Rule 498
 
Profiles for Certain Open-end Management Investment
Companies
(a) Definitions.
(1) A Fund means an open-end management
investment
company, or any series of such a company, that has, or is included in,
an effective registration statement on Form N-1A (Sec. 274.11A and
239.15A of this chapter) and that has a current prospectus under section
10(a) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 77j(a)). (2) A Profile means a summary prospectus that is authorized
under
section 10(b) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 77j(b)) and section 24(g) of the
Investment Company Act (15 U.S.C. 80a-24(g) for the purpose of section
5(b)(1) of the Act (15 U.S.C. 77e(b)(1)). (b) General requirements. A Fund may provide a Profile to
investors,
which may include, or be accompanied by, an application that investors
may use to purchase the Fund's shares, if the Profile contains the
information required or not precluded by paragraph (c) of this section
and does not incorporate any information by reference to another document. Instructions to paragraph (b):
1. The Profile is intended to be a
standardized summary of key information in the Fund's prospectus under
section 10(b) of the Act. Additional information is available in the
Fund's prospectus under section 10(a) of the Act, in the Fund's
Statement of Additional Information under Form N-1A, and in the Fund's
annual and semi-annual shareholder reports prepared in accordance with
Sec. 270.30d-1. Funds may not use cross-references in the Profile to
other Fund disclosure documents unless required or permitted by this
rule. Funds should minimize cross-references and the use of footnotes
within the Profile; cross-references and footnotes should generally be
used only to promote a better understanding of the information about the
Fund contained in the Profile. 2. Provide clear and concise information in the Profile in a
format
designed to communicate the information effectively. Avoid excessive
detail, technical or legal terms, and long sentences and paragraphs.
Provide the information in the Profile using the plain English writing
principles in Sec. 230.421(d). 3. A Fund may use document design techniques intended to
promote
effective communication of the information in the Profile unless
inconsistent with the requirements of this section. 4. A Profile may describe more than one Fund or class of a
Fund. A
Profile that offers the securities of more than one Fund or class of a
Fund does not need to repeat information that is the same for each Fund
or class of Fund described in the Profile. 5. File the Profile with the Commission as required by Sec.
230.497(k). (c) Specific requirements.
(1) Include on the cover page of
the
Profile or at the beginning of the Profile: (i) The Fund's name and, at the Fund's option, the Fund's
investment
objective or the type of fund or class offered, or both; (ii) A statement identifying the document as a ''Profile,''
without
using the term ''prospectus''; (iii) The approximate date of the Profile's first use; (iv) The following legend: This Profile summarizes key information about the Fund that
is
included in the Fund's prospectus. The Fund's prospectus includes
additional information about the Fund, including a more detailed
description of the risks associated with investing in the Fund that you
may want to consider before you invest. You may obtain the prospectus
and other information about the Fund at no cost by calling ---------- . (v) Provide a toll-free (or collect) telephone number that
investors
can use to obtain the prospectus and other information. The Fund may
indicate, as applicable, that the prospectus and other information is
available on the Fund's Internet site or by E-mail request. The Fund
also may indicate, if applicable, that the prospectus and other
information is available from a financial intermediary (such as a
broker-dealer or bank) through which shares of the Fund may be purchased
or sold.
Instruction to paragraph (c)(1)(v): When the Fund (or financial
intermediary through which shares of the Fund may be purchased or sold)
receives a request for the Fund's prospectus, the Fund's Statement of
Additional Information, or the Fund's annual or semi-annual report, the
Fund (or financial intermediary) must send the requested document within
three business days of receipt of the request, by first-class mail or
other means designed to ensure equally prompt delivery. Funds are
encouraged to send other information requested by shareholders within
the same period. (2)
Provide the information required by paragraphs (c)(2) (i)
through (ix) of this section in the order indicated: (i) Fund objectives/goals. Provide the information about the
Fund's
investment objectives or goals required by Item 2(a) of Form N-1A. (ii) Principal investment strategies of the Fund. Provide the
information about the Fund's principal investment strategies required by
Item 2(b) of Form N-1A. In addition, a Fund (other than a Fund that has
not yet been required to deliver a semi-annual or annual report under
Sec. 270.30d-1 of this chapter) must provide disclosure to the
following effect: Additional information about the Fund's investments is
available in
the Fund's annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. In the Fund's
annual report you will find a discussion of the market conditions and
investment strategies that significantly affected the Fund's performance
during the last fiscal year. You may obtain either or both of these
reports at no cost by calling ----------. (iii) Principal risks of investing in the Fund. Provide the
narrative disclosure, bar chart, and table required by Item 2(c) of Form
N-1A. Provide in the table the Fund's average annual total returns and,
if applicable, yield as of the end of the most recent calendar quarter
prior to the Profile's first use. Update the return information as of
the end of each succeeding calendar quarter as soon as practicable after
the completion of the quarter. Disclose the date of the return
information adjacent to the table. Instruction to paragraph (c)(2)(iii): A Fund may reflect the updated
performance information in this section of the profile by affixing a
label or sticker, or by other reasonable means. (iv) Fees and expenses of the Fund. Include the fee table
required
by Item 3 of Form N-1A. (v) Investment adviser, sub-adviser(s) and portfolio
manager(s) of
the Fund. (A) Identify the Fund's investment adviser. (B) Identify the Fund's sub-adviser(s) (if any) except that: (1) A Fund need not identify a sub-adviser(s) whose sole
responsibility for the Fund is limited to day-to-day management of the
Fund's holdings of cash and cash equivalent instruments, unless the Fund
is a money market fund or other Fund with a principal investment
strategy of regularly holding cash and cash equivalent instruments. (2) A Fund having three or more sub-advisers, each of which
manages a portion of the Fund's portfolio, need not identify each such
sub-adviser, except that the Fund must identify any sub-adviser that is
(or is reasonably expected to be) responsible for the management of a
significant portion of the Fund's net assets. For purposes of this paragraph (c)(2)(v)(B)(2), a significant portion of a Fund's net assets
generally will be deemed to be 30% or more of the fund's net assets. (C) State the name and length of service of the person or persons
employed by or associated with the Fund's investment adviser (or the
Fund) who are primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the
Fund's portfolio and summarize each person's business experience for the
last five years in accordance with the Instructions to Item 6(a)(2) of
Form N-1A. A Fund with three or more such persons, each of whom is (or
is reasonably expected to be) responsible for the management of a
portion of the Fund's portfolio, need not identify each person, except
that a Fund must identify and summarize the business experience for the
last five years of each person who is (or is reasonably expected to be)
responsible for the management of a significant portion of the Fund's
net assets. For purposes of this paragraph (c)(2)(v)(C), a significant
portion of a Fund's net assets generally will be deemed to be 30% or
more of the Fund's net assets. (vi) Purchase of Fund shares. Disclose the Fund's minimum
initial or
subsequent investment requirements, the initial sales load (or other
loads) to which the Fund's shares are subject, and, if applicable, the
initial sales load breakpoints or waivers. (vii) Sale of Fund shares. Disclose that the Fund's shares
are
redeemable, identify the procedures for redeeming shares (e.g., on any
business day by written request, telephone, or wire transfer), and
identify any charges or sales loads that may be assessed upon redemption
(including, if applicable, the existence of waivers of these charges). (viii) Fund distributions and tax information. Describe how
frequently the Fund intends to make distributions and what options for
reinvestment of distributions (if any) are available to investors.
State, as applicable, that the Fund intends to make distributions that
may be taxed as ordinary income or capital gains (which may be taxable
at different rates depending on the length of time that the Fund holds
its assets) or that the Fund intends to distribute tax-exempt income. If
a Fund expects that its distributions, as a result of its investment
objectives or strategies, primarily will consist of ordinary income or
capital gains, provide disclosure to that effect. For a Fund that holds
itself out as investing in securities generating tax-exempt income,
provide, as applicable, a general statement to the effect that a portion
of the Fund's distributions may be subject to federal income tax. (ix) Other services are available from the Fund. Provide a
brief
summary of services available to the Fund's shareholders (e.g., any
exchange privileges or automated information services), unless otherwise
disclosed in response to paragraphs (c)(2)(vi) through (viii) of this section. Instruction to paragraph (c)(2)(ix): A Fund should disclose only those
services that generally are available to typical investors in the Fund. (3) The Profile may include an application that a prospective
investor can use to purchase the Fund's shares as long as the
application explains with equal prominence that an investor has the
option of purchasing shares of the Fund after reviewing the information
in the Profile or after requesting and reviewing the Fund's prospectus
(and other information) before making a decision about investing in the
Fund. Instruction to
paragraph (c)(3): A Fund may include the application in a
Profile or otherwise provide an application together with a Profile in
any manner reasonably designed to alert investors that the application
is to be considered along with the information about the Fund disclosed
in the Profile.
(d) Modified Profile for certain funds.
(1) A Fund may modify
or
omit the information required by paragraphs (c)(2) (vi) through (ix) of
this section for a Profile to be used for a Fund that is offered as an
investment option for: (i) A defined contribution plan that meets the requirements
for
qualification under section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code (26
U.S.C. 401(k)); (ii) A tax-deferred arrangement under section 403(b) or 457
of the
Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 403(b) and 457); and (iii) Variable contracts as defined in section 817(d) of the
Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 817(d)). (2) A Fund that uses a Profile permitted under paragraph (d)(1) of
this section may: (i) Alter the legend required by paragraph (c)(1)(iv) of this
section to include a statement to the effect that the Profile is
intended for use in connection with a defined contribution plan, another
tax-deferred arrangement, or a variable contract, as applicable, and is
not intended for use by other investors; and (ii) Modify other disclosure in a Profile consistent with
offering
the Fund as a specific investment option for a defined contribution
plan, tax-deferred arrangement, or variable contract. (3) A Profile used under
paragraph (d)(1)(i) or (ii), but not paragraph (d)(1)(iii), of this section may include, or be accompanied
by, an enrollment form for the plan or arrangement. The enrollment form
does not need to be filed with the Profile under Sec. 230.497.
Regulatory History | |
63 FR 13985, Mar. 23, 1998
63 FR 19286, Apr. 17, 1998 |
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