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###### Securities and Exchange Commission

          - [Investment Company Act Release No. 24453; 812-11980]

# AGENCY:

Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”).

# ACTION:

Notice of an application for an order under section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Act”) for an exemption from section 12(d)(1)(F)(ii) of the Act. 

# Summary of Application:

                        Applicants request an order to permit a fund of funds relying on section 12(d)(1)(F) of the Act to charge a sales load in excess of 1                        1/2                         percent.                    

# Applicants:

Lifetime Achievement Fund, Inc. (the “Fund”), Manarin Investment Counsel, Ltd. (the “Adviser”) and Manarin Securities Corporation (the “Distributor”).

# Filing Dates:

The application was filed on February 17, 2000. Applicants have agreed to file an amendment during the notice period, the substance of which is reflected in this notice. 

# 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 June 6, 2000, 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, Commission, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549-0609; Applicants, c/o Charles H. Richter, Lifetime Achievement Fund, Inc., 11605 West Dodge Road, Omaha, NE 68154.

# FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deepak T. Pai, Senior Counsel, at (202) 942-0574 or George J. Zornada, Branch Chief, at (202) 942-0564, (Division of Investment Management, Office of Investment Company Regulation).

# SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

                    The following is a summary of the application. The complete application                           ( print page 31949)                        may be obtained for a fee at the Commission's Public Reference Branch, 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549-0102 (telephone (202) 942-8090).                

## Applicants' Representations

1. The Fund is a Maryland corporation and is registered under the Act as an open-end management investment company. The Fund intends to invest all or substantially all of its assets in the shares of various other registered investment companies (“Underlying Funds”) in reliance on section 12(d)(1)(F) of the Act. The Adviser is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and acts as investment adviser to the Fund. The Distributor is the principal underwriter to the Fund. Applicants request relief to permit the Fund to charge a sales load in excess of the limit in section 12(d)(1)(F)(ii) of the Act.

## Applicants' Legal Analysis

1. Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act provides that no registered investment company may acquire securities of another investment company if such securities represent more than 3% of the acquiring company's outstanding voting stock, more than 5% of the acquiring company's total assets, or if such securities, together with the securities of any other acquired investment companies, represent more than 10% of the acquiring company's total assets. Section 12(d)(1)(B) of the Act provides that no registered open-end investment company may sell its securities to another investment company if the sale will cause the acquiring company to own more than 3% of the acquired company's voting stock, or if the sale will cause more than 10% of the acquired company's voting stock to be owned by investment companies.

2. Section 12(d)(1)(F) of the Act provides that Section 12(d)(1) shall not apply to securities purchased by an acquiring company if the company and its affiliates own no more than 3% of an acquired company's securities, provided that the acquiring company does not impose a sales load of more than 1.5% on its shares. In addition, section 12(d)(1)(F) provides that no acquired company is obligated to honor any acquiring company redemption request in excess of 1% of the acquired company's securities during any period of less than 30 days, and the acquiring company must vote its acquired company shares either in accordance with instructions from its shareholders or in the same proportion as all other shareholders of the acquired company.

3. Section 12(d)(1)(J) of the Act provides that the Commission may exempt persons or transactions from any provision of section 12(d)(1) if and to the extent such exemption is consistent with the public interest and the protection of investors.

4. Applicants request an order under section 12(d)(1)(J) exempting them from the sales load limitation in  section 12(d)(1)(F)(ii). Applicants agree, as a condition to the requested order that any sales charges, distribution related fees, and service fees relating to the shares of the Fund, when aggregated with any sales charges, distribution related fees and service fees paid by the Fund relating to its acquisition, holding or disposition of shares of the Underlying Funds will not exceed the limits set forth in rule 2830 of the National Association of Securities Dealers Inc. (“NASD”) Conduct Rules.

## Applicants' Conditions

1. The Fund will comply with section 12(d)(1)(F) of the Act in all respects except for the sales load limitation of section 12(d)(1)(F)(ii).

2. Any sales charges, distribution related fees, and service fees relating to the shares of the Fund, when aggregated with any sales charges, distribution related fees and service fees paid by the Fund relating to its acquisition, holding or disposition of shares of the Underlying Funds will not exceed the limits set forth in rule 2830 of the NASD Conduct Rules.

3. No Underlying Fund will acquire securities of any other investment company in excess of the limits contained in section 12(d)(1)(A) of the Act except to the extent that such Underlying Fund (a) receives securities of another investment company as a dividend or as a result of a plan of reorganization of a company (other than a plan devised for the purpose of evading section 12(d)(1) of the Act); or (b) acquires (or is deemed to have acquired) securities of another investment company pursuant to exemptive relief from the Commission permitting such Underlying Fund to (i) acquire securities of one or more affiliated investment companies for short-term cash management purposes; or (ii) engage in interfund borrowing and lending transactions.

4. Before approving any advisory contract under section 15 of the Act, the Board of the Fund, including a majority of the Board who are not “interested persons” (as defined in section 2(a)(19) of the Act), will find that the advisory fees charged under the contract are based on services provided that are in addition to, rather than duplicative of, services provided under any Underlying Fund advisory contract. This finding, and the basis upon which the finding was made, will be recorded fully in the minute books of the Fund.

For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, under delegated authority.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00-12600  Filed 5-18-00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010-01-M