UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Before the

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

Release No. 94480 / March 21, 2022

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING

File No. 3-20310

In the Matter of

S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC,

Respondent.

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NOTICE OF PROPOSED PLAN OF 

DISTRIBUTION AND 

OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to Rule 1103 of the United States Securities and 

Exchange Commission’s (“Commission”) Rules on Fair Fund and Disgorgement Plans 

(“Commission’s Rules”), 17 C.F.R. § 201.1103, that the Division of Enforcement has submitted 

to the Commission a proposed plan of distribution (the “Proposed Plan”) for the distribution of 

monies paid in the above-captioned matter.

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

and 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.

 

1

 Securities Act Rel. No. 10943 (May 17, 2021).
2

OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMENT

Pursuant to this Notice, all interested persons are advised that they may obtain a copy of 

the Plan from the Commission’s public website at http://www.sec.gov/litigation/fairfundlist.htm. 

Interested persons may also obtain a written copy of the Proposed Plan by submitting a written 

request to Amy A. Sumner, United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Byron Rogers 

Federal Office Building, 1961 Stout Street, Suite 1700, Denver, CO 80294-1961. All persons 

who desire to comment on the Proposed Plan may submit their comments, in writing, no later 

than thirty (30) days from the date of this Notice:

1. to the Office of the Secretary, United States Securities and Exchange 

Commission, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090;

2. by using the Commission’s Internet comment form 

(http://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin.shtml); or

3. by sending an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov.

Comments submitted by email or via the Commission’s website should include “Administrative 

Proceeding File No. 3-20310” in the subject line. Comments received will be publicly available. 

Persons should submit only information they wish to make publicly available.

THE PROPOSED PLAN

The Net Available Fair Fund2is comprised of the $9,000,000.00 in civil money penalties 

paid by the Respondent, plus interest and income earned thereon, less taxes, fees, and expenses. 

The Proposed Plan provides for the distribution of the Net Available Fair Fund to investors who 

held and/or purchased Securities during the Relevant Period and suffered a Recognized Loss as 

calculated by the methodology used in the Plan of Allocation in the Plan. 

For the Commission, by the Division of Enforcement, pursuant to delegated authority.3

Vanessa A. Countryman

Secretary 

 

2

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

Plan.

3

 17 C.F.R. § 200.30-4(a)(21)(iii).