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December 20, 1990
TO: UNIT INVESTMENT TRUST MEMBERS NO. 78-90
RE: MASSACHUSETTS REDUCES REGISTRATION FEE FOR UNIT TRUSTS
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As we previously informed you, earlier this year the
Massachusetts Securities Division re-interpreted the manner in
which filing fees are calculated by stating that the filing fee
for initial or amended registrations of public offerings of
securities is to be based upon the aggregate amount of the
offering nationwide rather than the amount of the offering
registered in Massachusetts. The result of this new
interpretation is that the sponsor of a unit investment trust
must pay the maximum filing fee of $1,500 for each series of a
unit trust registered in Massachusetts. (See Memorandum to Unit
Investment Trust Members No. 2-90, dated January 16, 1990.)
For the past several months, the Institute has been working
with the Massachusetts Securities Division to remedy this
problem. Legislation was introduced that established a one-time
filing fee of $750 for each series of a unit trust. However,
action was not taken by the Massachusetts Legislature during the
last legislative session and the bill will be re-considered in
the upcoming session.
We are pleased to inform you that the Massachusetts
Securities Division has agreed to promulgate an emergency rule
implementing the one-time filing fee of $750 for each series of a
unit investment trust while the legislation is pending. The
emergency rule is anticipated to be filed with the Office of
Regulations on January 2, 1991 and will be effective as of that
date. The provisions of the emergency rule will remain in effect
until legislation implementing the one-time filing fee has been
adopted by the Legislature.
A new subjection (j) will be added to Rule 950 CMR
14.402(B)(13) which provides an exemption for unit investment
trusts provided that the requisite documents and the $750 filing
fee are submitted in a timely manner. Primarily, the same
documents that are currently required to be filed for a unit
trust registering its units must be filed in order to claim the
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exemption (Form U-1, Form U-2, a copy of the federal registration
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statement, any amendments to the federal registration statement,
final pricing amendment, notice of effectiveness, sales
literature, etc.)
Please be aware that even though the emergency rule
provides an exemption from registration for the units of the unit
trust, the filing will be reviewed for compliance with the
registration provisions of the Massachusetts Securities Act.
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A copy of the proposed emergency rule is attached. We will
keep you advised of further developments.
Patricia Louie
Assistant General Counsel
Attachment