Exemption for the Acquisition of Securities During the Existence of An Underwriting or Selling Syndicate

The Commission is adopting amendments to the rule under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that permits an investment company that is related to certain participants in an underwriting to purchase securities during an offering, if certain conditions are met. The amendments increase the percentage of an underwriting that investment companies having the same investment adviser may purchase in reliance on the rule, and expand the scope of the rule to include securities of certain foreign and domestic issuers that are not registered with the Commission under the Securities Act of 1933. The amendments respond to changes in the investment company and underwriting industries that have occurred since the rule last was substantively amended in 1979.