Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 145 / Tuesday, July 29, 1997 / Notices 40559

Trust and the amount of the case

payments that will be provided

periodically by the Treasuries to the

Trust and distributed to Holders.

Applicants also assert that whatever risk

there is of overpricing the Treasuries

will be borne by the counterparts and

not by the Holders because the costs of

the Treasuries will be calculated into

the amount paid on the Contracts.

Applicants argue that, for this reason,

the counterparties will have a strong

incentive to monitor the price paid for

the Treasuries, because any

overpayment could result in a reduction

in the amount that they would be paid

on the Contracts.

5. Applicants believe that the terms of

the proposed transaction are reasonable

and fair and do not involve

overreaching on the part of any person,

that the proposed transaction is

consistent with the policy of each of the

Trusts, and that the requested

exemption is appropriate in the public

interest and consistent with the

protection of investors and purposes

fairly intended by the policies and

provisions of the Act.

Applicants’ Conditions

Applicants agree that the order

granting the requested relief will be

subject to the following conditions:

1. Any investment company owning

voting stock of any Trust in excess of

the limits imposed by section 12(d)(1) of

the Act will be required by the Trust’s

charter documents to vote its Trust

shares in proportion to the vote of all

other Holders.

2. The trustees of each Trust,

including a majority of the trustees who

are not interested persons of the Trust,

(a) Will adopt procedures that are

reasonably designed to provide that the

conditions set forth below have been

complied with; (b) will make and

approve such changes as deemed

necessary; and (c) will determine that

the transactions made pursuant to the

order were effected in compliance with

such procedures.

3. The Trusts (a) Will maintain and

preserve in an easily accessible place a

written copy of the procedures (and any

modifications thereto), and (b) will

maintain and preserve for the longer of

(i) the life of the Trusts and (ii) six years

following the purchase of any

Treasuries, the first two years in an

easily accessible place, a written record

of all Treasuries purchased, whether or

not from Merrill Lynch or GSI, setting

forth a description of the Treasuries

purchased, the identity of the seller, the

terms of the purchase, and the

information or materials upon which

the determinations described below

were made.

4. The Treasuries to be purchased by

each Trust will be sufficient to provide

payments to Holders of Securities that

are consistent with the investment

objectives and policies of the Trust as

recited in the Trust’s registration

statement and will be consistent with

the interests of the Trust and the

Holders of its Securities.

5. The terms of the transactions will

be reasonable and fair to the Holders of

the Securities issued by each Trust and

will not involve overreaching of the

Trust or the Holders of Securities

thereof on the part of any person

concerned.

6. The fee, spread, or other

remuneration to be received by Merrill

Lynch and/or GSI will be reasonable

and fair compared to the fee, spread, or

other remuneration received by dealers

in connection with comparable

transactions at such time, and will

comply with section 17(e)(2)(C) of the

Act.

7. Before any Treasuries are

purchased by the Trust, the Trust must

obtain such available market

information as it deems necessary to

determine that the price to be paid for,

and the terms of the transaction is at

least as favorable as that available from

other sources. This shall include the

Trust obtaining and documenting the

competitive indications with respect to

the specific proposed transaction from

two other independent government

securities dealers. Competitive

quotation information must include

price and settlement terms. These

dealers must be those who, in the

experience of the Trust’s trustees, have

demonstrated the consistent ability to

provide professional execution of

Treasury transactions at competitive

market prices. They also must be those

who are in a position to quote favorable

prices.

For the SEC, by the Division of Investment

Management, pursuant to delegated

authority.

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–19836 Filed 7–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Rel. No. IC–22759; 811–8742]

Pacifica Variable Trust; Notice of

Application

July 23, 1997.

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘SEC’’).

ACTION: Notice of Application for

Deregistration under the Investment

Company Act of 1940 (the ‘‘Act’’).

APPLICANT: Pacifica Variable Trust.

RELEVANT ACT SECTION: Section 8(f)

SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Applicant

seeks an order declaring that it has

ceased to be an investment company.

FILING DATES: The application was filed

on January 31, 1997, and amendments

thereto were filed on May 6, 1997, and

June 19, 1997.

HEARING OR NOTIFICATION OF HEARING: An

order granting the application will be

issued unless the SEC orders a hearing.

Interested persons may request a

hearing by writing to the SEC’s

Secretary and serving applicant with a

copy of the request, personally or by

mail. Hearing requests should be

received by the SEC by 5:30 p.m. on

August 18, 1997, and should be

accompanied by proof of service on

applicant, 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 may request notification of a

hearing by writing to the SEC’s

Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, SEC, 450 5th

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549.

Applicant, 237 Park Avenue, Suite 910,

New York, NY 10017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Deepak T. Pai, Staff Attorney, at (202)

942–0574, or H.R. Hallock, Jr., Special

Counsel, 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

may be obtained for a fee at the SEC’s

Public Reference Branch.

Applicant’s Representations

1. Applicant is an open-end

management investment company that

is organized as a Delaware business

trust. On August 30, 1994, applicant

registered under the Act and filed a

registration statement pursuant to

section 8(b) of the Act on Form N–1A

to register an indefinite number of
40560 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 145 / Tuesday, July 29, 1997 / Notices

1 15 U.S.C. § 78s(b)(1).

2This examination was previously referred to as

the Put and Call Option Questionnaire for Listed

Personnel.

3This examination was previously referred to as

the Put and Call Option Questionnaire for Listed

Personnel.

4The Series 7 began covering the subject of

standardized options in 1977.

5See Exchange Rule 920.

shares for each of its five portfolios. The

registration statement became effective

on December 1, 1995, and applicant

commenced a public offering of its

shares on January 2, 1996. Applicant’s

shares were offered only to separate

accounts funding variable annuity

contracts issued by Anchor National

Life Insurance Company.

2. At a meeting of applicant’s board of

trustees on August 15, 1996, the board

unanimously approved the

deregistration and dissolution of

applicant. Applicant states it did not

seek securityholder authorization for its

deregistration and dissolution because

the sole shareholder of each of its series

voluntarily redeemed its shares.

3. On September 26, 1996, applicant’s

liquidation date, applicant’s sole

shareholder of each of applicant’s series

voluntarily redeemed its shares at net

asset value. The number of securities

redeemed and the aggregate net asset

value attributable to each portfolio were

as follows: (a) The Balanced Portfolio

redeemed 259,699.737 shares with an

aggregate net asset value of

$2,708,148.86; (b) the Emerging Growth

Portfolio redeemed 262,809.167 shares

with an aggregate net asset value of

$2,763,438.40; (c) the Equity Value

Portfolio redeemed 261,410.613 shares

with an aggregate net asset value of

$2,821,404.74; (d) the Intermediate

Bond Portfolio redeemed 258,378.579

shares with an aggregate net asset value

of $2,487,152.20; and (e) the Money

Market Portfolio redeemed 2,587,773.76

shares with an aggregate net asset value

of $2,587,773.76. There are no

securityholders of applicant to whom

distributions in complete liquidation of

their interests have not been made.

4. The expenses incurred in

connection with applicant’s liquidation

were approximately $14,344.59. The

expenses were assumed by Wells Fargo

Bank, the parent company of applicant’s

investment adviser. Prior to applicant’s

liquidation date, all of applicant’s

portfolio securities and other assets

were disposed of in arm’s length

transactions at fair market value.

Applicant paid ordinary and reasonable

brokerage commissions in connection

with such transactions.

5. Applicant has no securityholders or

assets. Applicant has no outstanding

debts or liabilities. Applicant is not a

party to any litigation or administrative

proceeding.

6. Applicant is not now engaged, nor

does it propose to engage, in any

business activities other than those

necessary for the winding up of its

affairs. Applicant will file a certificate of

cancellation with the State of Delaware

to effect its dissolution.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Investment Management, pursuant to

delegated authority.

Jonathan G. Katz,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–19905 Filed 7–28–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. 34–38861; File No. SR–Amex–

97–23]

Self-Regulatory Organizations; Notice

of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by

American Stock Exchange, Inc.

Relating to Updates to a Qualification

Examination Administered by the

Exchange

July 22, 1997.

Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934,1 notice

is hereby given that on June 20, 1997,

the American Stock Exchange, Inc.

(‘‘Amex’’ or ‘‘Exchange’’) filed with the

Securities and Exchange Commission

(‘‘Commission’’) the proposed rule

change as described in Items I, II, and

III below, which Items have been

prepared by the self-regulatory

organization. The Commission is

publishing this notice to solicit

comments on the proposed rule change

from interested persons.

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Terms of Substance of

the Proposed Rule Change

The Exchange is proposing an

updated version of the contents of the

Listed Put and Call Option

Questionnaire for Registered Personnel.2

The text of the proposed rule change is

available at the Office of the Secretary,

the Amex and at the Commission.

II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

In its filing with the Commission, the

self-regulatory organization included

statements concerning the purpose of

and basis for the proposed rule change

and discussed any comments it received

on the proposed rule change. The text

of these statements may be examined at

the places specified in Item IV below.

The self-regulatory organization has

prepared summaries, set forth in

Sections A, B, and C below, of the most

significant aspects of such statements.

A. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement of the Purpose of, and the

Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule

Change

1. Purpose

The Exchange is proposing an

updated version of the contents of the

Listed Put and Call Option

Questionnaire for Registered Personnel.3

This examination must be successfully

completed by a member or registered

employee who was registered and

approved by the Exchange prior to

1977,4 and now wishes to engage in a

public options business.5 The

examination is administered by the

broker-dealer member organization with

which the individual is associated,

which then certifies to the Exchange

that the applicant has satisfactorily

completed the examination.

The proposed rule change is

consistent with Section 6(b) of the Act,

in general, and Section 6(b)(5), in

particular, in that it is designed to

protect investors and the public interest

by helping to assure member

competence. In addition, the proposed

rule change is consistent with Section

6(c)(3)(A) in that it is designed to

examine the training, experience and

competence of applicants for both

AMEX membership and verify such

applicant qualifications for Exchange

membership.

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Burden on Competition

The Exchange does not believe that

the proposed rule change will impose

any inappropriate burden on

competition.

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s

Statement on Comments on the

Proposed Rule Change Received From

Members, Participants, or Others

No written comments were solicited

or received with respect to the proposed

rule change.

III. Date of Effectiveness of the

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for

Commission Action

Within 35 days of the date of

publication of this notice in the Federal

Register or within such longer period (i)

as the Commission may designate up to

90 days of such date if it finds such

longer period to be appropriate and

publishes its reasons for so finding or

(ii) as to which the self-regulatory