Rule 154
 
Delivery of Prospectuses to Investors at the Same Address
a.
Delivery of a single
prospectus. If you must deliver a prospectus under the federal securities
laws, for purposes of sections
5(b)
and
2(a)(10)
of the Act or
Rule
15c2-8(b), you will be considered to have delivered a prospectus to
investors who share an address if:
1. You
deliver a prospectus to the shared address;
2. You
address the prospectus to the investors as a group (for example, "ABC
Fund [or Corporation] Shareholders," "Jane Doe and Household,"
"The Smith Family") or to each of the investors individually
(for example, "John Doe and Richard Jones"); and
3. The
investors consent in writing to delivery of one prospectus.
b.
Implied consent.
You do not need to obtain written consent from an investor under paragraph
(a)(3) of this section if all of the following conditions are met:
1. The
investor has the same last name as the other investors, or you reasonably
believe that the investors are members of the same family;
2.
You have sent the
investor a notice at least 60 days before you begin to rely on this section
concerning delivery of prospectuses to that investor. The notice must
be a separate written statement and:
i. State
that only one prospectus will be delivered to the shared address unless
you receive contrary instructions;
ii. Include
a toll-free telephone number or be accompanied by a reply form that is
pre-addressed with postage provided, that the investor can use to notify
you that he or she wishes to receive a separate prospectus;
iii. State
the duration of the consent;
iv. Explain
how an investor can revoke consent;
v. State
that you will begin sending individual copies to an investor within 30
days after you receive revocation of the investor's consent; and
vi. Contain
the following prominent statement, or similar clear and understandable
statement, in bold-face type: "Important Notice Regarding Delivery
of Shareholder Documents." This statement also must appear on the
envelope in which the notice is delivered. Alternatively, if the notice
is delivered separately from other communications to investors, this statement
may appear either on the notice or on the envelope in which the notice
is delivered;
Note to paragraph (b)(2): The
notice should be written in plain English. See
Rule
421(d)(2) for a discussion of plain English principles.
3. You
have not received the reply form or other notification indicating that
the investor wishes to continue to receive an individual copy of the prospectus,
within 60 days after you sent the notice; and
4. You
deliver the prospectus to a post office box or to a residential street
address. You can assume a street address is a residence unless you have
information that indicates it is a business.
c. Revocation
of consent. If an investor, orally or in writing, revokes consent
to delivery of one prospectus to a shared address (provided under paragraphs
(a)(3) or
(b)
of this section), you must begin sending individual copies to that investor
within 30 days after you receive the revocation. If the individual's consent
concerns delivery of the prospectus of a registered open-end management
investment company, at least once a year you must explain to investors
who have consented how they can revoke their consent. The explanation
must be reasonably designed to reach these investors.
d. Definition
of address. For purposes of this section, address means a street address,
a post office box number, an electronic mail address, a facsimile telephone
number, or other similar destination to which paper or electronic documents
are delivered, unless otherwise provided in this section. If you have
reason to believe that an address is the street address of a multi-unit
building, the address must include the unit number.
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