[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 167 (Monday, August 31, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44890-44894]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-20868]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 28850; File No. 812-13105]


Clough Global Allocation Fund, et al.; Notice of Application

August 24, 2009.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice of application under section 6(c) of the Investment 
Company Act of 1940 (``Act'') for an exemption from section 19(b) of 
the Act and rule 19b-1 under the Act.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

    Summary of Application: Applicants request an order to permit 
certain registered closed-end investment companies to make periodic 
distributions of long-term capital gains with respect to their 
outstanding common stock as often as monthly in any one taxable year, 
and as frequently as distributions are specified by or in accordance 
with the terms of any outstanding preferred stock that such investment 
companies may issue.
    Applicants: Clough Global Allocation Fund, Clough Global Equity 
Fund, Clough Global Opportunities Fund (collectively, the ``Funds'') 
and Clough Capital Partners, L.P. (the ``Adviser'').
    Filing Dates: The application was filed on July 9, 2004 and amended 
on February 12, 2007, October 14, 2008, July 29, 2009 and August 24, 
2009.
    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 September 18, 2009, and should be accompanied by proof of 
service on applicants, in the form of an affidavit or, for lawyers, a 
certificate of service. Hearing requests should state the nature of the 
writer's interest, 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, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, 
NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090; Applicants, c/o Clough Capital Partners, 
L.P., One Post Office Square, 40th Floor, Boston, MA 02109, Attention: 
James E. Canty.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Keith A. Gregory, Senior Counsel, at 
(202) 551-6815, or Mary Kay Frech, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-6821 
(Division of Investment Management, Office of Investment Company 
Regulation).

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 for an 
applicant using the Company name box, at http://www.sec.gov/search/search.htm, or by calling (202) 551-8090.

Applicants' Representations

    1. Each Fund is a closed-end management investment company 
registered under the Act.\1\ Each Fund has a primary investment 
objective of seeking a high level of total return. The common shares 
issued by each Fund are listed on the NYSE Amex. Although the Funds 
have not issued preferred shares, each Fund is authorized to do so. 
Applicants believe that the shareholders of each Fund are generally 
conservative, dividend-sensitive investors who desire current income 
periodically and may favor a fixed distribution policy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ All existing closed-end investment companies that currently 
intend to rely on the requested order are named as applicants. 
Applicants request that any order granting the requested relief also 
apply to any registered closed-end investment company that in the 
future: (a) Is advised by the Adviser (including any successor in 
interest) or by any entity controlling, controlled by, or under 
common control (within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act) 
with the Adviser; and (b) complies with the terms and conditions of 
the application (included in ``Funds''). A successor in interest is 
limited to entities that result from a reorganization into another 
jurisdiction or a change in the type of business organization.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. The Adviser is a Delaware limited partnership registered under 
the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (``Advisers Act''). The Adviser 
serves as investment adviser to each Fund and may in the future serve 
as investment adviser to one or more additional Funds. Each Fund will 
be advised by investment advisers that are registered under the 
Advisers Act.
    3. Applicants state that on December 13, 2006, the boards of 
trustees (the ``Board'') of each Fund, including a

[[Page 44891]]

majority of the members of each Board who are not ``interested 
persons'' of the Fund as defined in section 2(a)(19) of the Act (the 
``Independent Trustees''), reviewed information regarding the purpose 
and terms of a proposed distribution policy, the likely effects of such 
policy on the respective Fund's long-term total return (in relation to 
market price and net asset value (``NAV'') per common share) and the 
relationship between the Fund's distribution rate on its common shares 
under the policy and the Fund's total return (in relation to NAV per 
share). Applicants state that the Independent Trustees also considered 
what conflicts of interest the Adviser and the affiliated persons of 
the Adviser and each Fund might have with respect to the adoption or 
implementation of such policy. Applicants further state that after 
considering such information, the Board, including the Independent 
Trustees, of each Fund approved a distribution policy with respect to 
the Fund's common shares (the ``Plan'') and determined that such Plan 
is consistent with such Fund's investment objectives and in the best 
interests of such Fund's common shareholders. Prior to implementing the 
Plan, the Board of each Fund, including the Independent Trustees, will 
review the factors considered in connection with its approval of the 
Plan, as well as any changes in such factors since the date of its 
approval, and will confirm that the Plan is consistent with the Fund's 
investment objectives and policies and in the best interests of such 
Fund's common shareholders.
    4. Applicants state that the purpose of each Fund's Plan is to 
provide to its respective common shareholders a regular, quarterly 
distribution that is not dependent on the timing or amount of 
investment income earned or capital gains realized by such Fund. 
Applicants represent that, under the Plans, each Fund will distribute 
all available investment income to shareholders, consistent with such 
Fund's primary investment objective of providing a high level of total 
returns. Applicants state that, if and when sufficient investment 
income is not available on a quarterly basis, each Fund will distribute 
long-term capital gains and/or return of capital to its shareholders to 
maintain the level distribution rate that has been approved by the 
Board. Applicants state that the minimum annual distribution rate of 
each Fund will be independent of such Fund's performance during any 
particular period but is expected to correlate with such Fund's 
performance over time. Applicants note that the amount and frequency of 
distributions may be amended at any time by the Board of each Fund 
without prior notice to such Fund's shareholders. Applicants explain 
that if a Fund's net investment income and net realized capital gains 
for any year exceed the amount required to be distributed under its 
Plan, such Fund will at a minimum make distributions necessary to 
comply with the distribution requirements of subchapter M of the 
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the ``Code''). Applicants state that 
each Plan provides that it can be amended, suspended or terminated at 
any time by the Board without prior notice to such Fund's shareholders.
    5. Applicants state that at the December 13, 2006 meeting, each 
Board adopted policies and procedures under rule 38a-1 under the Act 
that are reasonably designed to ensure that all notices sent to the 
Fund's shareholders pursuant to section 19(a) of the Act, rules 19a-1 
under the Act, and condition IV below (``19(a) Notices'') comply with 
condition II below, and that all other written communications by a Fund 
or its agents regarding distributions under the Plan include the 
disclosure required by condition III below. Applicants state that the 
Board of each Fund also adopted policies and procedures at that meeting 
that require each Fund to keep records that demonstrate its compliance 
with all of the conditions of the requested order and that are 
necessary for such Fund to form the basis for, or demonstrate the 
calculation of, the amounts disclosed in its 19(a) Notices.

Applicants' Legal Analysis

    1. Section 19(b) generally makes it unlawful for any registered 
investment company to make long-term capital gains distributions more 
than once every twelve months. Rule 19b-1 limits the number of capital 
gains dividends, as defined in section 852(b)(3)(C) of the Code 
(``distributions''), that a fund may make with respect to any one 
taxable year to one, plus a supplemental ``clean up'' distribution made 
pursuant to section 855 of the Code not exceeding 10% of the total 
amount distributed for the year, plus one additional capital gain 
dividend made in whole or in part to avoid the excise tax under section 
4982 of the Code.
    2. Section 6(c) provides that the Commission may, by order upon 
application, conditionally or unconditionally exempt any person, 
security, or transaction, or any class or classes of persons, 
securities or transactions, from any provision of the Act, if and to 
the extent that the exemption is necessary or appropriate in the public 
interest and consistent with the protection of investors and the 
purposes fairly intended by the policy and provisions of the Act.
    3. Applicants state that the one of the concerns underlying section 
19(b) and rule 19b-1 is that shareholders might be unable to 
differentiate between regular distributions of capital gains and 
distributions of investment income. Applicants state, however, that 
rule 19a-1 effectively addresses this concern by requiring that a 
separate statement showing the sources of a distribution (e.g., 
estimated net income, net short-term capital gains, net long-term 
capital gains and/or return of capital) accompany any distributions (or 
the confirmation of the reinvestment of distributions) estimated to be 
sourced in part from capital gains or capital. Applicants state that 
the same information also is included in each Fund's annual report to 
shareholders and on its IRS Form 1099-DIV, which is sent to each common 
and preferred shareholder who received distributions during the year 
(including shareholders who have sold shares during the year).
    4. Applicants further state that each of the Funds will make the 
additional disclosures required by the conditions set forth below, and 
each of them has adopted compliance policies and procedures in 
accordance with rule 38a-1 to ensure that all required 19(a) Notices 
and disclosures are sent to shareholders. Applicants argue that by 
providing the information required by section 19(a) and rule 19a-1, and 
by complying with the procedures adopted under each Plan and the 
conditions listed below, the Funds would ensure that each Fund's 
shareholders are provided sufficient information to understand that 
their periodic distributions are not tied to the Fund's net investment 
income (which for this purpose is the Fund's taxable income other than 
from capital gains) and realized capital gains to date, and may not 
represent yield or investment return. Applicants also state that 
compliance with each Fund's compliance procedures and condition III set 
forth below will ensure that prospective shareholders and third parties 
are provided with the same information. Accordingly, applicants assert 
that continuing to subject the Funds to section 19(b) and rule 19b-1 
would afford shareholders no extra protection.
    5. Applicants note that section 19(b) and rule 19b-1 also were 
intended to prevent certain improper sales practices, including, in 
particular, the practice of urging an investor to purchase shares of a 
fund on the basis of an upcoming capital gains dividend (``selling the 
dividend''), where the dividend would

[[Page 44892]]

result in an immediate corresponding reduction in NAV and would be in 
effect a taxable return of the investor's capital. Applicants assert 
that the ``selling the dividend'' concern should not apply to closed-
end investment companies, such as the Funds, which do not continuously 
distribute shares. According to applicants, if the underlying concern 
extends to secondary market purchases of shares of closed-end funds 
that are subject to a large upcoming capital gains dividend, adoption 
of a periodic distribution plan actually helps minimize the concern by 
avoiding, through periodic distributions, any buildup of large end-of-
the-year distributions.
    6. Applicants also note that common shares of closed-end funds that 
invest primarily in equity securities often trade in the marketplace at 
a discount to their NAV. Applicants believe that this discount may be 
reduced for closed-end funds that pay relatively frequent dividends on 
their common shares at a consistent rate, whether or not those 
dividends contain an element of long-term capital gain.
    7. Applicants assert that the application of rule 19b-1 to a Plan 
actually could have an undesirable influence on portfolio management 
decisions. Applicants state that, in the absence of an exemption from 
rule 19b-1, the adoption of a periodic distribution plan imposes 
pressure on management (i) not to realize any net long-term capital 
gains until the point in the year that the fund can pay all of its 
remaining distributions in accordance with rule 19b-1, and (ii) not to 
realize any long-term capital gains during any particular year in 
excess of the amount of the aggregate pay-out for the year (since as a 
practical matter excess gains must be distributed and accordingly would 
not be available to satisfy pay-out requirements in following years), 
notwithstanding that purely investment considerations might favor 
realization of long-term gains at different times or in different 
amounts. Applicants thus assert that the limitation on the number of 
capital gain distributions that a fund may make with respect to any one 
year imposed by rule 19b-1, may prevent the efficient operation of a 
periodic distribution plan whenever that fund's realized net long-term 
capital gains in any year exceed the total of the periodic 
distributions that may include such capital gains under the rule.
    8. Applicants also assert that rule 19b-1 may cause fixed regular 
periodic distributions under a periodic distribution plan to be funded 
with returns of capital \2\ (to the extent net investment income and 
realized short-term capital gains are insufficient to fund the 
distribution), even though realized net long-term capital gains 
otherwise could be available. To distribute all of a fund's long-term 
capital gains within the limits in rule 19b-1, a fund may be required 
to make total distributions in excess of the annual amount called for 
by its periodic distribution plan, or to retain and pay taxes on the 
excess amount. Applicants thus assert that the requested order would 
minimize these effects of rule 19b-1 by enabling the Funds to realize 
long-term capital gains as often as investment considerations dictate 
without fear of violating rule 19b-1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Returns of capital as used in the application means return 
of capital for financial accounting purposes and not for tax 
accounting purposes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    9. Applicants state that Revenue Ruling 89-81 under the Code 
requires that a fund that has both common stock and preferred stock 
outstanding designate the types of income, e.g., investment income and 
capital gains, in the same proportion as the total distributions 
distributed to each class for the tax year. To satisfy the 
proportionate designation requirements of Revenue Ruling 89-81, 
whenever a fund has realized a long-term capital gain with respect to a 
given tax year, the fund must designate the required proportionate 
share of such capital gain to be included in common and preferred stock 
dividends. Applicants state that although rule 19b-1 allows a fund some 
flexibility with respect to the frequency of capital gains 
distributions, a fund might use all of the exceptions available under 
the rule for a tax year and still need to distribute additional capital 
gains allocated to the preferred stock to comply with Revenue Ruling 
89-81.
    10. Applicants assert that the potential abuses addressed by 
section 19(b) and rule 19b-1 do not arise with respect to preferred 
stock issued by a closed-end fund. Applicants assert that such 
distributions are fixed or determined in periodic auctions by reference 
to short-term interest rates rather than by reference to performance of 
the issuer and Revenue Ruling 89-81 determines the proportion of such 
distributions that are comprised of the long-term capital gains.
    11. Applicants also submit that the ``selling the dividend'' 
concern is not applicable to preferred stock, which entitles a holder 
to no more than a periodic dividend at a fixed rate or the rate 
determined by the market, and, like a debt security, is priced based 
upon its liquidation value, credit quality, and frequency of payment. 
Applicants state that investors buy preferred shares for the purpose of 
receiving payments at the frequency bargained for, and do not expect 
the liquidation value of their shares to change.
    12. Applicants request an order under section 6(c) granting an 
exemption from the provisions of section 19(b) and rule 19b-1 to permit 
each Fund to make periodic capital gain distributions (as defined in 
section 852(b)(3)(C) of the Code) as often as monthly in any one 
taxable year in respect of its common shares and as often as specified 
by or determined in accordance with the terms thereof in respect of its 
preferred shares, if any.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Applicants state that a future Fund that relies on the 
requested order will satisfy each of the representations in the 
application except that such representations will be made in respect 
of actions by the board of trustees or directors of such future Fund 
and will be made at a future time.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Applicants' Conditions

    Applicants agree that any order of the Commission granting the 
requested relief will be subject to the following conditions:
    I. Compliance Review and Reporting. Each Fund's chief compliance 
officer will: (a) Report to the Fund's Board, no less frequently than 
once every three months or at the next regularly scheduled quarterly 
Board meeting, whether (i) the Fund and its Adviser have complied with 
the conditions of the order, and (ii) a material compliance matter, as 
defined in rule 38a-1(e)(2) under the Act, has occurred with respect to 
such conditions; and (b) review the adequacy of the policies and 
procedures adopted by the Board no less frequently than annually.
    II. Disclosures to Fund Shareholders:
    A. Each 19(a) Notice to the holders of the Fund's common shares, in 
addition to the information required by section 19(a) and rule 19a-1:
    1. Will provide, in a tabular or graphical format:
    (a) The amount of the distribution, on a per share basis, together 
with the amounts of such distribution amount, on a per share basis and 
as a percentage of such distribution amount, from estimated: (A) Net 
investment income; (B) net realized short-term capital gains; (C) net 
realized long-term capital gains; and (D) return of capital or other 
capital source;
    (b) The fiscal year-to-date cumulative amount of distributions, on 
a per share basis, together with the amounts of such cumulative amount, 
on a per share basis and as a percentage of such cumulative amount of 
distributions, from estimated: (A) Net investment income; (B) net

[[Page 44893]]

realized short-term capital gains; (C) net realized long-term capital 
gains; and (D) return of capital or other capital source;
    (c) The average annual total return in relation to the change in 
NAV for the 5-year period (or, if the Fund's history of operations is 
less than five years, the time period commencing immediately following 
the Fund's first public offering) ending on the last day of the month 
prior to the most recent distribution record date compared to the 
current fiscal period's annualized distribution rate expressed as a 
percentage of NAV as of the last day of the month prior to the most 
recent distribution record date; and
    (d) The cumulative total return in relation to the change in NAV 
from the last completed fiscal year to the last day of the month prior 
to the most recent distribution record date compared to the fiscal 
year-to-date cumulative distribution rate expressed as a percentage of 
NAV as of the last day of the month prior to the most recent 
distribution record date.
    Such disclosure shall be made in a type size at least as large and 
as prominent as the estimate of the sources of the current 
distribution; and
    2. Will include the following disclosure:
    (a) ``You should not draw any conclusions about the Fund's 
investment performance from the amount of this distribution or from the 
terms of the Fund's Plan'';
    (b) ``The Fund estimates that it has distributed more than its 
income and net realized capital gains; therefore, a portion of your 
distribution may be a return of capital. A return of capital may occur 
for example, when some or all of the money that you invested in the 
Fund is paid back to you. A return of capital distribution does not 
necessarily reflect the Fund's investment performance and should not be 
confused with `yield' or `income' '' \4\; and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ The disclosure in this condition II.A.2.(b) will be included 
only if the current distribution or the fiscal year-to-date 
cumulative distributions are estimated to include a return of 
capital.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (c) ``The amounts and sources of distributions reported in this 
19(a) Notice are only estimates and are not being provided for tax 
reporting purposes. The actual amounts and sources of the amounts for 
tax reporting purposes will depend upon the Fund's investment 
experience during the remainder of its fiscal year and may be subject 
to changes based on tax regulations. The Fund will send you a Form 
1099-DIV for the calendar year that will tell you how to report these 
distributions for federal income tax purposes.''
    Such disclosure shall be made in a type size at least as large as 
and as prominent as any other information in the 19(a) Notice and 
placed on the same page in close proximity to the amount and the 
sources of the distribution.
    B. On the inside front cover of each report to shareholders under 
rule 30e-1 under the Act, the Fund will:
    1. Describe the terms of the Plan (including the fixed amount or 
fixed percentage of the distributions and the frequency of the 
distributions);
    2. Include the disclosure required by condition II.A.2.(a) above;
    3. State, if applicable, that the Plan provides that the Board may 
amend or terminate the Plan at any time without prior notice to Fund 
shareholders; and
    4. Describe any reasonably foreseeable circumstances that might 
cause the Fund to terminate the Plan and any reasonably foreseeable 
consequences of such termination.
    C. Each report provided to shareholders under rule 30e-1 and in 
each prospectus filed with the Commission on Form N-2 under the Act, 
will provide the Fund's total return in relation to changes in NAV in 
the financial highlights table and in any discussion about the Fund's 
total return.
    III. Disclosure to Shareholders, Prospective Shareholders and Third 
Parties:
    A. Each Fund will include the information contained in the relevant 
19(a) Notice, including the disclosure required by condition II.A.2 
above, in any written communication (other than a Form 1099) about the 
Plan or distributions under the Plan by the Fund, or agents that the 
Fund has authorized to make such communication on the Fund's behalf, to 
any Fund common shareholder, prospective common shareholder or third-
party information provider;
    B. Each Fund will issue, contemporaneously with the issuance of any 
19(a) Notice, a press release containing the information in the 19(a) 
Notice and will file with the Commission the information contained in 
such 19(a) Notice, including the disclosure required by condition 
II.A.2 above, as an exhibit to its next filed Form N-CSR; and
    C. Each Fund will post prominently a statement on its (or the 
Adviser's) Web site containing the information in each 19(a) Notice, 
including the disclosure required by condition II.A.2 above, and will 
maintain such information on such Web site for at least 24 months.
    IV. Delivery of 19(a) Notices to Beneficial Owners: If a broker, 
dealer, bank or other person (``financial intermediary'') holds common 
stock issued by the Fund in nominee name, or otherwise, on behalf of a 
beneficial owner, the Fund: (a) Will request that the financial 
intermediary, or its agent, forward the 19(a) Notice to all beneficial 
owners of the Fund's shares held through such financial intermediary; 
(b) will provide, in a timely manner, to the financial intermediary, or 
its agent, enough copies of the 19(a) Notice assembled in the form and 
at the place that the financial intermediary, or its agent, reasonably 
requests to facilitate the financial intermediary's sending of the 
19(a) Notice to each beneficial owner of the fund's shares; and (c) 
upon the request of any financial intermediary, or its agent, that 
receives copies of the 19(a) Notice, will pay the financial 
intermediary, or its agent, the reasonable expenses of sending the 
19(a) Notice to such beneficial owners.
    V. Additional Board Determinations for Funds Whose Shares Trade at 
a Premium: If:
    A. The Fund's common shares have traded on the exchange that they 
primarily trade on at the time in question at an average premium to NAV 
equal to or greater than 10%, as determined on the basis of the average 
of the discount or premium to NAV of the Fund's common shares as of the 
close of each trading day over a 12-week rolling period (each such 12-
week rolling period ending on the last trading day of each week); and
    B. The Fund's annualized distribution rate for such 12-week rolling 
period, expressed as a percentage of NAV as of the ending date of such 
12-week rolling period, is greater than the Fund's average annual total 
return in relation to the change in NAV over the 2-year period ending 
on the last day of such 12-week rolling period; then:
    1. At the earlier of the next regularly scheduled meeting or within 
four months of the last day of such 12-week rolling period, the Board 
including a majority of the Independent Trustees:
    (a) Will request and evaluate, and the Adviser will furnish, such 
information as may be reasonably necessary to make an informed 
determination of whether the Plan should be continued or continued 
after amendment;
    (b) Will determine whether continuation, or continuation after 
amendment, of the Plan is consistent with the Fund's investment 
objective(s) and policies and in the best interests of the Fund and its 
shareholders, after considering the information in condition V.B.1.a 
above; including, without limitation:

[[Page 44894]]

    (1) Whether the Plan is accomplishing its purpose(s);
    (2) The reasonably foreseeable effects of the Plan on the Fund's 
long-term total return in relation to the market price and NAV of the 
Fund's common shares; and
    (3) The Fund's current distribution rate, as described in condition 
V.B above, compared with the Fund's average annual taxable income or 
total return over the 2-year period, as described in condition V.B, or 
such longer period as the Board deems appropriate; and
    (c) Based upon that determination, will approve or disapprove the 
continuation, or continuation after amendment, of the Plan; and
    2. The Board will record the information considered by it, 
including its consideration of the factors listed in condition 
V.B.1.(b) above, and the basis for its approval or disapproval of the 
continuation, or continuation after amendment, of the Plan in its 
meeting minutes, which must be made and preserved for a period of not 
less than six years from the date of such meeting, the first two years 
in an easily accessible place.
    VI. Public Offerings: The Fund will not make a public offering of 
the Fund's common shares other than:
    A. A rights offering below NAV to holders of the Fund's common 
shares;
    B. An offering in connection with a dividend reinvestment plan, 
merger, consolidation, acquisition, spin-off or reorganization of the 
Fund; or
    C. An offering other than an offering described in conditions VI.A 
and VI.B above, unless, with respect to such other offering:
    1. The Fund's annualized distribution rate for the six months 
ending on the last day of the month ended immediately prior to the most 
recent distribution record date,\5\ expressed as a percentage of NAV 
per share as of such date, is no more than 1 percentage point greater 
than the Fund's average annual total return for the 5-year period 
ending on such date; \6\ and
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ If the Fund has been in operation fewer than six months, the 
measured period will begin immediately following the Fund's first 
public offering.
    \6\ If the Fund has been in operation fewer than five years, the 
measured period will begin immediately following the Fund's first 
public offering.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    2. The transmittal letter accompanying any registration statement 
filed with the Commission in connection with such offering discloses 
that the Fund has received an order under section 19(b) to permit it to 
make periodic distributions of long-term capital gains with respect to 
its common stock as frequently as twelve times each year, and as 
frequently as distributions are specified in accordance with the terms 
of any outstanding preferred stock that such Fund may issue.
    VII. Amendments to Rule 19b-1: The requested order will expire on 
the effective date of any amendments to rule 19b-1 that provide relief 
permitting certain closed-end investment companies to make periodic 
distributions of long-term capital gains with respect to their 
outstanding common stock as frequently as twelve times each year.


    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-20868 Filed 8-28-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P