment company to comply with Schedule 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act"). Items 22(c)(1)(ii), 22(c)(1)(iii), 22(c)(8), and 22(c)(9) of Schedule 14A, taken together, require a proxy statement for a shareholder meeting at which the advisory contract will be voted upon to include the "rate of compensation of the investment adviser," the "aggregate amount of the investment adviser's fees," a description of "the terms of the contract to be acted upon," and, if a change in the advisory fee is proposed, the existing and proposed fees and the difference between the two fees.
4. Form N-SAR is the semi-annual report filed with the Commission byregistered investment companies. Item 48 of Form N-SAR requires investment companies to disclose the rate schedule for fees paid to their investment advisers, including the Sub-Advisers.
5. Regulation S-X sets forth the requirements for financial statements required to be included as part of investment company registration statements and shareholder reports filed with the Commission. Sections 6-07(2)(a), (b), and (c) of Regulation S-X require that investment companies include in their financial statements information about investment advisory fees.
6. Section 6(c) of the Act provides that the Commission may exempt any person, security, or transaction or any class or classes of persons, securities, or transactions from any provision of the Act, or from any rule thereunder, if such exemption is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and consistent with the protection of investors and the purposes fairly intended by the policy and provisions of the Act. Applicants believe that the requested relief meets this standard for the reasons discussed below.
7. Applicants assert that by investing in a Fund, shareholders, in effect, will hire CSIM to manage the Fund's assets by selecting and monitoring Sub-Advisers rather than by hiring its own employees to manage assets directly. Applicants state that investors will purchase Fund shares to gain access to CSIM's expertise in overseeing Sub-Advisers. Applicants further assert that the requested relief will reduce Fund expenses and permit the Funds to operate more efficiently. Applicants note that the Advisory Agreement will remain subject to the shareholder approval requirements of section 15(a) of the Act and rule 18f-2 under the Act.
8. Applicants assert that many Sub-Advisers charge their customers for advisory services according to a "posted" rate schedule. Applicants state that while Sub-Advisers are willing to negotiate fees lower than those posted in the schedule, particularly with large institutional clients, they are reluctant to do so where the fees are disclosed to other prospective and existing customers. Applicants submit that the relief will encourage Sub-Advisers to negotiate lower advisory fees with CSIM, the benefits of which are likely to be passed on to Fund shareholders.
Applicants' Conditions
Applicants agree that any order granting the requested relief will be subject to the following conditions:
1. Before a Fund may rely on the requested order, the operation of the Fund in the manner described in the application will be approved by a majority of the Fund's outstanding voting securities, as defined in the Act, or, in the case of a Fund whose public shareholders purchase shares on the basis of a prospectus containing the disclosure contemplated by condition 2 below, by the sole shareholder prior to offering shares of the Fund to the public.
2. Each Fund will disclose in its prospectus the existence, substance and effect of any order granted pursuant to this application. In addition, each Fund will hold itself out to the public as employing the "manager of managers" approach described in this application. The prospectus will prominently disclose that CSIM has ultimate responsibility (subject to oversight by the Board) for the investment performance of a Fund due to its responsibility to oversee Sub-Advisers and recommend their hiring, termination, and replacement.
3. Within 90 days of the hiring of any new Sub-Adviser, CSIM will furnish shareholders of the affected Fund with all of the information about the new Sub-Adviser that would be contained in a proxy statement, except as modified by the order to permit the disclosure of Aggregate Fees. This information will include the disclosure of Aggregate Fees and any change in such disclosure caused by the addition of a new Sub-Adviser. CSIM will meet this condition by providing shareholders with an information statement meeting the requirements of Regulation 14C, Schedule 14C and Item 22 of Schedule 14A under the Exchange Act, except as modified by the order to permit the disclosure of Aggregate Fees.
4. CSIM will not enter into a sub-advisory agreement with any Affiliated Sub-Adviser without such agreement, including the compensation to be paid thereunder, being approved by the shareholders of the Fund.
5. At all times, a majority of the Board will be Independent Trustees and the nomination of new or additional Independent Trustees will be placed within the discretion of the then-existing Independent Trustees.
6. When a change of Sub-Adviser is proposed for a Fund with an Affiliated Sub-Adviser, the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, will make a separate finding, reflected in the Board minutes, that the change is in the best interests of the Fund and its shareholders and does not involve a conflict of interest from which CSIM or an Affiliated Sub-Adviser derives an inappropriate advantage.
7. CSIM will provide general management services to each Fund, and, subject to review and approval by the Board, will: (a) Set the Fund's overall investment strategies; (b) evaluate, select and recommend Sub-Advisers to manage all or a part of the Fund's assets; (c) when appropriate, allocate and reallocate the Fund's assets among multiple Sub-Advisers; (d) monitor and evaluate the Sub-Advisers' investment performance; and (e) implement procedures reasonably designed to ensure that the Sub-Advisers comply with the Fund's investment objective, policies, and restrictions.
8. No trustee or officer of the Trusts, or director or officer of CSIM will own directly or indirectly (other than through a pooled investment vehicle over which such person does not have control) any interest in a Sub-Adviser except for (a) ownership of interests in CSIM or an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with CSIM; or (b) ownership of less than 1% of the outstanding securities of any class of equity or debt of a publicly-traded company that is either a Sub-Adviser or an entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with a Sub-Adviser.
9. Each Fund will disclose in its registration statement the Aggregate Fees.
10. Independent legal counsel, as defined in rule 0-1(a)(6) under the Act, will be engaged to represent the Independent Trustees. The selection of such counsel will be within the discretion of the then-existing Independent Trustees.
11. CSIM will provide the Board, no less frequently than quarterly, with information about CSIM's profitability on a per-Fund basis. The information will reflect the impact on profitability of the hiring or termination of any Sub-Adviser during the applicable quarter.
12. Whenever a Sub-Adviser is hired or terminated, CSIM will provide the Board information showing the expected impact on CSIM's profitability.
For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, under delegated authority.
Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-25676 Filed 10-8-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P