DOCSLIB.ORG

BEW Back End Sept02

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
BEW Back End Sept02 Offering Circular Offering Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants Fully covered Endowment Warrants are offered over shares in: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited Commonwealth Bank of Australia Limited National Australia Bank Limited Westpac Banking Corporation Issuer: Challenger Equities Limited (ABN 45 009 568 503) Issue Date: 16 September 2002. Expiry 15 October 2003. Funds Management Contents Introducing Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants 2 Notice to Investors 9 1 – General Features 11 2 – Description of the Endowment Warrants 12 3 – Risk Factors Relating to the Endowment Warrants 17 4 – Description of the Underlying Financial Instrument: The Companies 21 5 – Tax Considerations 22 6 – Terms of Issue 26 7 – Description of the Issuer 43 8 – Interpretation 45 Application Forms 49 The Offer Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants are being offered in a series over shares in: Underlying Share ASX Code Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) ANZEEA Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) CBAEEA National Australia Bank (NAB) NABEEA Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC) WBCEEA Timetable Date of Offering Circular 16 September 2002 Offer Period Opens 16 September 2002 Offer Period Closes 15 October 2003 Maturity Date 15 February 2012 Dear Investor Challenger launched the award winning Endowment Warrant concept in 1996 – including, amongst others, Endowment Warrants over the ‘Top 4’ banks. Those Bank Endowment Warrants have performed exceptionally well over the past six years, on average returning 580%*. We are delighted to offer you the opportunity to participate in this outstanding investment potential through a series of Bank Endowment Warrants over ANZ, CBA, NAB and WBC shares expiring in 2012. These shares have been chosen based on their historical performance record and suit investors seeking long-term leveraged exposure to the banking sector. Historically, Australia’s big four banks have rewarded investors with capital growth and solid dividend yields, both of which are captured in the endowment warrant structure. Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants give you long term leveraged exposure to the performance of the top 4 banks and provide the additional benefits of no obligation to make additional payments, no income tax implications, and no administrative demands during the warrant term. I am delighted to invite you to read the Offering Circular and join other investors in this outstanding investment opportunity. Yours sincerely WEB Ireland *Average return of ANZ, CBA, NAB and WBC Endowment Warrants over the six year periods 5 July 1996 to 30 June 2002. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Overview of Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants A cost effective way to buy shares in Australia’s ‘Top 4’ Banks Increased exposure to share price movements and dividend earnings (gearing levels of approximately 50-60%), without the risk of margin calls Dividends reduce the Final Payment ‘Set and forget’ strategy – no administration, no further payment obligations and no income tax implications An eligible investment for self managed superannuation funds A suitable investment and savings vehicle for children Conversion to underlying shares at any time prior to the maturity of the warrant Up to 10 year term A minimum investment in Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants of A$1,000 Bank Endowment Warrants Challenger 2 How Do Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants Work? Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants provide an exciting investment opportunity with long-term leveraged exposure into Australia’s leading bank shares. They give you the right, but not the obligation, to purchase the underlying shares in two steps, through an initial payment now and a Final Payment at any time prior to maturity on 15 February 2012. Two Simple Steps Step 1 You make an initial payment to buy the Challenger Bank Step 2 Endowment Warrant, which is equal to about 50% of the You make a Final Payment if you market value of the underlying wish to acquire the underlying shares at the time of purchase. shares, on or at any date you choose prior to maturity. Your Final Payment is a floating amount and varies during the life of the Endowment Warrant. This loan amount is set at the time of issue. It is reduced by the cash amount of dividends and other distributions on the shares, and increases with interest. Bank Endowment Warrants Challenger 3 Exposure to a Greater Number of Bank Shares When you invest in Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants, you only pay approximately 50% of the underlying share price. This results in gearing or leverage that gives you exposure to a greater number of shares in the underlying company, than if you had invested the same amount directly in the shares. Hence, your investment power is magnified because capital growth and any dividend earnings are generated on a greater number of shares than if you had purchased the shares directly. You should, however, be aware that leverage also has the effect of magnifying any losses in the underlying share price. Value of $10,000 Invested Over 6 Years CBA Endowment Warrant Return CBA Dividend Adjusted Share return $80,000 $76,716 $70,000 $60,000 $50,000 $40,000 $38,640 $30,000 $20,000 $10,000 $0 an 97 an 98 an 99 an 00 an 01 an 02 Ju 96 l Ju 97 l Ju 98 l Ju 99 l Ju 00 l Ju 01 l J Apr 97 J Apr 98 J Apr 99 J Apr 00 J Apr 01 J Apr 02 Oct 96 Oct 97 Oct 98 Oct 99 Oct 00 Oct 01 The graph above shows returns on both Commonwealth Bank shares and Commonwealth Bank Endowment Warrants, over a six year period. The positive and negative impact of leveraging is apparent at specific time periods. This is highlighted by the magnified gain made by the Bank Endowment Warrant in April 1999, and the magnified loss in September 2001. The benefits of leveraging are illustrated by the long-term investment outcome. A $10,000 investment on 5 July 1996 in Commonwealth Bank shares is now worth $38,640 while an investment on the same day in CBA Endowment Warrants is now worth $76,716. Bank Endowment Warrants Challenger 4 The Benefits of Long-Term Leveraged Investing Shares in Australia’s four major banks have been chosen for these endowment warrants because they have historically delivered strong capital growth and solid dividend yields. Australia’s major banks have created significant wealth for investors over the past six years. On average, the four major banks have returned more than triple the annual return of the broader market. (44% p.a. vs 13%p.a.) Over the same time period, investors who used Bank Endowment Warrants to leverage their exposure to these underlying shares achieved even greater investment outcomes. The historical performance of Bank Endowment Warrants compared with the performance of the underlying bank shares has been outstanding, as shown in the graph below. Comparative Returns of Bank Shares vs Bank Endowment Warrants 150 Bank Endowment Warrants Dividend Adjusted Shares 120 90 60 Return % p.a. 30 0 ANZ CBA NAB WBC All performance figures on page 4 and 5. Data Source: IRESS Returns are for the six year period from 5 July 1996 to 30 June 2002. The returns for four major banks (ANZ, CBA, NAB & WBC) assume that dividends are reinvested. No allowance has been made for transaction costs or tax. The S&P ASX 300 Accumulation Index is a widely used measure of the performance of the broader Australian share market. An investor cannot invest directly in an index. Returns from indices do not include the costs of buying or selling securities or other ongoing expenses incurred when investments are actually made. The returns for the Bank Endowment Warrants are for ANZECE, CBAECE, NABECE, WBCWME which are a Challenger product originally issued through CSFB and MBL. Dividend payments were not included in this performance calculation. No allowance has been made for transaction costs or tax. Please note that past performance is not a guarantee of future performance. Bank Endowment Warrants Challenger 5 Special Features of Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants have a number of special features that make them a simple, set-and-forget investment. Your investment power is magnified When you invest in Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants, you pay only approximately 50% of the underlying share price and the ‘loan’ is ‘built in’ to the Warrant. This leveraged investment magnifies your investment power (whether positive or negative), because the capital growth and any dividend earnings are generated on a greater number of shares. Dividends reduce the Final Payment Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants are unique because there is no fixed Final Payment. This is because the Final Payment reduces over time with any dividends and other distributions from the underlying share. It is possible that you could receive your shares without the need for any Final Payment. No further payment obligations Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants are a non recourse leveraged investment, with no margin calls. They give you the right but not the obligation to purchase shares in the underlying company, which means you do not have to make any additional payments once the Warrants have been purchased. No income tax implications You do not receive dividends with Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants, as any earnings from the shares are being used to reduce the level of the Final Payment, nor do you make interest payments. Therefore, if you hold Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants, there will be no annual income tax implications or paperwork to be submitted in relation to your investment. Bank Endowment Warrants Challenger 6 Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants May be Suitable for a Variety of People People wanting to invest in bank shares Generally, people wanting to invest in the underlying bank share should consider Challenger Bank Endowment Warrants.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Dividend Swap Indices
    cover for credit indices.qxp 14/04/2008 13:07 Page 1 Dividend Swap Indices Access to equity income streams made easy April 2008 BARCAP_RESEARCH_TAG_FONDMI2NBUR7SWED The Barclays Capital Dividend Swap Index Family Equity indices have been the most essential of measurement tools for all types of investors. From the intrepid retail investor, to the dedicated institutional devotees of modern portfolio theory, the benchmarks of the major stock markets have served as the gauge of collective company price performance for decades, and have been incorporated as underlying tradable reference instruments in countless financial products delivering stock market returns. In most cases, equity indices are available as price return or total return, the latter being, broadly speaking, a blend of the return derived from stock price changes, as well as the receipt of dividends paid out to holders of the stock. The last few years have seen the rapid growth of a market in stripping out the dividend return and trading it over the counter through dividend swaps – a market that has so far been open to only the most sophisticated investors, allowing them to express views on the future levels of dividend payments, hedge positions involving uncertainty of dividend receipts and implement trades that profit from the relative value between one stream of dividend payments and another. The Barclays Capital Dividend Swap Index Family opens this market up to investors of all kinds. The indices in the family track the most liquid areas of the dividend swap market, thereby delivering unprecedented levels of transparency and access to a market that has grown to encompass the FTSE™, S&P 500, DJ Euro STOXX 50® and Nikkei 225 and in which the levels of liquidity that have been reached are estimated to be in the order of hundreds of millions of notional dollars per day.
    [Show full text]
  • Section 108 (Mar
    NEW YORK STATE BAR ASSOCIATION TAX SECTION REPORT ON SECTION 871(m) March 8, 2011 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Introduction........................................................................................................... 1 I. Summary of Section 871(m)..................................................................... 2 II. Issues with Section 871(m) ....................................................................... 5 A. PolicyBasis for Section 871(m)....................................................... 5 B. TerminologyIssues ........................................................................ 14 1. What Is a “Notional Principal Contract”?......................... 14 2. What Is “Readily Tradable on an Established Securities Market”? ........................................................................... 16 3. What Is a “Transfer”? ....................................................... 19 4. What Is an “Underlying Security”? .................................. 21 5. What Is “Contingent upon, or Determined by Reference to”?.................................................................................... 23 6. What Is a “Payment”?....................................................... 24 7. When Is a Payment “Directly or Indirectly” Contingent upon or Determined by Reference to a U.S.-Source Dividend?.......................................................................... 26 C. Ancillary/Scope Issues .................................................................. 26 1. When Are “Projected” or “Assumed” Dividend
    [Show full text]
  • European Tracker of Financing Measures
    20 May 2020 This publication provides a high level summary of the targeted measures taken in the United Kingdom and selected European jurisdictions, designed to support businesses and provide relief from the impact of COVID-19. This information has been put together with the assistance of Wolf Theiss for Austria, Stibbe for Benelux, Kromann Reumert for Denmark, Arthur Cox for Ireland, Gide Loyrette Nouel for France, Noerr for Germany, Gianni Origoni, Grippo, Capelli & Partners for Italy, BAHR for Norway, Cuatrecasas for Portugal and Spain, Roschier for Finland and Sweden, Bär & Karrer AG for Switzerland. We would hereby like to thank them very much for their assistance. Ropes & Gray is maintaining a Coronavirus resource centre at www.ropesgray.com/en/coronavirus which contains information in relation to multiple geographies and practices with our UK related resources here. JURISDICTION PAGE EU LEVEL ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 UNITED KINGDOM ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 8 IRELAND ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • A-Cover Title 1
    Barclays Capital | Dividend swaps and dividend futures DIVIDEND SWAPS AND DIVIDEND FUTURES A guide to index and single stock dividend trading Colin Bennett Dividend swaps were created in the late 1990s to allow pure dividend exposure to be +44 (0)20 777 38332 traded. The 2008 creation of dividend futures gave a listed alternative to OTC dividend [email protected] swaps. In the past 10 years, the increased liquidity of dividend swaps and dividend Barclays Capital, London futures has given investors the opportunity to invest in dividends as a separate asset class. We examine the different opportunities and trading strategies that can be used to Fabrice Barbereau profit from dividends. +44 (0)20 313 48442 Dividend trading in practice: While trading dividends has the potential for significant returns, [email protected] investors need to be aware of how different maturities trade. We look at how dividends Barclays Capital, London behave in both benign and turbulent markets. Arnaud Joubert Dividend trading strategies: As dividend trading has developed into an asset class in its +44 (0)20 777 48344 own right, this has made it easier to profit from anomalies and has also led to the [email protected] development of new trading strategies. We shall examine the different ways an investor can Barclays Capital, London profit from trading dividends either on their own, or in combination with offsetting positions in the equity and interest rate market. Anshul Gupta +44 (0)20 313 48122 [email protected] Barclays Capital,
    [Show full text]
  • Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change Relating to Security-Based Swaps
    SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (Release No. 34-91789; File No. SR-FINRA-2021-008) May 7, 2021 Self-Regulatory Organizations; Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc.; Notice of Filing of a Proposed Rule Change Relating to Security-Based Swaps Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”)1 and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that on April 26, 2021, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I, II, and III below, which Items have been prepared by FINRA. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change FINRA is proposing to amend FINRA Rules 0180, 4120, 4210, 4220, 4240 and 9610 to clarify the application of its rules to security-based swaps (“SBS”) following the SEC’s completion of its rulemaking regarding SBS dealers (“SBSDs”) and major SBS participants (“MSBSPs”) (collectively, “SBS Entities”). The text of the proposed rule change is available on FINRA’s website at http://www.finra.org, at the principal office of FINRA and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. 1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 2 17 CFR 240.19b-4. 1 II. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Purpose of, and Statutory Basis for, the Proposed Rule Change In its filing with the Commission, FINRA included statements concerning the purpose of and basis for the proposed rule change and discussed any comments it received on the proposed rule change.
    [Show full text]
  • Equity Derivatives Neil C Schofield Equity Derivatives
    Equity Derivatives Neil C Schofield Equity Derivatives Corporate and Institutional Applications Neil C Schofield Verwood, Dorset, United Kingdom ISBN 978-0-230-39106-2 ISBN 978-0-230-39107-9 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/978-0-230-39107-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2016958283 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2017 The author(s) has/have asserted their right(s) to be identified as the author(s) of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or informa- tion storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made.
    [Show full text]
  • On the Timing and Pricing of Dividends
    THE MILTON FRIEDMAN INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH IN ECONOMICS MFI Working Paper Series No. 2010-010 On the Timing and Pricing of Dividends Jules H. van Binsbergen Northwestern Kellogg, Stanford GSB and NBER Michael W. Brandt Duke University and NBER Ralph S.J. Koijen Chicago Booth School of Business and NBER October 2010 1126 East 59th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 T: 773.702.7587 F: 773.795.6891 [email protected] On the Timing and Pricing of Dividends∗ Jules H. van Binsbergen† Michael W. Brandt‡ Ralph S.J. Koijen§ Northwestern Kellogg Duke University Chicago Booth and Stanford GSB and NBER and NBER and NBER This version: October 2010 Abstract We recover prices of dividend strips on the aggregate stock market using data from derivatives markets. The price of a k-year dividend strip is the present value of the dividend paid in k years. The value of the stock market is the sum of all dividend strip prices across maturities. We study the properties of strips and find that expected returns, Sharpe ratios, and volatilities on short-term strips are higher than on the aggregate stock market, while their CAPM betas are well below one. Short-term strip prices are more volatile than their realizations, leading to excess volatility and return predictability. ∗First draft: June 2009. We are grateful to Ravi Bansal, Robert Battalio, Alessandro Beber, John Campbell, John Cochrane, George Constantinides, Zhi Da, Peter DeMarzo, Joost Driessen, Darrell Duffie, Pengjie Gao, John Heaton, Xavier Gabaix, Nicolae Garleanu, Lars Hansen, Otto van Hemert, Mark Hendricks,
    [Show full text]
  • How to Report Transactions on OTC Derivative Instruments
    COMMITTEE OF EUROPEAN SECURITIES REGULATORS Date: 8 October 2010 Ref.: CESR/10-661 GUIDANCE How to report transactions on OTC derivative instruments CESR, 11-13 avenue de Friedland, 75008 Paris, France - Tel +33 (0)1 58 36 43 21, web site: www.cesr.eu Table of contents Glossary ..................................................................................................................................................3 I. Introduction ...............................................................................................................................4 A. Transaction reporting in Europe ..................................................................................................4 B. The Transaction Reporting Exchange Mechanism.......................................................................4 C. CESR work on the field of transaction reporting on OTC derivative instruments ......................4 D. Scope of Transaction Reporting on OTC derivative instruments .................................................4 E. The transaction reporting fields ...................................................................................................5 F. Population of fields per type of derivative ....................................................................................9 G. Reportable changes and events ....................................................................................................9 II. OTC options.............................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Valuation Adjustments 6 Ntnze
    0 0 ·~rf'J. ·~> ·~Q Q) 8 0 u 0 ~ ~ Q) ~ ·~ ~ t 0 ~ Q) ~ ~ 0 ~ ~ ~ 0 ~ u ~ ·s:t:::: .0 fJl Od 00 b ...... 0 ~ W,o c:: 0 0 co 0 ~ :iQ 0 :::. ·~ @ Ql ~ ~ .;:: ~ $: ~ ~ ~ ~ .D ~ ro Cl) > ~ ~ LBEX-WGM 002234 CONFIDENTIAL TREATMENT REQUESTED BY LEHMAN BROTHERS HOLDINGS, INC. t""'('l rn~ ~~ ~ti ~~ t:l:i>-l ~> Contents >-lt""" :::r:...., I [/).>~G; :::r:...., 1. Executive Summary 3-5 0~ t""'tn z....,oz @G; "!0 JL Valuation Adjustments 6 ntnze . [/)....., Significant Changes 7 0 Summary 8 ~ Regional Matrix 9 Americas 10- 11 Europe 12-13 Asia 14-15 Monthly Changes 16-17 UL Pricing Report 18 r Explanation of Significant Variances 19-23 m m >< Coverage 24-25 Projects 26-28 :s:~ 0 0 1\.) 1\.) (.,) 0'1 LEHlvfAN BROTHERS 2 t""'('l rn~ ~~ ~ti ~~ t:l:i>-l ~> Executive summary >-lt""" :::r:...., Complex Derivatives Transaction Review Committee [/).>~G; :::r:...., This committee, consisting of Capital Market Finance, Accounting Policy and Model Validation personnel, was set up in April 2005 and meets to 0~ t""'tn consider any significant derivative transactions undertaken. The committee considers whether the transactions are being booked, valued and z....,oz modeled appropriately. Furthermore, the committee determines whether the proper accounting treatment is being applied. During the month, the @G; following transactions were reviewed: "!0 ntnze . [/)....., -----+Emerging Market Loan with FX Call Spread- Lehman loaned ¥6 billion to Astana, a Kazakhstan quasi-sovereign entity. In addition, Lehman entered into a currency swap with Astana to convert the JPY loan into USD. Lehman also purchased a FX call spread from 0 Astana.
    [Show full text]
  • Notice of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Listing and Trading
    SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (Release No. 34-72014; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2014-038) April 24, 2014 Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Listing and Trading of the Shares of the Reality Shares NASDAQ-100 Isolated Dividend Growth Index ETF of the Reality Shares ETF Trust Under Rule 5705 Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (“Act”),1 and Rule 19b-4 thereunder,2 notice is hereby given that on April 10, 2014, The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ” or the “Exchange”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) the proposed rule change as described in Items I and II below, which Items have been prepared by NASDAQ. The Commission is publishing this notice to solicit comments on the proposed rule change from interested persons. I. Self-Regulatory Organization’s Statement of the Terms of Substance of the Proposed Rule Change NASDAQ proposes to list and trade the shares of the Reality Shares NASDAQ-100 Isolated Dividend Growth Index ETF (the “Fund”) of the Reality Shares ETF Trust (the “Trust”) under Rule 5705 (Exchange Traded Funds: Portfolio Depository Receipts and Index Fund Shares).3 The shares of the Fund are collectively referred to herein as the “Shares.” The text of the proposed rule change is available at http://nasdaq.cchwallstreet.com/, at NASDAQ’s principal office, and at the Commission’s Public Reference Room. 1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 2 17 CFR 240.19b-4. 3 The Commission approved NASDAQ’s Rule 5705, as well as Rule 5735 regarding managed fund shares, in Securities Exchange Act Release No.
    [Show full text]
  • Disclosure Annex for Equity Derivative Transactions
    International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. Disclosure Annex for Equity Derivative Transactions This Annex supplements and should be read in conjunction with the General Disclosure Statement. NOTHING IN THIS ANNEX AMENDS OR SUPERSEDES THE EXPRESS TERMS OF ANY TRANSACTION BETWEEN YOU AND US OR ANY RELATED GOVERNING DOCUMENTATION. Accordingly, descriptions in this Annex of the operation of Equity Transactions (as defined below) and the consequences of various events are in all cases subject to the actual terms of an Equity Transaction executed between you and us and its governing documentation (whether or not such qualification is expressly stated). We refer to Transactions in which the Underliers are corporate equity securities or baskets or indexes of equity securities as “Equity Transactions”. The terms of an Equity Transaction may incorporate standard definitions, master confirmations, transaction matrices and other market standard terms, which may in turn be amended or customized pursuant to the terms of the Equity Transaction and its governing documentation. Before entering into an Equity Transaction, you should obtain and review carefully any such materials incorporated by reference as their content could materially affect your rights and obligations under the Equity Transaction, its value and its appropriateness for your particular objectives. Valuation of Underliers Trading of equity securities typically takes place on securities exchanges, dealer quotation systems, electronic communications networks, and other trading facilities and execution venues, the regulation of which may differ from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Futures and option contracts related to equity securities and indexes may trade on futures exchanges, securities exchanges or other derivatives exchanges, depending on the type of contract.
    [Show full text]
  • April 6, 2012 Via Electronic Filing: Internal Revenue Service CC:PA
    April 6, 2012 Via Electronic Filing: Internal Revenue Service CC:PA:LPD:PR (REG–120282–10), Room 5203 P.O. Box 7604 Ben Franklin Station Washington D.C. 20044 Re: MFA Comments IRS REG–120282–10, Dividend Equivalents from Sources within the United States Dear Ladies and Gentlemen: Managed Funds Association (“MFA”)1 appreciates the opportunity to respond to IRS Reg 120282-10, Dividend Equivalents from Sources within the United States (the “Proposed Regulation”), which provide guidance regarding tax withholding obligations in connection with certain financial products that provide for payments that are contingent upon or determined by reference to payments of dividends from sources within the United States. MFA and its members support the policy underlying the Proposed Regulation of preventing abusive practices designed to evade U.S. taxes. As discussed below, we are concerned that certain provisions in the Proposed Regulation go far beyond addressing the primary concern underlying the relevant provisions of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (the “HIRE Act”), applying appropriate withholding taxes on certain equity-linked derivatives instruments that pose risks of inappropriate tax avoidance, and also introduce uncertainty and risk for market participants, which may drive many out of the market altogether. As a general matter, market participants need reasonable certainty when entering into transactions that they understand the economics of the trade. It is also important that the final regulations establish rules that will allow market participants to be able to make reasonable contractual representations that likely will be required by their counterparties. 1 MFA is the voice of the global alternative investment industry.
    [Show full text]