Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 250 / Friday, December 29, 1995 / Notices 67371

PENSION BENEFIT GUARANTY

CORPORATION

Request for Comment on Proposed

Collection of Information Under the

Paperwork Reduction Act; Customer

Satisfaction Surveys and Focus

Groups

AGENCY: Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

ACTION: Notice of intention to request

OMB approval.

SUMMARY: The Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation intends to request that the

Office of Management and Budget

approve a series of new collections of

information under the Paperwork

Reduction Act. The purpose of the

information collections, which will be

conducted through focus groups and

surveys over a three-year period, is to

help the PBGC assess the efficiency and

effectiveness with which it serves its

customers and to design actions to

address identified problems. The effect

of this notice is to advise the public of,

and to solicit public comment on, these

proposed collections of information.

ADDRESSES: All written comments

should be addressed to: Office of

General Counsel, Pension Benefit

Guaranty Corporation, Suite 340, 1200 K

St. NW., Washington, D. C. 20005. The

comments will be available for public

inspection at the PBGC

Communications and Public Affairs

Department, Suite 240, 1200 K Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20005, between

the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Marc L. Jordan, Attorney, Office of the

General Counsel, Suite 340, 1200 K

Street, NW., Washington, DC 20005,

202–326–4026 (202–326–4179 for TTY

and TDD). (These are not toll-free

numbers.)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44

U.S.C. Chapter 35) establishes policies

and procedures for controlling the

paperwork burdens imposed by Federal

agencies on the public. The Act vests

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) with regulatory responsibility

over these burdens, and OMB has

promulgated rules on the clearance of

collections of information by Federal

agencies.

Executive Order 12862, Setting

Customer Service Standards, states that,

in order to carry out the principles of

the National Performance Review, the

Federal Government must be customerdriven. It directs all executive

departments and agencies that provide

significant services directly to the

public to provide those services in a

manner that seeks to meet the customer

service standards established in the

Executive Order.

The PBGC proposes to establish a

mechanism through which it will be

able to explore issues of mutual concern

(e.g., kind and quality of desired

services) with its major outside client

groups, i.e., participants and

beneficiaries, plan sponsors and their

affiliates, plan administrators, pension

practitioners and others involved in the

establishment, operation and

termination of plans covered by the

PBGC’s insurance program.

The areas of concern to the PBGC and

its client groups will change over time,

and it is important that the PBGC have

the ability to evaluate customer

concerns quickly. Accordingly, the

PBGC plans to request that OMB grant

‘‘generic’’ approval, for a three-year

period, of focus groups and surveys of

the PBGC’s outside client groups.

Participation in the focus groups and

surveys will be voluntary. The PBGC

will consult with OMB regarding each

specific information collection during

the approval period.

This voluntary collection of

information will put a slight burden on

a very small percentage of the public.

The PBGC expects to conduct focus

groups involving a total of

approximately 225 persons each year,

with a total annual burden of

approximately 675 hours, including

travel time. (Some portion of this time

may be spent completing surveys at

focus group meetings.) In addition, the

PBGC expects to distribute written

surveys to approximately 1,600 persons

each year (in most cases as an adjunct

to a focus group), with a total annual

burden of approximately 200 hours.

The PBGC is specifically seeking

public comments to:

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed

collection of information is necessary

for the proper performance of the

functions of the agency, including

whether the information will have

practical utility;

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of the

estimate of the burden of the proposed

collection of information, including the

validity of the methodology and

assumptions used;

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and

clarity of the information to be

collected; and

(4) Minimize the burden of the

collection of information on those who

are to respond, including through the

use of appropriate automated,

electronic, mechanical, or other

technological collection techniques or

other forms of information technology.

Issued at Washington, DC, this 26th day of

December, 1995.

Martin Slate,

Executive Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty

Corporation.

[FR Doc. 95–31527 Filed 12–28–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7708–01–P

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Rel. No. IC–21619; 812–9870]

The Cardinal Group, et al.; Notice of

Application

December 22, 1995.

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange

Commission (the ‘‘SEC.’’).

ACTION: Notice of Application for

Exemption under the Investment

Company Act of 1940 (the ‘‘Act’’).

APPLICANTS: The Cardinal Group

(‘‘Cardinal’’), Cardinal Fund, Inc. (‘‘OldCFI’’), Cardinal Government Obligations

Fund (‘‘Old-CGOF’’), Cardinal

Government Securities Trust (‘‘OldCGST’’), Cardinal Tax Exempt Money

market Trust (‘‘Old-CTEMT’’)

(collectively, Old-CFI, Old-CGOF, OldCGST, and Old-CTEMT are the

‘‘Acquired Funds’’), the Ohio Company

(‘‘TOC’’), and Cardinal Management

Corp. (‘‘CMC’’).

RELEVANT ACT SECTIONS: Order requested

under section 17(b) of the Act to exempt

applicants from the provisions of

section 17(a).

SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Applicants

seek an order to permit applicants to

effectuate a reorganization between the

Acquired Funds and Cardinal.

FILING DATE: The application was filed

on December 4, 1995.

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 applicants with a

copy of the request, personally or by

mail. Hearing requests should be

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

January 17, 1996, 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 may request notification of a

hearing by writing to the SEC’s

Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, SEC, 450 5th

Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549.

Applicants, 155 East Broad Street,

Columbus, Ohio 43215.
67372 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 250 / Friday, December 29, 1995 / Notices

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Elaine M. Boggs, Staff Attorney, at (202)

942–0572, or C. David Messman, 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

may be obtained for a fee at the SEC’s

Public Reference Branch.

Applicants’ Representations

1. Cardinal and the Acquired Funds

are registered under the Act as open-end

management investment companies.

Cardinal currently offer two series. In

connection with the reorganization

described below, Cardinal has created

and plans to offer shares of four

additional series, the Cardinal Fund

(‘‘New-CFI’’), Cardinal Government

Obligations Fund, (‘‘New-CGOF’’),

Cardinal Government Securities Trust,

and Cardinal Tax Exempt Money Market

Fund (collectively, the ‘‘Acquiring

Series’’). TOC and its affiliates

beneficially own, as of November 30,

1995, 6% of the outstanding common

shares of Old-CFI, 9.1% of the

outstanding shares of Old-CGST, and

7.5% of the outstanding shares of OldCTEMT.

2. TOC serves as investment adviser

for Old-CFI and as principal

underwriter for Cardinal and the

Acquired Funds. CMC serves as

investment adviser for Cardinal,

including each Acquiring Series, OldCGOF, Old-CGST, and Old-CTEMT.

CMC is a wholly-owned subsidiary of

TOC.

3. Cardinal has adopted a distribution

and shareholder service plan pursuant

to rule 12b–1 under the Act. New-CFI

and New-CGOF have elected to be

covered by the distribution and

shareholder service plan. Old-CFI and

Old-CGOF have not adopted a

distribution plan pursuant to rule 12b–

1. Old-CFI and Old-CGOF also charge a

contingent deferred sales load as will

New-CFI and New-CGOF.

4. The board of trustees or directors of

Cardinal and the Acquired Funds (the

‘‘Boards’’) have approved agreements

and plans of reorganization and

liquidation providing for the transfer of

all of the assets of each of the Acquired

Funds to the Acquiring Series in

exchange for Acquiring Series shares.

The reorganization is subject to the

assumption by the Acquiring Series of

all of the liabilities of each of the

Acquired Funds.

5. As a result of the reorganization,

shareholders of each Acquired Fund

will receive, in exchange for his or her

shares of an Acquired Fund, shares of

the corresponding Acquiring Series with

an aggregate value equal to the value of

such shareholder’s shares of the

Acquired Fund, calculated as of the

close of business on the business day

immediately prior to the closing for

each fund. Each Acquired Fund will

liquidate and distribute shares of the

Acquiring Series to their respective

shareholders after the relevant closing.

6. The Boards, including the members

who are not ‘‘interested persons’’ as

such term is defined by the Act, have

concluded that the reorganizations

would be in the best interest of the

Acquired Funds and Cardinal and of the

shareholders, respectively, of the

Acquiring Series and the Acquired

Funds, and that the interests of the

existing shareholders of the respective

funds will not be diluted as a

consequence thereof. In making this

determination, the Boards considered a

number of factors, including the

business objectives and purposes of the

reorganization; compatibility of the

investment objectives, policies, and

restrictions of the respective Acquiring

Series and Acquired Fund; the expense

ratios of the Acquiring Series and the

Acquired Funds; and the anticipated

benefits to shareholders of the

Acquiring Series and to the Acquiring

Series’ service providers.

7. Each Acquired Fund’s participation

in the proposed reorganization is subject

to approval by the holders of the

outstanding shares of that Acquired

Fund. Approval will be solicited

pursuant to a prospectus/proxy

statement, which will be mailed to

shareholders of the Acquired Funds.

None of the agreements conditions the

completion of the reorganization on the

favorable vote of the shareholders of the

other Acquired Funds.

8. The expenses of each

reorganization are to be paid by TOC,

except that each of the Acquiring Series

will be responsible for its own

organization costs and each Acquired

Fund will be responsible for the portion

of the proxy solicitation and other costs

associated with its annual or special

meeting of shareholders.

9. The consummation of each

reorganization is subject to certain

conditions, including that the parties

shall have received from the SEC the

order requested herein, and the receipt

of an opinion of tax counsel to the effect

that upon consummation of each

reorganization and the transfer of

substantially all the assets of each

Acquired Fund, no gain or loss will be

recognized by the Acquired or

Acquiring Series or their shareholders

as a result of the reorganization.

Applicants will not make any material

changes adversely affecting the rights of

shareholders that affect the application

without the prior approval of the SEC

staff.

Applicants’ Legal Analysis

1. Section 17(a) of the Act provides,

in pertinent part, that it is unlawful for

any affiliated person of a registered

investment company, or any affiliated

person of such an affiliated person,

acting as principal, knowingly to sell or

purchase securities to or from such

registered company.

2. Section 2(a)(3) of the Act defines

the term ‘‘affiliated person’’ of another

person to include, in pertinent part, (a)

any person directly or indirectly

owning, controlling, or holding with

power to vote 5% or more of the

outstanding voting securities of such

other person, (b) any person 5% or more

of the outstanding voting securities are

directly or indirectly owned, controlled,

or held with power to vote, by such

other person, (c) any person directly or

indirectly controlling, controlled by, or

under common control with such other

person, and (d) if such other person is

an investment company, any investment

adviser thereof.

3. Rule 17a–8 under the Act exempts

from the prohibitions of section 17(a)

mergers, consolidations, or purchases or

sales of substantially all of the assets of

registered investment companies that

are affiliated persons solely by reason of

having a common investment adviser,

common directors, and/or common

officers, provided that certain

conditions set forth in the rule are

satisfied. TOC and its affiliates own

more than 5% of the outstanding shares

of each of Old-CFI, Old-CGST, and OldCTEMT. Accordingly, these funds and

Cardinal may be affiliated persons for

reasons in addition to having common

directors and officers and a common

and/or affiliated investment adviser.

4. Section 17(b) of the Act provides

that the SEC may exempt a transaction

from the prohibitions of section 17(a) if

evidence establishes that the terms of

the proposed transactions, including the

consideration to be paid, are reasonable

and fair and do not involve

overreaching on the part of any person

concerned, and that the proposed

transaction is consistent with the policy

of the registered investment company

concerned and with the general

purposes of the Act.

5. Applicants believe that the

reorganizations are consistent with the

policies and purposes of the Act. In

addition, applicants state that the

exchange of assets will be based on each

fund’s relative net asset values and that

no sales charge or contingent deferred
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 250 / Friday, December 29, 1995 / Notices 67373

sales charge will be incurred by

shareholders of the Acquired Funds in

connection with their acquisition of

Acquiring Series shares. Further,

applicants state that the Boards,

including the non-interested members,

have concluded that the reorganization

is in the best interest of the shareholders

of the Acquired Fund. In addition, the

investment objectives, policies, and

restrictions of the Acquiring Series are

substantially similar to those of the

Acquired Funds and that the differences

reflect either the desire for uniformity

among the different series of Cardinal,

to reflect more current regulations, and/

or for easier operation.

For the Commission, by the Division of

Investment Management, pursuant to

delegated authority.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–31512 Filed 12–28–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

[Investment Company Act Release No.

21620; 812–9798]

Voyageur Fund Managers, Inc., et al.;

Notice of Application

December 22, 1995.

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘SEC’’).

ACTION: Notice of Application for

Exemption under the Investment

Company Act of 1940 (the ‘‘Act’’).

APPLICANTS: Voyageur fund Managers,

Inc. (the ‘‘Sponsor’’), Voyageur Unit

Investment Trust, Voyageur Equity

Trust, Voyageur Tax-Exempt Trust, and

any future unit investment trusts

sponsored by the Sponsor (together with

the three above-named unit investment

trusts, the ‘‘Trusts’’) and their respective

series (each, a ‘‘Series’’).

RELEVANT ACT SECTIONS: Order requested

under section 6(c) granting an

exemption from sections 2(a)(32),

2(a)(35), 14(a), 19(b), 22(d), and 26(a)(2)

of the Act and rules 19b–1 and 22c–1

thereunder; under section 11(a) for an

exemption from section 11(c); and

under sections 6(c) and 17(b) for an

exemption from section 17(a).

SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Applicants

request an order: (a) Permitting the

Trusts to impose sales charges on a

deferred basis and to waive the deferred

sales charge in certain cases; (b)

permitting certain offers of exchange

involving the Trusts; (c) exempting the

Sponsor from having to take for its own

account or place with others $100,000

worth of units in certain Trusts; (d)

permitting certain Trusts to distribute

capital gains resulting from redemptions

of portfolio securities within a

reasonable time after receipt; and (e)

permitting a terminating Series of the

Voyageur Equity trust to sell portfolio

securities to a new Series of that Trust

under the circumstances described

below.

FILING DATE: The application was filed

on October 5, 1995.

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 Applicants with a

copy of the request, personally or by

mail. Hearing requests should be

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

January 16, 1996, and should be

accompanied by proof of service on the

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 reasons for

the request, and the issues contested.

Persons who wish to be notified of a

hearing may request such notification

by writing to the SEC’s Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, SEC, 450 Fifth

Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549.

Applicants, c/o Voyageur Fund

Managers, Inc., 90 South Seventh Street,

Suite 4400, Minneapolis, Minnesota

55402.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

H.R. Hallock, Jr., Special Counsel, at

(202) 942–0564 or C. David Messman,

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

may be obtained for a fee from the SEC’s

Public Reference Branch.

Applicants’ Representations

1. Each of the Trusts is or will be a

unit investment trust registered under

the Act and sponsored by the Sponsor.

The investment objectives of the Trusts

may differ. The principal underwriter

for the Trusts is or will be Voyageur

Fund Distributor, Inc. (the

‘‘Distributor’’). The Sponsor and

Distributor are each indirect whollyowned subsidiaries of Dougherty

Financial Group, Inc.

2. Each of the Trusts consists or will

consist of one or more separate Series.

Each Series is created by a trust

indenture among the Sponsor, a banking

institution or trust company as trustee,

and an evaluator. The Sponsor acquires

a portfolio of securities which it

deposits with the trustee in exchange for

certificates representing units of

fractional undivided interest in the

deposited portfolio (‘‘Units’’). The

Sponsor will deposit substantially more

than $100,000 of debt or equity

securities, depending on the objective of

the particular Series, for each Series.

3. The Units are then offered to the

public through the Distributor and

dealers at a public offering price which,

during the initial offering period, is

based upon the aggregate offering side

evaluation of the underlying securities

plus a front-end sales charge. The sales

charge is the maximum amount

applicable to a Series and is currently

approximately 4.9% of the public

offering price. The Sponsor may reduce

the sales charge under certain

circumstances, which will be disclosed

in the prospectus. Any such reduction

will be made in accordance with rule

22d–1.

4. The Distributor maintains a

secondary market for Units of

outstanding Series and continually

offers to purchase these Units at prices

based upon the bid side evaluation of

the underlying securities. If the

Distributor discontinues maintaining

such a market at any time for any Trust,

holders of Units (‘‘Unitholders’’) of such

Trust may redeem their Units through

the trustee.

5. Distribution payments of taxexempt or taxable income, depending

on the investment objective of a

particular Trust, will be made to

Unitholders on an annual, semi-annual,

quarterly or monthly basis. The Trusts

generally are permitted to distribute to

Unitholders any capital gains earned in

connection with the sale of portfolio

shares along with the Trust’s regular

distributions in reliance on paragraph

(c) of rule 19b–1.

A. The Deferred Sales Charge

1. Applicants seek an order permitting

them to impose a deferred sales charge

(‘‘DSC’’) and to reduce or waive the DSC

under certain circumstances. Under

Applicants’ proposal, the Sponsor will

determine the maximum amount of the

sales charge per Unit. The Sponsor and

Distributor will have discretion to defer

the collection of all or part of such sales

charge over a period (the ‘‘Collection

Period’’) subsequent to the settlement

date for the purchase of Units. The

Sponsor will in no event add to the

deferred amount of the sales charge any

additional amount for interest or any

similar or related charge to reflect or

adjust for such deferral.

2. The Distributor anticipates

collecting a portion of the total sales

charge immediately upon purchase of

Trust Units. The balance of the sales

charge will be collected in installments