UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Before the

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

Release No. 94905 / May 12, 2022

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING

File No. 3-20310

In the Matter of

S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC,

Respondent.

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ORDER APPROVING 

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

On May 17, 2021, the Commission issued an Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist 

Proceedings, Pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act of 1933, Making Findings, and 

Imposing a Cease-and-Desist Order (the “Order”)1against S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC (the 

“Respondent”). In the Order, the Commission found that prior to February 5, 2018, Respondent, 

which publishes an index that measures the return from a rolling long position for certain VIX 

futures contracts, failed to disclose the existence of a feature in this index that kept securities 

prices static during a period of unprecedented volatility. As a result of this undisclosed feature, 

values being published and disseminated to the market were not based on the real-time prices of 

certain VIX futures contracts. The Commission ordered the Respondent to pay a $9,000,000.00 

civil money penalty to the Commission. The Commission also created a Fair Fund, pursuant to 

Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, so the penalty paid can be distributed to 

harmed investors (the “Fair Fund”).

The Fair Fund includes the $9,000,000.00 paid by the Respondent.

The assets of the Fair Fund are subject to the continuing jurisdiction and control of the 

Commission. The Fair Fund has been deposited in an interest-bearing account at the U.S. 

Department of the Treasury’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and any interest accrued will be 

added to the Fair Fund.

On March 21, 2022, the Division of Enforcement, pursuant to delegated authority, 

published a Notice of Proposed Plan of Distribution and Opportunity for Comment (“Notice”),2

pursuant to Rule 1103 of the Commission’s Rules on Fair Fund and Disgorgement Plans 

 

1

 Securities Act Rel. No. 10943 (May 17, 2021).

2

 Exchange Act Rel. No. 94480 (Mar. 21, 2022).
2

(“Commission’s Rules”);3and simultaneously posted the Proposed Plan of Distribution (the 

“Proposed Plan”). The Notice advised interested persons that they could obtain a copy of the 

Proposed Plan from the Commission’s public website or by submitting a written request to Amy 

Sumner, United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Byron Rogers Federal Office 

Building, 1961 Stout Street, Suite 1700, Denver, CO 80294-1961. The Notice also advised that 

all persons desiring to comment on the Proposed Plan could submit their comments, in writing, 

within 30 days of the Notice. The Commission received no comments on the Proposed Plan 

during the comment period. 

The Proposed Plan provides for the distribution of the Net Available Fair Fund4to 

investors who held and/or purchased eligible securities between 4:09:40 p.m. on February 5, 

2018 and 5:09 p.m. on the same date and suffered a recognized loss as calculated by the 

methodology used in the plan of allocation in the Plan. 

The Division of Enforcement now requests that the Commission approve the Proposed 

Plan. 

Accordingly, it is hereby ORDERED, pursuant to Rule 1104 of the Commission’s Rules,5

that the Proposed Plan is approved, and the approved Plan of Distribution shall be posted 

simultaneously with this order on the Commission’s website at www.sec.gov.

For the Commission, by the Division of Enforcement, pursuant to delegated authority.6

Vanessa A. Countryman

Secretary 

 

3

 17 C.F.R. § 201.1103.

4

 All capitalized terms used herein but not defined shall have the same meanings ascribed to them in the Proposed 

Plan.

5

 17 C.F.R. § 201.1104. 

6

 17 C.F.R. § 200.30-4(a)(21)(iv).