SEC APPROVES NSCC PROPOSAL TO PERMIT MUTUAL FUNDS TO TRANSFER ASSET WITHIN AN IRA ACCOUNT THRU FUND/SERV

November 27, 1996 TO: OPERATIONS MEMBERS No. 53-96 TRANSFER AGENT ADVISORY COMMITTEE No. 68-96 RE: SEC APPROVES NSCC PROPOSAL TO PERMIT MUTUAL FUNDS TO TRANSFER ASSET WITHIN AN IRA ACCOUNT THRU FUND/SERV ______________________________________________________________________________ The Investment Company Institute is pleased to announce that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved, on an expedited basis, the National Securities Clearing Corporation
s (NSCC) proposal to allow mutual funds to transfer assets within an IRA account through the NSCC
s Fund/SERV service. Attached you will find an excerpt from the Federal Register which describes that approval decision. In elaborating upon its decision, the Commission has observed that the NSCC
s Retirement Asset Transfer Clearinghouse Service will "...help alleviate the inefficiencies associated with the physical exchange of hardcopy documentation and should make account transfers more efficient and expeditious." The Commission goes on to indicate that "By processing the transfers of IRAs in a more efficient manner, the proposal should promote the prompt and accurate clearance and settlement of securities transactions. Presently, a pilot group of 13 fund complexes is testing the Retirement Asset Transfer Service. These pilot group participants expect to implement production level use of the service on or around the New Year. Other fund complexes interested in utilizing the service should contact the NSCC in order to obtain the necessary systems documentation and file specifications. Additional documentation including an exhaustive test plan is available through the ICI (Contact the undersigned at 202/326-5848). While the pilot group has indicated a preference for completing their systems testing on an exclusive basis, other fund groups are encouraged to obtain resource materials and begin developing the necessary interfaces for utilizing this service. Additionally, If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding the NSCC Retirement Asset Transfer Service, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned at 202/326-5848. Thank you. Kevin Farragher Director - Operations Distribution & Service.