Treatment of Repurchase Agreements and Refunded Securities as an Acquisition of the Underlying Securities

The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting a new rule and related rule amendments under the Investment Company Act of 1940 that affect the ability of investment companies to invest in repurchase agreements and pre-refunded bonds under the Act. The final rule codifies and updates staff positions that have permitted investment companies to "look through" counterparties to certain repurchase agreements and issuers of municipal bonds that have been "refunded" with U.S. government securities and treat the securities comprising the collateral as investments for certain purposes under the Act.