AGENCY:
Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”).
ACTION:
Notice of an application under section 6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“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 in rule 20a-1 under the Act, Item 19(a)(3) of Form N-1A, Items 22(c)(1)(ii), 22(c)(1)(iii), 22(c)(8) and 22(c)(9) of Schedule 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and Sections 6-07(2)(a), (b), and (c) of Regulation S-X (“Disclosure Requirements”). The requested exemption would permit an investment adviser to hire and replace certain sub-advisers without shareholder approval and grant relief from the Disclosure Requirements as they relate to fees paid to the sub-advisers. The order would also supersede a prior order.
MassMutual Institutional Funds et al., Investment Company Act Release Nos. 25211 (October 16, 2001) (notice), 25260 (November 9, 2001) (order), amended by MassMutual Institutional Funds et al., Investment Company Release Nos. 25665 (July 17, 2002) (notice) and 25699 (August 13, 2002) (order).
Applicants: MassMutual Premier Funds, MassMutual Select Funds, MML Series Investment Fund, and MML Series Investment Fund II, (each, a “Trust,” and collectively, the “Trusts”), each a Massachusetts business trust registered under the Act as an open-end management investment company with multiple series (each a “Series”), and MML Investment Advisers, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Manager,” and collectively with the Trusts, the “Applicants”).
Filing Dates: The application was filed October 17, 2014, and amended on March 9, 2015, June 15, 2015 and October 13, 2015.
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 February 26, 2016, and should be accompanied by proof of service on the 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:
Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549-1090. Applicants: 14376, M243, Enfield, CT 06082.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Bruce MacNeil, Senior Counsel, at (202) 551-6817, or James M. Curtis, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-6712 (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 Web site by searching for the file number, or 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. The Manager will serve as the investment adviser to each Subadvised Series pursuant to an investment advisory agreement with each Trust (each, an “Investment Management Agreement,” and collectively, the “Investment Management Agreements”). The Manager will provide the Subadvised Series with continuous and comprehensive investment management services subject to the supervision of, and policies established by, each Subadvised Series' board of directors (“Board”). The Management Agreements permit the Manager, subject to the approval of the Board, to delegate to one or more Sub-Advisers the responsibility to provide the day-to-day portfolio investment management of each Subadvised Series, subject to the supervision and direction of the Manager. The primary responsibility for managing the Subadvised Series will remain vested in the Manager. The Manager will hire, evaluate, allocate assets to and oversee the Sub-Advisers, including determining whether a Sub-Adviser should be terminated, at all times subject to the authority of the Board.
Applicants request relief with respect to the named Applicants, any future Series of the Trusts and any other existing or future registered open-end management company or series thereof that intends to rely on the requested order in the future and that: (a) is advised by the Manager or by any entity controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the Manager or its successor (included in the term “Manager”); (b) uses the multi-manager structure described in the application; and (c) complies with the terms and conditions of the application (any such series, a “Subadvised Series”). For purposes of the requested order, “successor” is limited to an entity that results from a reorganization into another jurisdiction or a change in the type of business organization.
A “Sub-Adviser” for a Series is (1) an indirect or direct “wholly owned subsidiary” (as such term is defined in the Act) of the Manager for that Series, or (2) a sister company of the Manager for that Series that is an indirect or direct “wholly-owned subsidiary” (as such term is defined in the Act) of the same company that, indirectly or directly, wholly owns the Manager (each of (1) and (2) a “Wholly-Owned Sub Adviser” and collectively, the “Wholly-Owned Sub-Advisers”), or (3) an investment sub-adviser for that Series that is not an “affiliated person” (as such term is defined in Section 2(a)(3) of the Act) of the Series or the Adviser, except to the extent that an affiliation arises solely because the sub-Adviser serves as a sub-adviser to one or more Series (each a “Non-Affiliated Sub-Adviser” and collectively, the “Non-Affiliated Sub-Advisers”) .
2. Applicants request an exemption to permit the Manager, subject to Board approval, to hire a Non-Affiliated Sub-Adviser or a Wholly-Owned Sub-Adviser, pursuant to Sub-Advisory Agreements and materially amend Sub-Advisory Agreements with Non-Affiliated Sub-Advisers and Wholly-Owned Sub-Advisers without obtaining the shareholder approval required under section 15(a) of the Act and rule 18f-2 under the Act. Applicants also seek an exemption from the Disclosure Requirements to permit a Subadvised Series to disclose (as both a dollar amount and a percentage of the Subadvised Series' net assets): (a) The aggregate fees paid to the Manager and any Wholly-Owned Sub-Advisers; (b) the aggregate fees paid to Non-Affiliated Sub-Advisers, and (c) the fee paid to each Affiliated Sub-Adviser.
The requested relief will not extend to any sub-adviser, other than a Wholly-Owned Sub-Adviser, who is an affiliated person, as defined in section 2(a)(3) of the Act, of the Subadvised Series or the Manager, other than by reason of serving as a sub-adviser to one or more of the Subadvised Series (“Affiliated Sub-Adviser”).
3. Applicants agree that any order granting the requested relief will be subject to the terms and conditions stated in the Application. Such terms and conditions provide for, among other safeguards, appropriate disclosure to Subadvised Series' shareholders and notification about sub-advisory changes and enhanced Board oversight to protect the interests of the Subadvised Series' shareholders.
4. 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 provisions of the Act, or any rule thereunder, if such relief is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and consistent with the protection of investors and purposes fairly intended by the policy and provisions of the Act. Applicants believe that the requested relief meets this standard because, as further explained in the Application, the Investment Management Agreements will remain subject to shareholder approval, while the role of the Sub-Advisers is substantially equivalent to that of individual portfolio managers, so that requiring shareholder approval of Sub-Advisory Agreements would impose unnecessary delays and expenses on the Subadvised Series. Applicants believe that the requested relief from the Disclosure Requirements meets this standard because it will improve the Manager's ability to negotiate fees paid to the Sub-Advisers that are more advantageous for the Subadvised Series.
For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, under delegated authority.
Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2016-02489 Filed 2-8-16; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P