Flash Analysis: The Final ETF Rule
On September 26, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) announced that it had unanimously adopted Rule 6c-11 (the “ETF Rule”). The ETF Rule was adopted largely in the form proposed on June 28, 2018, but with several important changes in response to comments, including the elimination of the requirements (i) to publish the ETF’s portfolio holdings prior to the acceptance of a creation or redemption order for that day, (ii) to include historical bid-ask spread information in an ETF’s registration statement, and (iii) to make an interactive bid-ask spread calculator available on the ETF’s website. At the same time, the Commission issued an exemptive order providing relief from certain rules under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Exchange Act”). The Exchange Act Order may reduce regulatory complexity and eliminate inconsistencies applicable to most newly launched ETFs by removing the need for those ETFs to comply with the conditions of certain “class relief” letters.