1572 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2015 / Notices 

21 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A)(ii). 

22 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

1 15 U.S.C.78s(b)(1). 

2 15 U.S.C. 78a. 

3 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

The Exchange believes that assessing 

CTI Port Fees for the CTI ports at $600 

per port per month for each of the first 

5 CTI ports, and $100 per port for each 

port thereafter, is equitable and not 

unfairly discriminatory because the 

Exchange will assess the same fees for 

all CTI ports to all members. 

The Exchange believes that 

continuing the Order Entry Port Fee at 

$600 per month, per mnemonic on the 

Exchange is reasonable because it will 

allow the Exchange to continue to 

recoup fees associated with offering the 

Order Entry Port. As with other port fees 

in subsection B of Section VII of the 

Pricing Schedule, including the CTI Port 

Fee, the Order Entry Port Fee reflects a 

portion of the costs that the Exchange 

bears with respect to offering and 

maintaining the Order Entry Ports. The 

Order Entry Port Fees are reasonable 

because they enable the Exchange to 

offset, in part, its connectivity costs 

associated with making such ports 

available, including costs based on 

gateway software and hardware 

enhancements and resources dedicated 

to gateway development, quality 

assurance, and support. 

The Exchange believes that Order 

Entry Fees for the Order Entry Ports at 

$600 per month, per mnemonic is 

equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory because the Exchange 

will assess the same fees for all Order 

Entry Ports to all members. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

The Exchange does not believe that 

the proposed rule change will impose 

any burden on competition not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. The 

Exchange believes the proposed Order 

Entry Fees and CTI Port Fees are fair 

and equitable, and therefore, will not 

unduly burden any particular group of 

market participants trading on the 

Exchange. The Exchange’s proposal to 

adopt CTI Port and continue Order 

Entry Fees would be applied in a 

uniform manner to all Exchange 

members. The proposed fees are 

designed to ensure a fair and reasonable 

use of Exchange resources by allowing 

the Exchange to recoup a certain portion 

of connectivity costs, while continuing 

to offer connectivity at competitive rates 

to Exchange members. 

The Exchange will not assess the 

Real-Time Risk Management Fee with 

respect to any member. 

C. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Comments on the 

Proposed Rule Change Received From 

Members, Participants, or Others 

No written comments were either 

solicited or received. 

III. Date of Effectiveness of the 

Proposed Rule Change and Timing for 

Commission Action 

The foregoing rule change has become 

effective pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A)(ii) of the Act.21 At any time 

within 60 days of the filing of the 

proposed rule change, the Commission 

summarily may temporarily suspend 

such rule change if it appears to the 

Commission that such action is 

necessary or appropriate in the public 

interest, for the protection of investors, 

or otherwise in furtherance of the 

purposes of the Act. If the Commission 

takes such action, the Commission shall 

institute proceedings to determine 

whether the proposed rule should be 

approved or disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

Phlx–2014–83 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities 

and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street 

NE., Washington, DC 20549–1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–Phlx–2014–83. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for Web site viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549 on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of such 

filing also will be available for 

inspection and copying at the principal 

office of the Exchange. All comments 

received will be posted without change; 

the Commission does not edit personal 

identifying information from 

submissions. You should submit only 

information that you wish to make 

available publicly. All submissions 

should refer to File Number SR–Phlx– 

2014–83, and should be submitted on or 

before February 2, 2015. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.22

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00225 Filed 1–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–73997; File No. SR–NYSE– 

2014–70] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; New 

York Stock Exchange LLC; Notice of 

Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of 

Proposed Rule Change Amending Its 

Price List to Eliminate Transaction 

Fees for Midpoint Passive Liquidity 

Orders That Remove Liquidity From 

the Exchange and That Are Designated 

With a ‘‘Retail’’ Modifier as Defined in 

Rule 13 

January 6, 2015. 

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

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the 

‘‘Act’’) 2 and Rule 19b–4 thereunder,3

notice is hereby given that, on December 

22, 2014, New York Stock Exchange 

LLC (‘‘NYSE’’ or the ‘‘Exchange’’) filed 

with the Securities and Exchange 

Commission (the ‘‘Commission’’) the 

proposed rule change as described in 

Items I, II, and III below, which Items 

have been prepared by the selfregulatory organization. The 

Commission is publishing this notice to 

solicit comments on the proposed rule 

change from interested persons. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2015 / Notices 1573 

4MPL Order is defined in Rule 13 as an 

undisplayed limit order that automatically executes 

at the mid-point of the protected best bid or offer 

(‘‘PBBO’’). 

5MPL Orders that take liquidity do not count 

toward a member’s or member organization’s 

overall level of providing volume for purposes of 

other pricing on the Exchange that is based on such 

levels (e.g., the Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 Adding 

Credits). 

6An order designated as ‘‘retail’’ under Rule 13 

is separate and distinct from a ‘‘Retail Order’’ 

within the Retail Liquidity Program under Rule 

107C. The proposed rule change solely concerns 

orders designated as ‘‘retail’’ pursuant to Rule 13. 

7Such written policies and procedures require 

the member organization to (1) exercise due 

diligence before entering a ‘‘retail’’ order to assure 

that entry as a ‘‘retail’’ order is in compliance with 

the applicable requirements, and (2) monitor 

whether orders entered as ‘‘retail’’ orders meet the 

applicable requirements. If a member organization 

represents ‘‘retail’’ orders from another brokerdealer customer, the member organization’s 

supervisory procedures must be reasonably 

designed to assure that the orders it receives from 

such broker-dealer customer that it designates as 

‘‘retail’’ orders meet the definition of a ‘‘retail’’ 

order. The member organization must (i) obtain an 

annual written representation, in a form acceptable 

to the Exchange, from each broker-dealer customer 

that sends it orders to be designated as ‘‘retail’’ 

orders that entry of such orders as ‘‘retail’’ orders 

will be in compliance with the applicable 

requirements; and (ii) monitor whether its brokerdealer customer’s ‘‘retail’’ order flow meets the 

applicable requirements. 

8Currently, a member organization may designate 

an order as ‘‘retail’’ either by means of a specific 

tag in the order entry message, as with other order 

modifiers, or by designating a particular member or 

member organization mnemonic used at the 

Exchange as a ‘‘retail mnemonic.’’ 

9 15 U.S.C. 78f(b). 

10 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(4) and (5). 

11Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 72253 

(May 27, 2014), 79 FR 31353 (June 2, 2014) (SR– 

NYSE–2014–26) (introduction of ‘‘retail’’ modifier 

under Rule 13). 

12Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 71879 

(April 4, 2014), 79 FR 19947 (April 10, 2014) (SR– 

NYSE–2014–15); see also Securities Exchange Act 

Continued 

I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement of the Terms of Substance of 

the Proposed Rule Change 

The Exchange proposes to amend its 

Price List to eliminate transaction fees 

for Midpoint Passive Liquidity (‘‘MPL’’) 

Orders that remove liquidity from the 

Exchange and that are designated with 

a ‘‘retail’’ modifier as defined in Rule 

13. The Exchange proposes to 

implement the fee change effective 

January 2, 2015. The text of the 

proposed rule change is available on the 

Exchange’s Web site at www.nyse.com, 

at the principal office of the Exchange, 

and at the Commission’s Public 

Reference Room. 

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 those statements may be examined at 

the places specified in Item IV below. 

The Exchange has prepared summaries, 

set forth in sections A, B, and C below, 

of the most significant parts 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 proposes to amend its 

Price List to eliminate transaction fees 

for MPL Orders that remove liquidity 

from the Exchange and that are 

designated with a ‘‘retail’’ modifier as 

defined in Rule 13. The Exchange 

proposes to implement the fee change 

effective January 2, 2015. 

For securities priced $1.00 or greater, 

the Exchange currently charges a fee of 

$0.0025 per share per transaction for all 

MPL Orders 4 that remove liquidity from 

the NYSE.5 Floor brokers are currently 

charged the same price for MPL Orders 

that remove liquidity from the 

Exchange. The Exchange proposes to 

eliminate the fee for all MPL Orders that 

remove liquidity from the Exchange and 

that are designated with a ‘‘retail’’ 

modifier as defined in Rule 13, 

including MPL Orders entered by Floor 

brokers. 

To be eligible for the proposed pricing 

for MPL Orders, an MPL Order would 

need to meet the requirements to be 

designated as ‘‘retail’’ pursuant to Rule 

13. An order designated as ‘‘retail’’ 

under Rule 13 is an agency or riskless 

principal order that meets the criteria of 

Financial Industry Regulatory 

Authority, Inc. Rule 5320.03 and that (1) 

originates from a natural person and (2) 

is submitted to the Exchange by a 

member organization, provided that no 

change is made to the terms of the order 

with respect to price or side of market 

and the order does not originate from a 

trading algorithm or any other 

computerized methodology.6

To submit an order with a ‘‘retail’’ 

modifier, a member or member 

organization must submit an attestation, 

in a form prescribed by the Exchange, 

that substantially all orders submitted as 

‘‘retail’’ will qualify as such. Further, 

Rule 13 requires a member organization 

to have written policies and procedures 

reasonably designed to assure that it 

will only designate orders as ‘‘retail’’ if 

all requirements are met.7 In addition, a 

member organization would be required 

to designate such MPL Order as ‘‘retail’’ 

pursuant to Rule 13.8

The Exchange proposes to retain the 

fee for MPL Orders (including Floor 

broker MPL Orders) that remove 

liquidity from the Exchange but that are 

not designated with a ‘‘retail’’ modifier 

at the current rates. The proposed 

amended Price List would distinguish 

MPL Orders that remove liquidity and 

that are designated as ‘‘retail’’ under 

Rule 13, which would not be charged a 

fee, from MPL Orders that remove 

liquidity and that are not designated as 

‘‘retail’’ under Rule 13, and which 

would continue to be charged the 

existing fee for MPL Orders that take 

liquidity. The Exchange proposes to 

make comparable amendments to the 

Price List relating to pricing applicable 

to Floor broker executions of MPL 

Orders. 

The proposed change is not otherwise 

intended to address any other issues, 

and the Exchange is not aware of any 

problems that members and member 

organizations would have in complying 

with the proposed change. 

2. Statutory Basis 

The Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change is consistent with 

Section 6(b) of the Act,9 in general, and 

furthers the objectives of Sections 

6(b)(4) and 6(b)(5) of the Act,10 in 

particular, because it provides for the 

equitable allocation of reasonable dues, 

fees, and other charges among its 

members, issuers and other persons 

using its facilities and does not unfairly 

discriminate between customers, 

issuers, brokers or dealers. 

The Exchange believes that removing 

a fee for MPL Orders that remove 

liquidity from the Exchange and that are 

designated as ‘‘retail’’ is reasonable 

because it will encourage the 

submission of orders that meet the 

requirements to be designated as 

‘‘retail’’ to the Exchange, thus enhancing 

order execution opportunities for all 

participants, but specifically retail 

investors. The ‘‘retail’’ modifier under 

Rule 13 along with its pricing is 

designed to incentivize the submission 

of additional retail order flow to a 

public market like the Exchange.11

Moreover, the Exchange believes that 

markets and price discovery optimally 

function through the interactions of 

diverse flow types, and also believes 

that growth in internalization has 

required differentiation of retail order 

flow from other order flow types. As the 

Exchange has previously noted, a 

significant percentage of the orders of 

individual investors are executed overthe-counter.12 The Exchange 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
1574 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2015 / Notices 

Release No. 34–73702 (Nov. 28, 2014), 79 FR 72049, 

72051 (Dec. 4, 2014) (order approving NASDAQ 

OMX BX Retail Price Improvement Program and 

noting that most marketable retail order flow is 

executed in the over-the-counter markets, pursuant 

to bilateral agreements, without ever reaching a 

public exchange) (‘‘BX Retail Approval Order’’). 

13 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(5). 

14See BX Retail Approval Order, at 72051. 

15 Id. 

16See, e.g., Securities Exchange Act Release No. 

67347 (July 3, 2012), 77 FR 40673, 40680 (July 10, 

2012) (SR–NYSE–2011–55) (order approving 

adoption of Retail Liquidity Program on a pilot 

basis). The Exchange notes that other markets offer 

separate non-tier and tiered pricing for retail orders, 

see NASDAQ Price List, available at http://

nasdaqtrader.com/

Trader.aspx?id=PriceListTrading2, and EDGX 

Exchange Fee Schedule, available at http://

www.directedge.com/trading/

EDGXFeeSchedule.aspx, as well as retail price 

improvement pricing for ‘‘Retail Orders’’ that 

remove displayed liquidity or mid-point peg 

liquidity. See BATS BYX Exchange Fee Schedule, 

available at http://cdn.batstrading.com/resources/

regulation/rule_book/BATS-Exchanges_Fee_

Schedules.pdf [sic]. 

17 15 U.S.C. 78f(b)(8). 

18See Securities Exchange Act Release Nos. 

70860 (November 13, 2013), 78 FR 69512 

(November 19, 2013) (SR–NASDAQ–2013–138). 

19 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A). 

20 17 CFR 240.19b–4(f)(2). 

accordingly further believes that the 

proposed change is reasonable because 

it would contribute to maintaining or 

increasing the proportion of retail flow 

in Exchange-listed securities that are 

executed on a registered national 

securities exchange, rather than 

executing in off-exchange venues. 

Finally, the Exchange notes that while 

the proposed price change would treat 

retail order flow differently from order 

flow submitted by other market 

participants, such segmentation would 

not be inconsistent with Section 6(b)(5) 

of the Act,13 which requires that the 

rules of an exchange are not designed to 

permit unfair discrimination. The 

Commission has previously recognized 

that the markets generally distinguish 

between retail investors, whose orders 

are considered desirable by liquidity 

providers because such retail investors 

are presumed on average to be less 

informed about short-term price 

movements, and professional traders, 

whose orders are presumed on average 

to be more informed.14 The Commission 

has further recognized that, because of 

this distinction, liquidity providers are 

generally inclined to offer price 

improvement to less informed retail 

orders than to more informed 

professional orders.15 The Exchange 

believes that the differentiation 

proposed herein is not designed to 

permit unfair discrimination, but 

instead is reasonably designed to attract 

retail flow to the Exchange, while 

helping to ensure that retail investors 

benefit from the better price that 

liquidity providers are willing to give 

their orders. The Exchange believes that 

the proposed increase of retail order 

flow to the Exchange might also create 

a desirable opportunity for institutional 

investors to interact with retail order 

flow that they are not able to reach 

currently. The Exchange therefore 

believes that the proposed change 

would further promote a competitive 

process around retail executions such 

that retail investors would receive better 

prices than they currently do through 

bilateral internalization arrangements. 

The Exchange believes that the 

transparency and competitiveness of the 

proposed rule change on an exchange 

market would result in better prices for 

retail investors.16 The proposed change 

is also equitable and not unfairly 

discriminatory because it would 

contribute to investors’ confidence in 

the fairness of their transactions and 

because it would benefit all investors by 

increasing the liquidity pool and 

potential for price-improving executions 

at the Exchange. 

The proposed change is also equitable 

and not unfairly discriminatory because 

the ability to designate MPL Orders as 

‘‘retail’’ is available equally to all 

similarly situated members and member 

organizations that submit qualifying 

orders and satisfy the other related, 

existing requirements. 

The Exchange believes that it is 

subject to significant competitive forces, 

as described below in the Exchange’s 

statement regarding the burden on 

competition. 

For the foregoing reasons, the 

Exchange believes that the proposal is 

consistent with the Act. 

B. Self-Regulatory Organization’s 

Statement on Burden on Competition 

In accordance with Section 6(b)(8) of 

the Act,17 the Exchange believes that the 

proposed rule change would not impose 

any burden on competition that is not 

necessary or appropriate in furtherance 

of the purposes of the Act. Instead, the 

Exchange believes that the proposed 

change would increase competition 

among execution venues and encourage 

additional execution opportunities on 

the Exchange. For the same reasons, the 

proposed change also would not impose 

any burden on competition among 

market participants. The Exchange 

believes that while it is the first to offer 

orders with a ‘‘retail’’ modifier the 

ability to take at the mid-point for free 

through MPL Orders, providing 

significant price improvement, the 

proposed change also permits the 

Exchange to compete with other 

markets, including NASDAQ, which 

does not charge but provides a credit for 

designated Retail Orders that take 

liquidity in Retail Liquidity Provider 

programs,18 as well as over-the-counter 

trading that offers mid-point executions 

at low fees. 

Finally, the Exchange notes that it 

operates in a highly competitive market 

in which market participants can 

readily favor competing venues if they 

deem fee levels at a particular venue to 

be excessive or rebate opportunities 

available at other venues to be more 

favorable. In such an environment, the 

Exchange must continually adjust its 

fees and rebates to remain competitive 

with other exchanges and with 

alternative trading systems that have 

been exempted from compliance with 

the statutory standards applicable to 

exchanges. Because competitors are free 

to modify their own fees and credits in 

response, and because market 

participants may readily adjust their 

order routing practices, the Exchange 

believes that the degree to which fee 

changes in this market may impose any 

burden on competition is extremely 

limited. As a result of all of these 

considerations, the Exchange does not 

believe that the proposed changes will 

impair the ability of member 

organizations or competing order 

execution venues to maintain their 

competitive standing in the financial 

markets. 

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 

The foregoing rule change is effective 

upon filing pursuant to Section 

19(b)(3)(A) 19 of the Act and 

subparagraph (f)(2) of Rule 19b–4 20

thereunder, because it establishes a due, 

fee, or other charge imposed by the 

Exchange. 

At any time within 60 days of the 

filing of such proposed rule change, the 

Commission summarily may 

temporarily suspend such rule change if 

it appears to the Commission that such 

action is necessary or appropriate in the 

public interest, for the protection of 

investors, or otherwise in furtherance of 

the purposes of the Act. If the 

Commission takes such action, the 

Commission shall institute proceedings 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2015 / Notices 1575 

21 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(2)(B). 22 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(12). 

under Section 19(b)(2)(B)21 of the Act to 

determine whether the proposed rule 

change should be approved or 

disapproved. 

IV. Solicitation of Comments 

Interested persons are invited to 

submit written data, views, and 

arguments concerning the foregoing, 

including whether the proposed rule 

change is consistent with the Act. 

Comments may be submitted by any of 

the following methods: 

Electronic Comments 

• Use the Commission’s Internet 

comment form (http://www.sec.gov/

rules/sro.shtml); or 

• Send an email to rule-comments@

sec.gov. Please include File Number SR– 

NYSE–2014–70 on the subject line. 

Paper Comments 

• Send paper comments in triplicate 

to Brent J. Fields, Secretary, Securities 

and Exchange Commission, 100 F 

Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549– 

1090. 

All submissions should refer to File 

Number SR–NYSE–2014–70. This file 

number should be included on the 

subject line if email is used. To help the 

Commission process and review your 

comments more efficiently, please use 

only one method. The Commission will 

post all comments on the Commission’s 

Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/

rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the 

submission, all subsequent 

amendments, all written statements 

with respect to the proposed rule 

change that are filed with the 

Commission, and all written 

communications relating to the 

proposed rule change between the 

Commission and any person, other than 

those that may be withheld from the 

public in accordance with the 

provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be 

available for Web site viewing and 

printing in the Commission’s Public 

Reference Section, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549–1090, on official 

business days between the hours of 

10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the 

filing will also be available for 

inspection and copying at the NYSE’s 

principal office and on its Internet Web 

site at www.nyse.com. All comments 

received will be posted without change; 

the Commission does not edit personal 

identifying information from 

submissions. You should submit only 

information that you wish to make 

available publicly. All submissions 

should refer to File Number SR–NYSE– 

2014–70 and should be submitted on or 

before February 2, 2015. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.22

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–00216 Filed 1–9–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION 

Small Business Investment 

Companies—Early Stage SBICs 

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business 

Administration. 

ACTION: Call for Early Stage Fund 

Managers. 

SUMMARY: This call for proposals 

(‘‘Call’’) invites experienced early stage 

fund managers to submit the 

preliminary materials discussed in 

Section II below, in the form of the 

Small Business Investment Company 

(‘‘SBIC’’) Management Assessment 

Questionnaire (‘‘MAQ’’), for 

consideration by the Small Business 

Administration (‘‘SBA’’) to be licensed 

as Early Stage Small Business 

Investment Companies. Licensed Early 

Stage SBICs may receive SBAguaranteed debenture leverage of up to 

100 percent of their Regulatory Capital, 

up to a maximum of $50 million. 

However, Early Stage SBICs may request 

less than 100 percent of their Regulatory 

Capital. Importantly, Early Stage SBICs 

must invest at least 50% of their 

investment dollars in early stage small 

businesses. For the purposes of this 

initiative, an ‘‘early stage’’ business is 

one that has never achieved positive 

cash flow from operations in any fiscal 

year. By licensing and providing SBA 

guaranteed leverage to Early Stage 

SBICs, SBA seeks to expand 

entrepreneurs’ access to capital and 

encourage innovation as part of 

President Obama’s Start-Up America 

Initiative launched on January 31, 2011. 

More information on the Early Stage 

SBIC Initiative and the regulations 

governing these SBICs may be found at 

www.sba.gov/inv/earlystage. 

DATES: The following table provides the 

key milestones for the Early Stage SBIC 

Initiative. 

Milestones Dates/Times 

Question and Answer Period Closed ....................................................... 5 p.m. Eastern Time (‘‘EST’’) on February 27, 2015. 

Initial Review Period 

Management Assessment Questionnaires (‘‘MAQs’’) Due ...................... 5 p.m. EST—February 27, 2015. 

Interview Period ........................................................................................ April 20, 2015—May 1, 2015. 

Anticipated Green Light Decision ............................................................. May 7, 2015. 

Licensing Periods 

For funds seeking a license in FY 2015 .................................................. 5 p.m. EST June 5, 2015. 

Anticipated Licensing Date for FY 2015 funds ........................................ No later than September 30, 2015. 

All other funds have 12 months from issuance of a Green Light to submit their license application.Applications considered as they are received. 

Notes: 

• SBA reserves the right to extend its interview, due diligence, committee, and approval timelines as appropriate. SBA will update its website 

at www.sba.gov/inv/earlystage should these dates change. Applicants will be notified by e-mail should these dates change. 

• SBA expects to issue additional calls for Early Stage Fund Managers on an annual basis. SBA will announce these calls via a call notice in 

the Federal Register. 

ADDRESSES: Visit https://www.sba.gov/

content/application-forms to download 

a copy of the Management Assessment 

Questionnaire (the ‘‘MAQ’’). You must 

submit via express or next day delivery 

service (i) the relevant MAQ signature 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES