COMMENTS RECEIVED ON MARCH 7, 2013
FROM EDWARD BARTZ
FIDELITY GARRISON STREET TRUST (File No. 811-04861)
Fidelity Commodity Strategy Central Fund
AMENDMENT NO. 80
1. "Fund Summary" (Part A of the Registration Statement)
"Purchase and Sale of Shares"
"Shares of the fund are not offered to the public.
The price to buy one share of the fund is its net asset value per share (NAV). Your shares will be bought at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form.
The price to sell one share of the fund is its NAV. Your shares will be sold at the NAV next calculated after your order is received in proper form.
The fund is open for business each day the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is open.
The fund has no minimum investment requirement."
C: The Staff requests that the second paragraph be removed as this disclosure is not permitted or required by Item 6.
R: While we believe the disclosure at issue is helpful, we acknowledge that we previously agreed to take this comment for this fund. The disclosure was included in this filing inadvertently, and will be removed in the fund's next filing.
2. "Investment Details" (Part A of the Registration Statement)
"Principal Investment Risks"
"Many factors affect the fund's performance. The fund's yield and share price change daily based on changes in interest rates and market conditions and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. The fund's reaction to these developments will be affected by the types and maturities of securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund's level of investment in the securities of that issuer. Because Geode may invest a significant percentage of the fund's assets in a single issuer, the fund's performance could be closely tied to that one issuer and could be more volatile than the performance of more diversified funds. When you sell your shares they may be worth more or less than what you paid for them, which means that you could lose money by investing in the fund."
C: The Staff requests that we remove the word "more" from before "diversified." The Staff noted that a fund is either diversified or non-diversified and that the word "more" obscures the meaning of "diversified."
R: We believe that the disclosure above is stated in plain English pursuant to Rule 421(b)(3) under the Securities Act of 1933. We believe a typical shareholder - presumably unfamiliar with the 1940 Act's defined terms - would understand the term "more diversified" to mean a fund with greater diversity of issuers, regardless of its status as "diversified" or "non-diversified" under the 1940 Act, as even a non-diversified fund is "diversified" to some extent. Accordingly, we have not modified the disclosure.
3. "Directors and Officers (Trustees and Officers)" (Part B of the Registration Statement)
"Experience, Skills, Attributes, and Qualifications of the Funds' Trustees. The Governance and Nominating Committee has adopted a statement of policy that describes the experience, qualifications, attributes,
and skills that are necessary and desirable for potential Independent Trustee candidates (Statement of
Policy). The Board believes that each Trustee satisfied at the time he or she was initially elected or appointed a Trustee, and continues to satisfy, the standards contemplated by the Statement of Policy. The
Governance and Nominating Committee also engages professional search firms to help identify potential
Independent Trustee candidates who have the experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills consistent
with the Statement of Policy. From time to time, additional criteria based on the composition and skills of
the current Independent Trustees, as well as experience or skills that may be appropriate in light of future
changes to board composition, business conditions, and regulatory or other developments, have also been
considered by the professional search firms and the Governance and Nominating Committee. In addition,
the Board takes into account the Trustees' commitment and participation in Board and committee meetings,
as well as their leadership of standing and ad hoc committees throughout their tenure.
In determining that a particular Trustee was and continues to be qualified to serve as a Trustee, the Board has considered a variety of criteria, none of which, in isolation, was controlling. The Board believes that, collectively, the Trustees have balanced and diverse experience, qualifications, attributes, and skills, which allow the Board to operate effectively in governing each fund and protecting the interests of shareholders. Information about the specific experience, skills, attributes, and qualifications of each Trustee, which in each case led to the Board's conclusion that the Trustee should serve (or continue to serve) as a trustee of the funds, is provided below."
C: The Staff asserts that the current disclosure in the "Trustees and Officers" section does not adequately describe the reasoning behind each Trustee's appointment to the Board. The Staff also requests that additional information be added describing why a particular Trustee's skills or background are conducive to their position on the Board.
R: We continue to be of the view that, as required by Item 17(b)(10), the current disclosure in the "Trustees and Officers" section includes a brief discussion of the experience, qualifications, attributes, or skills that led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund. In addition to the disclosure cited by the Staff, we call the Staff's attention to the disclosure under "Standing Committees of the Fund's Trustees" that describes certain minimum qualifications for Independent Trustees, and to each Trustee's biographical information, which includes each Trustee's principal occupation during the last five years and other information relating to the experience, attributes, and skills relevant to each Trustee's qualifications to serve as a Trustee, and which led to the conclusion that each Trustee should serve as a Trustee for the fund.
4. "Directors and Officers (Trustees and Officers)" (Part B of the Registration Statement)
C: The Staff would like confirmation that biographies reflect all directorships for the past five years.
R: In accordance with Item 17 of Form N-1A, directorships held during the past five years are disclosed.
5. All funds
Tandy Representations (Part A and Part B of the Registration Statement)
C: The Staff would like us to affirm the following three statements:
1) The funds are responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the disclosure in the filings.
2) Staff comments or changes to disclosure in response to Staff comments in the filings reviewed by the Staff do not foreclose the Commission from taking any action with respect to the filing.
3) The funds may not assert Staff comments as a defense in any proceeding initiated by the Commission or any other person under the Federal Securities Laws.
R: We affirm the aforementioned statements.