SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC

20549

July 2,2010

,)lVISION OF

,.JING AND MARKETS

W. John McGuire, Esq.

Morgan, Lewis & BockiUs LLP

1111 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20004

Re:

AdvisorShares Mars HiD Global Relative Value Actively Managed

ETF

File No. TP 10-26

Dear Mr. McGuire:

In your letter dated JU~y'l, 2010, as supplemented by conversations with the staff

of the Division of Trading and Markets ("Division"), AdvisorShares Trust (the "Trust")

on behalf of itself, the Mars Hill ETF, any national securities exchange or national

securities association on or through which shares issued by the Mars Hill ETF ("Shares")

may subsequently trade, and persons or entities engaging in transactions in Shares,

requests exemptions from, or interpretive or no-action advice regarding Section II (d)( 1)

of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Exchange Act"), RuleslOb-IO,

IOb-I7, IIdl-2, 15cl-5, and 15cl-6 thereunder, and Rules 101 and 102 of Regutation M

in connection with secondary market transactions in Shares and the creation or

redemption of Creation Units as discussed in your letter.

In your letter, as supplemented by conversations with the staff of the Division; the

Trust on behalf of itself, the Original Fund, any national securities exchange or national

securities association on or through which shares issued by the Original Fund may

subsequently trade, arid persons or entities engaging in transactions in shares of the

Original Fund, also reqllests exemptions from, or interpretive or no-actionadyice

reg~~n;~.Se#iq;n'll(~f1}qfth¢:'Exchange A¢t and Rules lOb"" I 0, lOb-17, tl~ 1~2, 15p 1­

S'and 15cf..

6' thereunder.,

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We have enclosed a photocopY-of your letter. Each defined term in this letter has

the same meaning as defined in yourletter, unless we note otherwise.

The Trust was organized on July 30,2007, as a Delaware statutory trust. The

Trustis registered with the Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as

amended ("1940 Act"), as an open-end management investment company. The Trust

seeks relief for the Mars Hill ETF which seeks returns in excess of the MSCI World

Index with comparable volatility. To obtain this objective, the Mars Hill ETF will take

long positions in ETFs and other exchange traded products in what the sub-advisor

believes to be the most attractive global regions and countries, while establishing

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... . ·W. J ohnMcGuire

... Morgari, LewIs lk Bockius LLP:

.. July 2, 2010

. . Page 2 of6:

equivalent short positions inETFs:an.dother exchangetfaded products in umittradive .•.

regions and countries. Beyond theseinv~.tments,the'Mars HiH EtF wilt invest in shoit~

term.money market Instruments and 11quid futures cOntracts and other dertvativt?s .tied to .

broad market indices.. These investmentsm~y used to seek additional exposure orup .

.to 50% on top ofthe Mars HilYETF's Core portfolio. The MarsHill ETF wilLho1d rio .

ETF <irexchange traded 'productwhose iilvesttnentobjeetiveisto earn a multipfeof a·

particular index; nor will it invest in any ETF whose investment advisor is affiliated with·

,the Manager. While the Mars Hill ETF will notseek to track the perfonnanceof an

underlying index~the Mars fIiIlE'TF will otherwiseopcrate in thesame'manner as an

index-baSed fund of ETFs. In your letter, you represent t~e follow'ing:

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op~n-end

·Shares of the Mars Hill ETF will be issued by an

mamigement

investment company thatisregistered with the Commission;

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The Mars Hill ETF will continuouSly redeem, at net asset value ("NAV"),

Cieat-ion Unit aggregatiotisof25,OOO Shares valued ala minimumof$1.25 .

·million, and the secondary market price of the Shares should not vary

substantially from the NAV of such Shares;

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Shares of the Mars Hill ETF will be listedafid traded on the NYSE Area;

to

• ... The Mars Hill ETF intendS invest at least 90% of the portfolio of the Mars Hill

ETFin ETFs and other exchange traded products and allsueh ETFs will either .

. meet the conditions set forth in: an applicable Class Relief Letter Qf have received

individual relief from the Commission; ..

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On each Business Day before Conunencem~ntof trading in Shares on the

.. ~xehange, the Mars Hill ETF will disclose on its' website the identi!iesand

quantities of the seCurities and other assets held by the Mars Hill ETF,whith will

fonnthe basis for the calcuUltiori of the. Mars Hill ETF's NAVat the end of the

•·::r~0i~~Qi~a~WJ~~~~.~X?$,i~~

tI.troughout "die tfail(iigday thiciugh:the facilities

'of the Consolldat<i<fTape' .....

Assn.elation 8Il$ount T~presentingon a· perShare basi8~ th"e sliniof tl:ie :curren.t·

value'

of the In-Kind.

Creation' Securities

.and the estimated

Cash

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.• ,The arbittage·rrieclJ.anism"WiU be facilitated by the transparency ofthe Mats Hilt ...

E:TF's poJ;tf()lio~d the availability oftheIIV, the liquidityofitS-fottfo!io' .•...

. . Securities, and the iwility to access tho~esecuritie~aswetJ as the arbitrageurs;

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·ability to. ¢reate Workable hedges;

• . The MarsHiH ETF will solely invest in liquid securities;

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. W: John McGuire

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. MorgaO.,.Lewi~ & BockiUs'LLP

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JUly2; 2010

· Pag~Tof6

The Mars Hill ETF will inv~st in-POl-tfolio S~curities with liquidity levelS thatwiU '.

facilitate an effective and efficient arbitragemechimisinan~the ability to; create .'

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workable hedges;

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-Arbitrageursare expected to take ~dvantage of price variations betWeen the Mars

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Hill ETF'smarket.price and its NAV; arid

A dose alignffient between the Mars HiU BTF's mar~et price arid the MarsHiU

ETF's NAVis expected. . '

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Regulation M

Redeemable securities issued by an open-ertd man~getrlent investment company

· are excepted from the provisio~s ~fRule 101 and 102 of Regulatio"ri M. The Commission

.' . gr~ted the Trust an exemption from 'certain provisions of the 1940 Act in order to permit

the Ttust to. maintain its registration as an Qpen~endmanagement investment.company .

and. to issue shares thatare redeemable only in CreationUrntsize aggregations ofShares.

Rule 101 ofRegulationM .

Generalty, Rule 101 of Regulation M is an a.nti~manipulation regulation that,

subject to certain exceptions, prohibits any."distribution participant" and its "affiliated

purchasers" from bidding for, purchasing, or attempting to induce any persontobid for or

purchase any security which is the subject of a distnbutionuntil after the 'applicable

n~stnctedperiod except as specifically pennitted in the Regulation. The provisions of

· Rule 101 of Regulation M apply to underwriters,-prospective underWriters, brokers,

dealers, or other persons who have agreed to participate or are participating in a

distribiltionof securities,

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chd nlanagerrie~tirivestqient ootIlpany tti~i will 'continuouSly ted~em at 'the N'1\.\l '.' .

Creation Unit size aggregations "of.theSh~resdttheMars Hill ETF,and the:se€(juaary

'm~ketprtce ofthe Shares of the MllfsUiil-E:tFshould not vary substafitiallyfrpm·thtL .

'.' N AV of such. Shares~. \Vhi~h is base4o~ tlie'identity and quantity oftli.e s~mities and the .

other ~sets held by theMarsHiH ETF. the PivisiQil hereby confiims tliaUh.~ Tiiist-is: .

. excepted-under p(;iragraph (c)(4) of R~l~)0 tOf Re~lationM with respect tq the "fvf(ifs,

.HIll ETF thus permitting persons who may be deemed to be participatiilg in a41stnbutiori

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Morgan, LeWis &. BookitiS LLP .

July'J;,2010

Page.4.of6

of Shares of the Mars f'IiU ETF tq~id for or purchase such Shatesduring their'

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parHcipatiO'Ii in such disbjbutioQ;~I

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The Division also confirius the interPretati~ilofRule 10 lof Regul~tion M that a

redemption of Creation Unit size aggreg~tions of shares of the: Mars HiJlETF arid the· .

. r~eiptof In-kind Redemption Securities in exch~g¢ therefor-by a parti~ipafl;tina··

.di~tribution of Shares of the Mars Hill ETF would not Constitute an "attempt in<luce

anype~son to bid. for or purchase a covered security, duringthe applicable restiicted

period":within the meaning ofRegulation M; and therefore would n~t viol;:tte Regulation·

M.

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· Rule I02ojReguli1:tionM

Rule ro20f Regulation M: prohibits issuers, seUingsecurily holder;, or any

affiliated purchaser ofsuch person from bidding for, purchaSing, or attempting toiriduce

any person to bid for or pUI-chasea covered security during·the applicable restricted

. period inconn~tioil with a distribution of securities effected by or on behalf ofan issuer

or selling security holder. . Rule 100 of Regullition Nt defines "distribution" to mean: any

offering ofsecuritiesthat is distinguished from ordinary trading transactions by the

and the presence of special selling. efforts and selling methods.

magnitude of the offering

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On the basis of your reJ:lresentations and the facts pn;;seilted,' particularly that the

Trust is a registered open-end management investment company that will redeem at the

NAv Creation Units of Shares of the Mars Hill ETF, the Division hereby confirms that

the Trust isexcepteduilderparagr~ph(q)(4)ofRule 102 of Regulation M with respect to

the Mars Hill ETF, thuspennitting the Mars Hill ETF to redeem Shar¢s of the Mars Hill

ETF duiingthe continuous offering of such Shares.

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Rule IOb-17

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W«note t1jat:"R.~gtilati~nM does not.p;ohibit a distrlbutionpiU1idpantand its affiHat~dpurcbasers from.··

biddini for-aiId p'~cliasmgportfoliosecurities

acCordance -\vitll.theexteptions contairiedinpilragraphS .

(b)(6)and (eXt) orRu~elO1.: RUI~ 101(b)(6)(i) ex~ptsbasicet triliISactionsinwhichbids o£purchasesare

made in the o(diD<try courseO,f b.iislness.in~o~ection with a bask~t of.20:6t more securities q.. which a· ..

·.covered Security does no(compnse -more tliat 5% of th~ vallie of the baske.tptirchased. :Rule i 0 l(b)(6)(ii)

excepts adjU$tni¢ntS to such a baSket made in the ordlm~lyd)lirse of-buSmess asa result Q-fa'change'mthe

. composition Ofa s~datQ~edindex: Also,.RulelOl(c)(i) excepts: t,i:ans~ctionS in activeJy~traded .

· securities, that is, secuntiesthat have- ail ~vei-aie da,lytradingvoi~mev~lu~ of at. least $1 million and are.

issue<f by aIlis~uer whdse common equity securities have a pubiic"float~alue of atie~t S150miilion;: ...

.. provided however, ·that such securiti~s are riot issu~ by the' distributionpartic.ipant ora~affiliateofthe·

· distributioll"participafit

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W.'John McGuire

M{)rgao; Lewis &, Bockius LLP

,July 2, 2010

Page 5 of6

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, distribution, stock spht; or rights, offeriQg} -relating to such claSs of securities in

accordance with Rule 10b-17(b)_

On the basis of yourrepresentations and the facts presented, and without

:necessarily concurring in your analysis, pa.rticuladYt4at the CqIp.rnission has deteI!IiiIioo

, to grant an exemption from the i940 ACftoregistei the Trust.as an opetf-end '

management investmentcoinpaQ)i potwi~hstatldingthe fact that it issues Shares wi1ll. '

limited redeemability, the Commission hereby grants an exemption from the

requirements ofRulelOb-17 to the Tiust with respect to transactions in the Shares~2

Section 11 (d)(J) a1uJ Rules jOb-fa. lJdI-2. J5c1-5,and i5c1-6

Based on the facts and represeIita~i6ns set forth' in your letter" and without

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necessarily agreeing with your analysis, the Division wiiln'ot recommend enforcement

action-to the Coriunissionif a broker-dealer treats shares ofthe Original Fund and the ,

Mars Hill ETF, for purposes ofthe relief from Section. 'II (d)( 1) 0 f the Excht;mge Act<ind

, Rules IOb-IO, Ildl-2, 15cl-5, and 15cl'-6 provided in die Letterre: Derivative Products'

Committee of the SecUrities Industry Association{November 21,2005) ("Class Relief ' '

Letter"), as shares of a Qualifying ETF (as defined In the CI~s Relief Letter). In

,"granting this relief, we note in particular yol,ir representations that at least 80% of the

Original Fund's portfolio holdings (as represented in the AdvisorShares Request Letter)

arid 90% of the Mars Hiil ~TF's'portfolioholdings (as represented in your letter dated

June xx, 2010) are, arid will be, shares of J;>rior .ETFs, that each of the Prior ETFs held

, , by the Original Fund and/or the M~s Riil ETF themseives will have either met all,

conditioO:s set forth in the Class R¢liefLetter, will have individual relief frOID the' " '

C.o~ission, or will be able to rely on individual'relief even though they are not named

parties, and that in no case will the Original Fund or the Mars Hill ETF holdsec\lritfes

(other thanETFsor government secwitiesas defined in Section 3(a)(42)(A);(B)~ or (C)

of the Exchange Act) issued by a single issuer in excess of20% of the InitialFund's'

P~()~fQ)t9.h9.~~Wg~~:4~¢P ,~"", i~ttrej)R~ct to 'shares :0 f the OriID~all"~!1'!,a,n.d~~e _M;~s'

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, "The for~g6ingexeniptiOJifr6.mRulelOb-I? under the.Exchange Ad;',

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interpretations~ofRule~ l()iand l02,ofJ{egulation M,and no-action positi()D.s taken'

~der Section iJ(d)(l) ofthe Exch3Ilge.Act, andRules IOb-lo;'} idl-2; t5~hS,: a.nd~-,',.::,

15cl ~6, thereunder,are'bitsed sotely your tepresentatrons and the facts preserit€d.t~, the: ,

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tha~c~mplianGe withR~le

n~tUteofth~_M~$

We also note

IOb-17 would be impracticalin light of the

Hill ETF. This is because it is'll()tposs.ible for the 'TruSt tp accurately project ten:days in ad\ranc¢~hat', '

diV~dend,if any, would be paid ~n: a:Particular record d a t e . '

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Morgan, Lewis & BockiUsLLP

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Division, and ~e strlCtly limited to the appli6;l6Qfi of those ~l~s to transactions. ltwolving

the Shares of th~ Matp Hill ETF a,nd the'Original Fund un.d~r the circumstances descdb~d

above and in you~ letter. Such transac~ions should be discontillued, pendingpreseiltation

the facts for our consiqeration, in the event that any material change oc~urs with .

respect teany of th.cisef~cts·or representations.-Moreover, the foregoIng exemption from

'Rule 1Ob~ 17 under the.Exchange Act~ inteiprdations'otR:uIe~'WI" and '102 ofRegulation

M, arid no·aCtion positions taken under Sectionlt"(d)(I) of the Exchpnge.Act, andRules

IOb-l0, Ildl-2, 15c 1-5, and 1~cl-6 thereunder are sl.lbjeett;o thec6nd.itioll that such

transactions in Shares of the Mars Hill ELF, Portfolio Security, or any related secudties

are r{pt made for the purpose of creating~ctual,or apparent, active trading in or raising or

. otherwise affecting the price of such securities..'

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. The.seexempii6ns, interpretations, andmHlction positiollsaresubject to

modificatiortor revOCatioriif at any. time the Commission or Division determines that

. such, action is necessary or appropri'ate infurtherartce of the purposes ofthe Exchange

Act. In addition, persons relyirigon these exemptions; inteq)retations, and no-actlQr!

positions are dtreetecl to the anti-fraud and anti-manipulation provisions ofthe Exchange

Act, particularlySectiolls 9(a), 10(b), and Rule lOb-5thereundet. Responsibility for .

compliance with these and .other provisions of the federal or state securities laws must

rest with persons relying on these exemptions and interpretations_

The Division expresses no view with re$pect to other qllestions .that the proposed

transactions may raise, inciuding, but not limited to, the adequacy of di$closure

cOncerning, and the applicability of other federal and state laws to; the proposed.

transactions.

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.Forthe Commissi(>n~bytheDivislonof

.Trading and MarketS,

pursuant

allthority,

. to delegated

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Assistant Director:

·Attach).nent

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. Morgan, lewis

up.

11 11 Pi!rins\"vaniaAv~nue. NW

•Washirigton, DC 20004

rei: ·202.739.3000·

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Morgan Lewis

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C 0 U N S E LOR S A T

L·A. W·

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Fax: 20D39.3001

·wWw.morganlewis.com

w. John McGuire

Partner

202.739·,5654

.wjmCguite@Morganlewis.Com

July 1, 2010

Ms. Josephine J.·Tao

Assistant Director

DiVision of Trading and Markets

seCurities and Exchange Conunission .

100 F Street, N.E..

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Washington, DC 20549·

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Request of AdvisorShares Trustfor Additional Interpretive Rdiefftom Rule·

10b-17 and RuleslOI and 102 ofRegulation M promulgated uurler the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 with Respect to Additi(mal Fund and for

Exemptive, Interpretive or No-A<;tion Relief from Section l1(d)(l) the

Securities Exchange Act of1934 and Rules 10b-lO, Ildl-2, 15cl-5 and 15c1-6

thereunder

of

pear Ms. Tao:·

AdvisorShares Trust (the "Trust") is an open-end management investment Company

organized on July 30,.2007 asa Delaware statutory trust. The Trust is Gurrently offering one series,

·tlieDent T~cticarEf.F. The Trust plans to liston all Exchange shares ofMars lIill. Global·

Rel~tiv~ Valtic ETF ('~MarsHillE'tF'I),

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S~JPmary of Previously Granted Relief

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:ime,the Trust.requested reliefon behalf of itself, the OriginalFun~ any national securities

.Morgan4wis

Ms~ josephitie J. Tao·

O=U N $·£·L 0 I.. S: A Y·...L A W·

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July 1,2010

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.exchange or national securities

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asso~iation on or through ;hidi:theexchange-trad~shares()f

.. the Trust ("Dent ETF Shares") would subsequently trade (each an "Exchange")~ ~nd per~onsor

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entities engaging in transactions in Dent ETF Shares~frorrithe staffofthe Division ·ofTrading· .

and Markets ("Staff') with respect to Rule 10b-17 and Rules 101 and 102 of Regulation M iIi

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connection with secondaiy market transactions in Shares andthecreationorredemptionof

Creation Units ("AdvisorShares. Request Letter"). I The Staffgranted such relief("Existing

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.Relief')iri the letter addressed to John McGuire, dated September 14, 2009 ("AdvisorShares

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Response Letter"). A copy of the AdvisorShares Reque~t Letter and the AdvisorShares

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Response Letter are atbiched hereto for your convenience. All terms in thislettet are as defined

in the AdvisorShares .R~quest and· AdvisorShares Response Letters, urtlessothtiiwise defined

herein.

The Trust on behalfof itself, the Mars HiilETF, and any national securities·exchange or

national securities association on or thro~gh \¥hich the shares subsequently trade (each such market

being an

"Exchange"), and persons or entities

engaging in transactions irishares

issuedby the Mars ...

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. Hill ETI ("&hares"),

asapplicable,requeststh~t the Securities and ·Exchange COrrimiss·ion(the . .

.:"Coinmission" or the "SEC") grant e~emptive, interpretive or no-action idleffromSection ll(d)(l}·

•. of the Securities Exchange Actof 1934 (the "Exchange Act"), and Rules i Ob:'lO,l Ob-I7,}l dl ~2~

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15ci-5 and 15cl~6 and Rules 101 and

102 ofRegiilationM

thereimdef; in co~ectio~ With

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. Secondary market trailsaCtionsin.Shaies and:the: creation aiid tederripti6n of Creation Units; as: .

. discussed below.

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.-'-.-'.·-S-ee-,-th-e-r";"'eq~u-e-st-I-ett-.e-:r-fr-o-~-W- ..lObn~kGUire date.d Septeniber 14,2009

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with respect to the Tius(

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·MorganLe~

co U'N S E LOR S A T

Ms. JO$ePlUlle J. Tao

july I, 2010

Page 3

The Trustwill issue and redeem Shares of the Mars Hill ETFinaggregatiolls o(25?OOO .

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Shares ("Creation Units"), with a minhnum-niarket value of $ 1,250,000. The Trust has filed a

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registration' stateinentonForni Nc.lA, which hasbeoome effective, andwill have the 'Shares

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listed on the New York Stock Exchange Area. The Trust is o~erseen by board. of ttuste~s (the

"Board")·that will maintain the composition requirements ofS~ction 10 of the Inv~stment

. Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"). The Mars Hiil ETf has adopted

furid~llnental policies cOnsistent with·the 1940 Act and will be classified ~ '~diveisified" under

the 1940 A~t. The Mars Hill ETF illtends to maintain the r~uiied .level ofdiversification, and

otherwise condud its operations~ so as to'meet the regulated- investrnentcomparty diversification

requirements of the IntemalRevenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Mars HillETF will be a

"-fundof exchange traded funds (,'ETFs") and interids to achieve its investment objective by

investing, both long and short, at least 90% of its assets in .other exchange4raded funds

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.("Underlying ETFs") that are registered investmenteompaniesand otiler exchange-:traded

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'products, including, butnot limited to, exchange.,.traded notes, exchange-traded currericytrusts

andexchange,.tradedcommoditiespools.2 TheTern.ai~der.ofth~ assets of the Ma(s Hill ErF, .

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.'To the extent practicable, .the c~eation an~l ~edemptionpfocess Will be' identicalto existmg e](:ciia~ge. traded

fun~k However, b~aus.eacreatiQnb3,sketorithe NSCC cannot hold or rerogniz¢a short position; the· .

Creation and RepeiDption Baskets for the Mars HilJETF

only contain long positions; Jus(as With existing..

ETFs,the creation'basket'willgenerally representa. pi:orataslice Of the lon.g positions in the. portfolio~ .of

amount and v<Jue equa~ tb the NAV of aCrc::ationUnit Orlte' the portfoliooianag~rsof!he

gillETF..'.

receive notice that the new creation Unit has been pufchase<!, the 'Mars Hill ETF 'wouT<FiIDIIl,e.diiltely sell short

the appropriate amotint. of exchange.,.tra~edfunds and other exchange-traded products so that theMarsHill ...

ETFwilI maintllin·itS core·long/short portfolio divided evenly between longand short-positions. The process is

.reversed for redemPtiOns. Upon notice of a tedempti6.n,th~ managerS Will close out the· appropriate amount of

short positions, hu.t t.he redemption baSket will only contain long positions of eq~l value to the NAV of the

'. creation Unit. .Each day the Mars Hill ETF will puhlishboth theCrt:atioIi Baslcetof IC)ligoilly positions, as .

.' well the indi~ative basket with both long and short positions.(and

valtiecalculaterl every 15 seconds .

dUring the traping day will be.based on the indicative baslcetj.·· The inStiumentsuse<ho obtainaiJ.y additioIJ,al ...

will

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, which m'ay be used to seek additionalexpostlre of up to 50% exposuteontopofits cOre

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ponfolio, wiUbe invested in short.:.tenn money rriark~t instrumerits, and liquici futures ~ntrads

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, and other derivatives tied to broad market indices. The o'nly ETFsi~ which the Mars Hilt ETF

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invests will be organized in the United States, .registered under the 1940 Act; listed on an'

Exchange,and calculate theienet asset value ("NAV") each day. In addition, aU Underlying'

ETl's

will either meet all conditions set forth in the Equity ETFClaSs ReliefI.etter and the 8M

J

Letter4,' or the ETV Class Relief Letter5, respectivel y, or willha\fe received' individual,relief from'

the Coinniission, or will be able to rely on individual rellef even thougll they are not named ,

,parties6 ("Prior ETFs"), except that if the Mars Hill ETF adopts a temporary defensive position,

it may invest more than 10% of its assets in government securities as defined in Section

.

'

. '

exposure on top of the Mars Hill ETF's core portfolio will be mcluded inthe indicative basket, but not,in the

Creation and Redemption Basket.

'

Letter from James'A Brigagliano, Acting Associate Director, Division of MarketRegulation, to Cliffoid

Chan<;e USLLP, d~fedOctober24,2006.

Letter from Catherine McGuire, Esq., Chief Counsel Division of Market Regulation to the Securities Industry

ASsociation Derivative Products Committee, dated November 21,2005.

5

'6 "

Lett~r from RaCq~et L Rus:>elI, Branch Chief, Office of TradingPtactices ~d Processes, Qivi~ioil ofMarkd

RegUlati9o, to George T. Sittion;Esq., F~ley & Lardner L~PdatedJime}.I, 2906,

' "

Se~e.g;, Letter from Josephine J. tao;Associate Director; Division ofTradu'tgao.4Marke~;toRich3Td:M. " '

Morris, WisdoIUTree Asset Managerilent.,inc: dat~May9> 2008) eeWe:note .ihatwe~ha:ve fePeateqly' ' ,

'expI:es~Cd oUF viewsoiiEx~hange Act SecttOIi 1I(d)(I)and,Exch~ge A.ct RuleSlOb~io, Ildl":2,:15cl-5,: and

, 15clo.:6 with respect to exchange-tnided funds thatartHiot tied to an, index. Ha:0ngstatedOiU; views; we will no

, longer respond torequesn:;for reIieffrom'Sectioli 11(d)(l)or'R.1leslOo'-IO, ,i idl-2,i5Cl~$, and 15ci-6

rela~g to exch'lmge.,.n:a:ded'funds tha,t are :npt inanagedto track a paJ:iictilar index uniess tbeypresentnovel9r '

Unusual issues.");· Letter from James'A. Bngaglian6, Assistil~t Director., Division of MarketReg1.llatioli, to: '

Michael SClunidtberger; Esq., Sidley Austin Brown & WoodLLP dated JallMry 19, 2,066 with respect to OIl

, Commodit}rItldex TrackingFundandDIi Commodity ServiCes tLC("[W]enole thafwe haverepeated1y

"expr~ss'edoiir ~ews on Section 1:I(d)(I) ~d R\l.le Ildt.. 2 with respect.io)he ext~nsionoi mainteoanceor the

air~ge~ent for the exte~ion or niainteIlMce of credit shares of coinmoditY-based,exchailg,~-:tta.<iedtrusts

~at hold physical commoditiesot currency or thid are public commodity pools ("CBlITTs"),in cOQneCtion

, with secondary lllarket,tril11~ctions. Having sllitedour views; we'Will no longer'resporidto r¢quests,for relief

from Se¢tion 11(d){l) and Rule lldl:"2 rel;itmg to newCBETTs, Unless they present novel or. Uritisu;iI

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Morganie\'Vis '

',C:OUNSELOI.S

Ms..josephineJ. Tao

July 1, 2010

Page 4

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, ,Morgan Lewis

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COUNSELORS

Ms. JosephIne J. Tao

July 1, 2010

PageS

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AT

3(a)(42)(A), (B), or (C) of the Exchange,Act The other exchange'traded:products in wruchthe

Mars Hili ETP invests'will issue equity securities and be listed on an Exchange.

, The SEC staff ("Staff') has pteviouslyissued. relief identical to that req~ested herein to

actively-managedETFs 7, to ind~x-based ETFs which are fuJjdsofETFs} as weIi as index-based

ETFs, listed and traded on a natiomil ~ec~ritiesexchangewhich meet certain,oonclitions. 9 The

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Index IQ Letter provided relief specific to the funds deScribedther~in and, therefore, theTnist and

the Mars Hill ETF are not entitled tl? !ely on the Index IQ Letter for relief Further, because the

Mars Hill ETF is not an index-basedETF, it is not erititled to rely on the relief previously provided '

to index~based ETFs: The Trust and Mars HiUETF note, however, that their proposal-'t he creation

and issuanCe by an actively-managed investment company ofshares that individually trade ,on an

Exchange, but that can only be purchased from and redeemed with the issuing investment

,

'

company in large aggregations-is,no longer noveL The Commission has in the past sixteen years'

, considered and approved many similar proposals. Some ofth~index-b~edptoducts for which, '

" reliefhas been granted have been trading

publidy for years~and

the Trust is not aware of any

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.

,abus~s~sdciated with them. Indeed, sever~l of tIle li1dex~haSedproduct~ h~lV~ be¢nso embraqx.l'

' ..

'7"

'Se~

~rust,

Letter from JosephineTao to Wisdom Tree

dated May 9, 2008 (the uWiSdomiree letter);' As'

'indicated below~ the Board haS authorized a Distribution and Service PIl:in ("Plan'')" pursuant toRul~ 12\1,.1 Under the

'1940 A.ct, but no such fee is curreritlY,being paid by the Mars Hili ETF and the Boar? has not approved ,any ,

payments' for the current ,fiScal year. We understand that the exemptive

no-action relief under SeCtion,II(dXl)

would nqt be available to anY'brqker-dealer that received 12b-l fees under the Plan. See S!!\.:Letter.,

and

'8

See Letter'from JosephiQe Tao to Ind~x IQ ETF Trust, dated, March 25, 2009(the "Index IQ'Letter'}

9

Se.e EquityETF (;lass Relief Letter; SIA Letter, Lett~r from James A. "Brigagliano, Assistant Diiectoi,

Division of Market Regul~tionto Claire P. McGrath; Vice PresidentandSpecialC~unsel,Amerkan

Stock ExchaQge LLC, qated AugJJst 17, 200 I.See also Le,tterfrom James A. Brigagliano regarding,

Class Relief for Fixed Income. Exchange Traded Index Funds, dated April 9, 2007; Letter from Josephine"

Tao regarding CombinationExcha:n$e-tradedFiJn~,<lated"June27; 2007. '

,

"

LAW

Morgan·l.ewis

CO·~N·SELO·RS

Ms. Josephine J. Tao

July 1,2010

. Page 6

A·T:LAI17

by investors that they areroutiIieiy airiong the highestvolume securities on the exchanges6i1'

which theytracte. [Q

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The Mars HiU·ETF is not

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an index-basedETF investing·insecurities.and therefore is

ineligible to rely on the. Equity

ETF Class. ReliefLetter.. However, it .will

meet all. of the criteria

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of the Equity ETF Class ReliefLetter with the exception of Conditions 2; 3 and 5; thatis~ the·

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.Mars

Hill ETF

is not an index~based ETF( ~ndition 5); may not hold "a basket oftwenty

or.

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.

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'

more?' securities (condition 2); and . it is possible thatless than 70% of the Mars Hill EfF will be

comprised of securities that meet the minimum pubii~ float and mirllrtJ.um average daily trading .

volume thresholds under the "actively-4radedsecurities" definitionfouIid in Regulation M fo~

:excepted securities during each of the previous two months of trading prior to fonnationof the

Televant ETF; provided, however, that if the ETF.has 200 or more securities, then 50% of the .

.

10

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The SEC has previously granted exemptive or no-action relief under Rules I Oa-l,l Ob-6, 1Ob-7; .

IOb-IO, IOb-B, lOb-I?; 11 dl-2, 15cl-5,15cl-6 and RegulationM under tl.te Exchange Actsimilarto that

requested here. See e.g., Letter from Nancy Sanow, AssistantDirector, Division of Market Reguiation

to James Duffy, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, AMEX, dated January 22, 1993 with respect to

trading ofSPDR Trust, Series J; Letter from Naricy SallOW, AssistantDirector, Division ofM~rket

Regulation to James Duffy, SeniorVic.e Presid~nt aQd GeneralCotinsel, AMEX, dated Apri12L1995

. With respect to trading of MidCap Spl>R Trust;l¢tters from Lairy E. BergQlan, Senior ASsociat~ . '

Director, Division o(Market Re-giilation tosiuart: M:,Strauss·;. Gord~nAltii1ariButowSkY;·dated;.. ,.

December 14:, J998 and Deceml;ier n;.t998; .resi>~cii~g:tIi:e tr~ding ofthe Select Sect<>rSPDR

.

·Teust;·Letter fro mJames Brigagliarto; ASsist,lini Director, DiVisi~n of MarketRegulatlOn.to Ja:niesDiiffy,

Se~or Vic~ Fr~sidenta~d General Counsei, AMEX; .d~t~March 3; 199~with respect to the tr~ding the

Nasdaq 100 Trust; Letteifrom James Brigagliano,AssiStao,t Dii-ector;.Divlsion: of Market Regulation to· .

Ka:tlil~il Moriarty, Carter, Iidyard& Milbuip d,al¢d May 16, 2000;with respect to tb.e, trading of the iShares .•..

Trust; Letter from James Brigagllano; AssistaIit Du-ector,- .DiVision ofMarket RegQlation, ·to smarr·

strauss, Mayer; Brown & Platt datedSeptember26,2090 wi~.i~spectto.thetr'ading of the .. . .

streetTRACKS®Series Trust; Utter from James Brigagiiano, Asiiistanf Director, Division ~f.-lvfarket

Regu1ittionto W. John McGuire, Morgan, Lewis & BocldusL{;P dated July25; 20Q'i'with respeeUo.the

·tradihg of varioUs series fuli(is ofthe iSfulres TruSt;' Utter from James Brigagliiuio, Assistant Director, ,

· Division of'MarketRegulation,.to StilartStrauss, Mayer, BmwnRpwe &Maw dateq October21,ZQOZ··

.with ~espect to the trading (.lethe Fresco" Index Sfuu-es· Food; LetterfromjamesBrigagli~o~ Assi~tafit·

.

Director, Division of Market R~gtilation tolackP. Drogm, Morgan, Lewis &. Bocltius LLP dat¢d Septeinber

trading the hares Lehiilan iLS. Treasury Inflation ProtectedSicurities ;F'tirld

25, 2003 With.ieSped to

the iShares LeluUanU.S. Aggregate BOIid Fu.n<l(~chaseries of the iShares Trw;t).·

.

of

and

the

of is

"Morgatl kWis~,

, "Ms. Josephine i. Tao

" , July I, 2DlO

'Page 7

.···COUN.SELO .. S

A"T,"'LAW

securities must meet the actively-tnided securitiesfuiesholds(cdndition3)~ We note, however,'that'

.

, eachETF Of other exchange traded

-.

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.

pfod~ct li~ldby the Mars Hill EIF itS~lfwiliha:ve either met '

,all conditions set forth in the applicable class reliefletter,llor willhaverec.eivoo iu"dividu'al relief

from the Commission.' Accordingly, the Mars Hill BTF' will indirectly meet' the concerns

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underlying Conditions 2,1 and 5 of the Equity ETF Class Relief Letter.

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The Mars Hill ETF diffet~ from index~based ETFsto the e](tentfuattheMars Hill ETF is

"actively managed." As di$cussedhelow, however, ,iike the Index IQT~st; the M?!"sHill ETl~"s

portfolio will be fully trarispareIitand liquid and thereby permit arbitrage activity to the same

,

"

extent as index-based ETFs. lnaU other materialrespects, the Mars Hill ETF will operate in the

same manner as prior ETFs. Therefore, while the Mars RillETFis aCtively managed and is a

'fund of funds; we do not believe that it raises any significant ~ew regulatory issues.

The Mats Hill ETFand its Investment Objective "

,

,

'AdvisorShares Investments, LLC (the "Manager';) ,will serve as the investment adviser to

the'M:ars ,Hill'ETF,a series ofthe Trust The 'Mars HiH ETF issub-adVIsedbyMcirs Hiil'

."'~ : . .

.'

P3itn~rs, IiceMar~' Hill;'). The Mars Hill ETF;s' iIiveShn~nt objective, is~~e~ge:annWll

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: ..

returns In. excess of the MSCIWorld Index,:~ith'comphrable vohitility.

-C_"

The' investinenL

Ir. " See, e.g., ETVClaSs ReliefI~tter; Equity ETF Class Reli~f Letter; Letter fr6niJames: A~' Biigagliano

. "regardiii~Class Reljef for FiXed Incotne Exchange Traded Index Funds, dated Apn19; 2001; Lerter from "

Josephine TaoregiU:dirig COmbination Exchange-traded FundS; dated June'27~2Q07; SIA Letter." These letters,

are collectively the "ClaSs Relief Letters.;'

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Mqrgan~

.'

Ms. Josephine I.Tao

July 1; 2010·

.. Page 8

. ·.C 0 U N S I!L 0 Il S'

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objeetiveoftheMars Hill ETFis"non-fuIidamental" and may be changed upon 60 days' Written

notice to shareholders.

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In selecting Underl)1ingETFs' fof. the Mars Hill ETF,Mars Hill seek~to achieve the Mars

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Hill ETF'sinvestment obJectiv¢ by taking long positions in the Underlying ETFs that invest in

what it believes to be the most relatively attractive globalregioIis and countries within those"

'.

. .nbgions,and.byestablishing alltXtuivalent dollar ain~tintof short positions i~theUnderlying

more than 20% of the assets of Mars Hill ETF, except in a period when the Mars :Hill ETE ~dopts

a temporary defensiv~ position, duririgwhichthe Mars Hill ETF may investmore than 20% of

its assets in the securities of a single issuer provided

the sec.urities

are government securities as

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defined in Section 3(a)(42)(A), (B), or (C) oftheExc!1ange Ac~: Mars HIll E1'F willhold

Underlying

ETFsor:exchange~traded

prod~ptS 'whose inv¢strUeiltobjective

is

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no'

to' earn a:mu#ipt¢"'"

.

.

.­

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". :'of a·.p~icul~index,. wh~therpositi~e or m\rerse~ The .M~s HillETF~sportfollb'willIiot cOntai~

. .anyUnderlying'ETFs whose iilV~stment adviseii~ affiliaJed withtheM~nager. :.

. .:'

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'. Morgan LewiS

.

Ms. Josephine J. Tao·

July 1,.2010

Page 9

Availability of information

Oil each: d~y the Mars Hili ETF is open (a "BUsineSs Day'~)"2 before co~encement of

tradifig in Shares

on the Exchange, it will disclose on itS website the identities and quantities ot-the

. securities and other assets (collectively~"Portfolio Securities") held by th~ Mars Hill ETF that will

form the basis for its calculation Of net asset value (''NAV'')at the'endQf the BUsiness Day. The

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websiteandinformationwill be publiciy available at no charge. SeealsQ "Sales ofETF Shfu:es"

below describing the daily disclosure of In,-fGnd Creation Securities and. "Calculation of Intraday

Indicative Value" below.

Sales of ETF Shares

Foreside Fund Services, LLC, a registered broker-dealer under the Exchange Act and

member of the Financial Industry

Regulatory

A~thority

("'rJistnbutor"), acts on an agency baSis as

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the Mars Hili ETF's prinCipal"

underwriter.

The Distributor will not maintain asecoildarym~ket

in .. .

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.

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Shares. The Exchange willde~igI1ate one or more member finns· to act asa marketmaker ami

maintain: amaiketforShares:traded·onth~t Exchange. No·secondarysales\vitl he nUlde to br6kers

ordeaters at a conCeSsion' by the Distnbutpror by" the Mars Hill- ETF~ "

.The Mars HiU.ETF will $ell ShareS to investorS oilly ~ Creation Units through the '.' .

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Distributor on a Cohtin:UOUs baSis, at theNAV per share next detennmedafter':aii:order:fn proper.

form is.received. in· o~der to keep ~ostsata:lowJevel and pertnitthe Mars Hill ETF J()be as .fully ."

'2

.A

Bu~mess Dayis aliyda:Y~n~hi~h the Exe;hange is openforbusiness.

_~organlewis

co U N SE L 0 .. S _ AT_ LAW

:Ms. Josephine J. Tao

July 1, :2010

-Page 10

-inv~ted'as possible; Shares will be pUrchased in Creation Units generally in exchange for the _

deposit, by the purchaser, ofa particular portfolio of securities ("In.,Kind Creation securities") 13,

designa~ed by the Manager or Mars Hill, togefuerwiththe deposit()~ refund of a specified cash _­

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payment as the case may be ("Cash Component"-,-collective1ywith the In~Kind Creation

Secunties, a"Fund Deposit;'). The Mars Hill ETF willissue andsell Shares on any Business Day. -­

The NAV will be deteimined as of the close of the regular tradi~gseSsion on the New York StO<;k-__

Exchange, Inc. ("NYSE") (ordinarily 4:00p.m. EaStemtirne)on each Business Day.

The Trust expects that the In-Kind Creation Securities will generally consist of a pro

- rata basket of the long positions in Underlying ETFs held in Mars Hill ETF's portfoliQ. 14 The

Cash Component will be equal to the difference, if any, -betWeen the NA V per Creation Unit arid ­

_the market value per Creation Unit ofthe In-Kind Creation Securities.

In order to defray the transaction expenses; including brokerage costs, thilt will be incurred

-

-

by the-Mars Hill ETF ~hen investors purchase or redeem Creation Units, it will impose purchase

or-tedempti~n transaction-fees ("TraI1$action Fees") to he bOrne only bYSUChpurchasersot:

-

Cr~tion_ upits will be aggregatiOrlsof at least 25,000 Shares, The TrustiecogniZes that

-

-

each share is issued by an investrnel1t coinpany and, accordingly;thea~tiisition of any shares by

...........: ...

_an inv~stin,¢ntcompany,whether acquiroo from the Mars ffm-ETF or in the secondary market, will ­

13

!

The MaTs HilI EtFrese~~ the right to require Creation Units to be purchased f~r caSh.

Ibid:

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:

, MQrgan·Lewis:

·COUN··S£LO·~.S ,~T·

Ms. Josephine J. Tao

July 1, 2010

Page 11

LAW.

be subjeCt to the restrictionS ofSection 12(d)(l) of the 1940 Act except as perrnittedby an

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exemptive order that pernutsinvestment companies to invest in the MarsHiU ETF beyond those

limitations. 15

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Bank ~fNew York Mellon (the."Custodian") will be the Mars Hill ETF's custodian

arid, ill consultation with the Manager and Mars Hill, will, through the facilities of the National

Securities Clearing Corporation (the "NSCC"); make available on each Business Day,

immediately prior to the opening of trading on the Exchange, a list of the names and the required

nUmber of shares

ofeach In-Kind Creation Security included in the. current Fund Deposit (based

on information atthe end of the previous Business Day) for the Ma.rs Hill·, ETF. Such Futid

Deposit will be applicable, subject to any adjustments as described below, in order to effect

purchases of Creation Units until such time as the next-armounced Fund Deposit composition is

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made available. In the same manner, the Custodian also will inake availa.ble the previous day's

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Cash Component as well asthe estimated Cash Component for the current day..

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Creation.Units maybe purchased.throUghord~rsplaced to.the Distributor. thrOUgh an,·

"Authorize? Participant" which is either (l ) a "Partrcip'ating Party," i;e.,,~ broker-dealer otother .

.. .. participant in the Clearing Process through the Continuous

NetS~ttlement SysteIll of the NSCC,

a cl~gilgencythatis registei~ with the' Commission, or (2) ~DTc,Participant; whichi~ .

" .

either

IS

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case has· exeeutedan agreeinentwith the Distributor, With reSpect to cr.9!tions an~:t., .

AS relevant, Section i 2(d)(1) would prohibit the Mars Hill ETF frotit purchas~gmore dIaii 3 % of the· .

.outstanding voting stock of one Underlying ETF, allo~ating more than 5% of its totala~etS to'OIie Underlying·· ,

.. Ell or 10% ofits total assets to all Underlying ETts. Howev~r, theMarsijilIETFrilay invest ill UnderlyiIig.·

ETFs whIch have received exemptive orders that permit Underlyiiig ETFs 'to· seU, and th~Ma,rs Hill ETF to

invest, in those Underlying ETFsbeyond the limitations in Section 12(d)(i).setfo~.in the prior sentence,

Morgan Lewis

C!l·U'N'SEL'O'Il:S"A,T

MS: Josephine J. Tao

LAW,

july 1, 2010

Page 12 "

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redemptions ofCteationlJnits ("Particip~tAgreement;').An investor does not have to ,be an

,

"

Authoi"izedParticipant, but must place an order through, aIidmake appropriate, arningements

. with~ an Authorized Participant. 'TheDtstributorwiU he tesponsibli5for trans~itting'o,rders ,.

to the Mars Hill ETF. Authorized P~rticipailts making payment for Creation Units placed "

through the Distribu~or inusteither (1) initiate instructions through the Continuous Net· , '

,

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Settlement System of the NSCCas such processes have been .enhanced to effed purchases ,.

.'and redernptionsofCreation

Units(the"ClearingProcess~')o~ (2) deposit the Fund~eposit '

.

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with the Trust "outside" the Clearing Process through the facilitiesofDTCa,s describedin the

SAL

All orders to create

aCreation Unit must b~ received no later than the close ofthe regUlar·

trading session On the NYSE (ordinarily 4:00 p.m. Eastern time) (the "~losing Time") on the

,

,

, date such order is placed, as described in the Participant Agreement, in: order for creation:of

, Creation Units to be effected based on the NAV of Shares, as nextd~termined on such dale., "

Redemption of Shares

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. Heneficiafowners of Sh~es,muSf ~~unlUlaie'en()lighSha,ies'toconstitute aCfe~tion ' '.

,Unit in order to redeem through an Atitho9~edParticipant Cre~tion Units. wil~be redeeni~ble . '

, atthe NAV nextdetemiined

after receipt ofa ftXltiest for redemption by the Mlit{Hili ETF;

.Shares .generally will beredeemcii.in Ci~atipn Units in exchange fO( a partit-ular,portfdlio'o{

::;ecurities· 16("In':'KiridRedemption Securities"). 17' The Trust will redeem Shares of tli~'

--------",---'-----,:-16

'

The Ma,i:s HiUEtF reserves the nght to redeem Creation Units for cash:.,

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Mo~'~

A:

Ms. JosephineJ.Tao

C.Il·U N'S E L 0 " S 'A'1; . i.

'. Julyl, 2()lO

Page 13

. M~rs HHlEiF on any Business Day. Consistent with the proVisions ofSectiort2?(e) ofthe

1940. Act ~d Rule 22e·2 und~rthe 194() Act, the right to rede~ will liot be sUspended; nor­

p~yment upon redemption delayed~ except asprovid~dby'Section22(e) of the 1940 ACt, .

Redemption requests must be received by the Closing Time on a given Business Day to be

redeemed that day: The CUstodian, through the NSCC, will make avallable immediately prior to

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·the opening ofbUsiness on theExchange (cllftently 9:30 am. Easteni time) on ~ch Business.

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Day; the list onn-Kind CreatibnSecurities (the "Creation List") which will be appli~ableto

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·purchase and the lis'tof In-Kind Redemption Securities (the "Redemption List"}tbat will be

applicable(eachsubjectto possible amendment or correction in Jiglltof an administrative error in

compiling the Creation or R~emption List) to redemptionrequests received in proper fo~on

,.that day. In some

ins~nces; the Creation List inay differ slightiy from the RedemptionList The .

In-Kind Creation Securities and In-Kinq RedemptionSecurities may differ as a result of

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revisions' to the Mars Hill ETF'sportfolio or asaresultof corporate actions.

.The Mars Hill ETF will have the right to make a redemption payment in cash, in~kindora

:oombinatjoIl.ofeach,

proVidect

the. ".va1ue~fthepayment

eqUals

the.NAVof.the Cre~tionUnit

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specIfied forth~Mars.Hi1l:ETF,the redemption proceeds fof.a Cre~tion"Unitg~Iieral1y' ..

will' cons'ist of·In-Kin4.Rooemption·Securittesls phis orrninus'a ':C~h Redemption AinoUlit" .

. 17

The Mars Hill EfFwiil comply with the Jedernhecuritieslaws ifi' acCepting In:-Kiild creation Secudties arid .

. .satisfying re'demptions with In-Kind Redemption Sectirities; inchidingthattheJn':'Kind Creation

Securities and In-IGndRedemiJtioli Securities ace sold in trat:ISactidp,s tbat would be exempt from registriltiori.

.

..

..

under the Securities Act off9~3~ as'a",eIided (th6 "Se~urities~Act"). . .

'l·'The M~ HiH ETF reserves' the right to redeeIilCre~W)nUnits for cash. .

117

CO.t1NSEt.O.ltS

Ms,)osephineJ. Tao

Jlilyl,2010

'Page 14

A.T, LAW. .

as the c~emay be (collectively,' art "ETF Rederriptio~"r The Cash Redemption Amount is'

cash in an amount

equal to the difference between

theNAVofthe

CreatioilUnit~eirrg

..

.

.

.

.

.

redeemed and the market value ofthe In-Kind

Redempti~n Securities. A redeeming investor will

pay Transaction Fees calculated in the same maimer as Transaction Fees.payable in conp.ection

.

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....

-.

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.

with the purchase of a Creation Unit. To the extent that any anlountspayable to the MarS Hill

ETFby the redeeming inveStor exceed the mllountof the

.

CashRedemptioiiAmount~ theirivestor'

.

will.be required to deliver payment to the Mars Hill ETF..

Depository Trust Company

.

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DTC serves as securities depository for the Shares; The Shares may be held only in

book-entryfoIm. DTC, or its nominee,is the record or registered owner of alloutstartding

. Shares>Bem~ficiaJ ownership of Shares will be shown oritherecordsofDTCor its participants

.

.

.

.

.

("DTC Participants") (i.e., securities brokers and dealeis,banks,trust Companies, clearing'

corpo~ations and certain other organizations), some of whom (and/or their representatives) .

'\

. own DTC~B.eneficiai owners of Shaiesate not entitled. to have Shares regi~tered intheif.

"

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Ii~~;~dwinilOt

receive or b.e·eri~ided torecei~e physical.·deliy.ery~f:certificates:·

.

..

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. . . . .

: . ,

-'".

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'A¢corqingly; to exercise .anyrightsas a holder of Shares,e~chb~nefitial~owilermust '.

reIyon theprocedm-es of: (i)DTC; (ii) DTe Partic~p~ts; and{iii) brok~rs; deaI4:lfs,bcinksarid

relationship With a DTCParticipant,

trustcompanies.that clt~ar through or majntalna custodial

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. e.ither directly oi·ifidi.reGtly; through which such beneficial owner holds itsiriterests; .

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"M6rgcin~wis:,"

coo U'N S E L:O Il'S

Ms. Jos'ephineJ. Tao

" July 1; 2010 ,

Page 15

A'T, 'L k'll'

Calculation ofIntraday Indicative Value

The Exchange or other marketinfo~ation provider will'disseminate every 15 seconds '

throughout the trading :day tbi-ough the facilities ofthe Consolidated Tape Association an

amount (the "IIV") representing on a per Share basis, the sum of the current value ofthe ,

.

'.

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.

In,.Kind Creation Securities and the estirriilted Cash Component. The Trust is not

involved in or responsible for the calCulation or dissemination of any such amount and

makeS no warranty as to its accuracy.,

The Trading Market

,

,

The Shares will be listed and traded on the Exchange. Shares will be freely tiad~bleQn the

Exchange throughout the trading sessioIi.The price of Shares trading on'the Exchange will be '

baSed on a current bid/offer market. The trading market on theExchange affords investors the

opportunity to assume ,and liquidate positions in Shares at their discretion, permitting'them to take, '

' : . "

. .

"

advantage of prices at any time during the trading day. ,This combination of intrad;ay liquiditywith" '

.:.~~

the Creation U riitpur~hase an~red~ptionf~tun~s crea:tespot~jlti~l arbitrage opp~rtlitrities' that;

. .

. ..

in;:tU111;' shouidandhistoriCally have proven to initigate;prici~g·u.ieffici~nties.Ind~eiJ;

the high.

. . . . .

.

.'

.

' .

.

. "' ',' degree. ofhistorical andexpeeted corr~lati~ri between

EtFs'~NAVsand

theifshaie

prices CoIitrasts '

.'

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-....

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',; with the case

.

-

."

.:

ofshares of clbsed.,eildequity funds which, Ilot having the ability tocre~te.im(J

,

"

"redeem at the fund level, tyiJicallytrade atamaterial ~ljsc~Wlt(or premiumfio"theIT{mdedYing

,

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'NAVs. '

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MQrganLeWis '

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'

COUNS·ELoas

Ms. JosePl1ine J. Tao

, , July 1; 2010

Page 16

The arbitiagemechanism willbe facilitated by the

AT

LA· ...-.

transpaieIl~Y ofthe Mats H~ll ETF's

,

,

portfolio and the availability ofllie IIV, the liquidity of its Portfolio Securities an~ the ability to

access those securities1 as well as thearoitrageurs; ability to create workable hedges. Further, thy

Mars Hill ETF will solely invest intiquid securities. 'As discussed above, there will be disclosure' '

bneach Business Day of the Mars HillETF's Portfolio SecuritiesandtheIIV'wilLbe

disseminated eVery 15 seconds throughout the trading session. The Mars HillETFwilLjnvest in '

.

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'-Portfolio Securities with liqtiidjty ltwels that will facilitate an,effective and efficlentarbitrage

mechanism and the a?ility to create workable hedges. For these reasons, we expect arbitrageurs

to be able to take advantage ofprice variations between the Mars Hill ETF's market price and its

NAV. Thus, we expect aclose alignment between the market price andtheNAV.

We believe tha~ like the funds in the Index IQ Letter, the Mars Hill ETF will not present

any new issues with respect to the exemptions which allow for current index':baSed ETFs to

redeem their shares only in Creation Units. While we recognize thatthe potential for more , ­

sigtiificant deviations between a security's bid/ask price average and NAV exists with actively- '

•

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-

,

• •>

•

."

"."

•

•

•

,". ,"managed ETFS,suchde~a~~nssh,oritdIi()t.·arise hete,becausefu~MarsHiliETFisport.fblio '.•

-.

'hoidinis will be fully trans~ar~nt;19A~notropreviousiy,

>­

-' . cOmmencejnent~f ti'adillg'

on each Business DaY'befon~ ,.

in SharesQ~ the Exchange, the Mars Hill ETF will disClose on its

website the identities and quantities ofthe Portfolio Securities and othera$sets held by it that will

. ' ~",,-;;_.,

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'19

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The Board has authorized aPl~11 pur~uant to Rule 12b-llinder the 1940 Act, but nO 8udi fe6:i~cuITently ...

being paid· by the Mars lIil1 ETF.and the Board has not approved any payments for the cuIT~ntfiliialyeai-, We

believe, ifsuch fees are paid in the futuCe,:thatsueh payDi.ents would not create mote tbande minim_is

additionardeviatioi.lsbetween'th~ ~AVaild the riJ.arket pric~ of Shares.'

.

.Morgan LewiS·,

,·c·o U NS·.E·L 0 Il s. A:T ·L.A

·Ms.Jos~phine J. Tao

VI'

JulyJ,201O

Pagel?

form the basis· for the calculation·ofNAV aHhe end ofthe Business Day. The website and·

.

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informationwill be publicly.available at no charge. Under accounting prOcedures followed by

the Mars Hill ETF, trades made onthe prior Business Day ("T")wiU bebooked.an~reflected in

· MAVoR the current Business Day ("T+ I') Accordingly,th~Mars Hill ETF win be able to.

'

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.•. disclose at the beginning Qf each· Busiri~ss· Day the Portfolio S~mities and other ~sets that wili

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form. the.basis [Dr the NAv calculation at theend()f the same Business Day, whedier,pr notth:e ...•

· Manager or Mars Hill makes trades for the portfolio during that Business Day.·Since market

.. participants will be aware at all tirIl~~ ofthe Mars Hill ETFs portfoiioSecurities and other assets

held by it that win form the basis for the NAV calculation, the risk of significant deviation

.

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.

between NAV and market price is similar to that which existsin the caseofindex~basedETFs.

Rule 101 ofRegulation M

Subject to certain enumerated exceptions, Rule 101 of Regulation M prohibits a

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.

· "distribution participant," in connection with· a distribution of securities,from bidding for or

purchasing,

.or

from attempting

.

.".

-...

,"'

to induce ailyperson tol,Jid fornr purchase, a.".Coveredsecurit}?'.

.

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:.dUring the' applicable restricted periol' ''DistribtitjQnp~<;ipani1'.isqefirted' in Rtilel 00(1))' tc{

.. iridu(ieai(underwriter or prospective UIideiwriter irt a:pmticular distJjbutioni>f sectirities, ·or ....

any brok~r;d~let or oth¢r person. who has agte~to'paiticipateorisparticipating:in$uch ... :

diStributi~~. We note that Rule 1OO(b) of Regul~tion'Mdefin~s"4istribution?!<JorpUFIJ0ses of.

. . s~ch Rule as an offeri~gofsecUrities, 'whether Orri6t sub.jectto-tegistr(ition UIlder the:Securit(es .

'.. Act, that'ls· dist(nguished

from

ordinar.ytrading transactions by th~ magnitude

ofthe

offering"

'

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.

.

.

\lid thepresen~ of special selling efforts and selii~gmethods.

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, Morgan~wis' '

MS. Josephiil.eJ~ Tao

c o U N SE Loa: S ' A T

LAW

Julyl~ 2010

Page 18

We understand that While broker-dealers that tender Ill-lGndCreationSe6uritiestothe

Trust through the Distributor in return for CreationUnit(s) of Shares will notbepartofa

,

,

'

syndicate or ,selling group, and no broker-dealer Will receive fees;oommissiorisor other

.

, .

.' remuneration from the Trust ot. the Distributor for the sale ofCreation Units, under certain,' '

circumstarices they could be deemed to be an "urtderwriter~' or:"distributionparticipanf'as

those terms aredefined inRillelOO(b).

The Tl1,lSt respectfully reqll~st§ that the C;ommission or S.~ffgrant exemptive, inteq,retive

, or no-action relief from Rule 101, as discussed below,

to perniitpersonsparti~ipating in a

.

"

'

.

distribution ?f Shares to bid fOf or purchase, or engage in othetsecondary markettransactions in, .

such Shares during'theirparticipationin such' distribution.

Paragraph (c)(4) of Rule 101 exempts from its applicatio~, inter alia, redeemable

securities issued by an opeil-endmanagement iilvestment compariy,(as such terms are used in the

1940 Act). The Trust is registered asa~ open-end management Inveitment company under the

i'940Act. Ho~ever; theindividual Shares areIiotrede~mabie ex<;epttn CreationUnits. Due to the

oftheShares:in:¢~eatioiI

Uiuts; there.sh~uld belittle'clisp&ltY betWeenthe'Shar-es' ,

redeemability

. .

. . . . .

"

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'. ffiarke(priceand theirNAV per Share, A~cordingly, the rati~nakfor exetnptingiedeema:ble

."

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"""

seCuriti~s ofoperi-end maluigeinentinyestmentcortlpanieSfrom'the appllcationof Rule:IO lIs·

,

,

equally applicahle to, the Shar~~LAlthough redemption is subject to .theIDiniml}moonditionof •

. . tendering 25,000 ~har:es (i.e~,aCreation Uiut), theTmstis i~teIided t~ fim.ctjon'lik~anyothe.r'

....

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"....." .

"

',open-end fund ,contlnuously.offering its shares. It is in recognition' of the specialnature of

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mch offerings that open.,endmanagementinvestment compan}rand unitinvestmeiltcoinpany

...

,Morganl.e\\rjs

",

Ms.iosephineJ. Tao,

July'}, 201 0

Page 19

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C~UN"£L'oas AT'LAW

.

seCurities are exempted under paragraph (c)(4). Without suchan ex~ption,they~qld'not

operate as intended. In view ofthe foregoing, the Trust requeststhat'theStaffconfinnthat as a ,

'resUltof registration of the Trust as'an open-end managemerit investment company aridlhe

redeemable J1ature of the Shares in Creation Units, transactions iJ,l the Shares would be exempted

from Rule 101 on the basis of the exception contairied in paragraph (c)(4)of sllch,Rule.

.

.

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.

The purpose of Rule lor islo prevent personsfrorn eonditioningthe market to facilitate a

..

distribution. Creation UnitS of Shares maybe created, and Shares in Creation Units may be

,

'

redeemed;in~kind at NAV, on any Business Day. Holders of Shares also have the benefit of

intra~day secondary market liquidity by virtue of the Exchange listing. ThUs, the secondary ,

,

,

,

market pri,c~ of Shares should not vary substantially from the NAV of Shares. Becauseofthe

redeemability of Shares in Creation Units, coupled with the open-ended nature of the Mars Hill "

ETF, any significant disparity between the market price oftheSharesandNAVshould be'

'

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.

eliminated by arbitrage activity. Because their NAVis largely detennined based on the market

value of the Portfolio Securities, neither the creation nor redemption of Shares, nor purchas~sor

" ,saleS of Shar{~s in,tli~secoild~marke~ Viill iqipactthe NA.V;'aIl{tshehtransactionsshould~ot

, ,ha::V:easigriificantifupact onth~ma:rket value of Shares.

'

"

, The Trust also r~pectfullyrequests relieffrom the provisioIisofRule 'WI to:the extent

, ~eCessarytopeiIDit persons Of entities that may be deemed to' be participatingjll.the dis.t:dbutionof'

, '",th~Shares!Jr;aPortfolio Security ofthe~ars:Hili ETF to tender Shares for redemption inCr~ation ,

UnitS, and to receive as part ofredemption proceeds the In..Kind Redemption Securities of the '

\.fan; Hill ETF. "

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"Mo~:Lewis,

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',C D'U'N'S E L 0'" S,

Ms. JO$ephilleJ. Tao ," '

July I, 20l0'

Page 20 ,

.~.

.. T"'L A 'IV

The Trust requests, in thiSregard,fuat the Staffcorifiini thaithe:tender ofili~ Sharesto 'the

'Trust for redemption and the receipt of In-Kind Red~ption Securiti~ upon redemption does not, '

constitute a bidror, or purchase of, any

of such securities' for the PurPoses ofRule 101,'01:

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alternatively, that the CoIilrriission Or Staffgrant exernptiveor no-aCtion relief to the extent,

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.

necessary to permit redemptions ofShares for In-Kind Redemption Se<;;urtties as'described above."

Red¢mption entails no separate bid for any of the In-Kind RedemptioQ. Securities.' Absent

.

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unusual circumstances; the Trust will not

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pu~chase In~KindRedernptionSecuritiesin the'

,

,

'

secondarymatket to fulfill a redemption request. Therefore, redemptions of Shares cannotbe

expected to affect the market price of the In':Kind RedemptionSecurities.1fie Tr,uSt belie~es

that the purchase of In-Kind Redemption Securities, while engaged in a distribution With respect,

.

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to such securities, for the purpos.eofacquiring,a Creation Unit aggregationof Shares should be

exempted from Rule '101. The"purpose of Rule 101 is to prevent persoIis from conditioning the

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market to facilitate a distribution.Applic~tion of Rule 1O~ 'in this contextWould not further the'

anti-manipulative purposes,underl)'ing the Rule.

In

view ofthe lack of any sp,¢Ci<i1

financial incentive to. create

Ciea~ion:Units;,

.

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" combined with a prediCtable iackof;my m~ani~gful potential f~r the is~u.artce '~dthe

,.,'

secOndary market trading Qf the Shares to 'affect signittcantly' Shatepricing;'&p~iiGat~Oriof'

, '.' Rple 10J to'~ broker-dealer or otherperson '~ho .hay he partiCipatillgina distributi~n ~r ' ' " .

bJ,"oker-dealerso{oth~rperS6ns iIi their creation and redemption activiti¢s, in~eir day,.to:"day ,

,ordinary busiIiess ofbuying ,and seiling securities and the Shares,may:underriimethe, "

potential beneficial market effect of Share trading.

,:

MorganLe\ViS •

Ms. josephi~e J..TaO

July 1;2010

Page 21

COU·NS.-EL.oas

AT

. Rule 102 of Regulation M··

The Trust also

TruSt as

requeststhatth~ Commission confirm thafaS aTesult ofregistr~ion ofth~

an open-end management investment -company' and the redeemable natUre ~f the Shares.

in Creation Units that, for the reasons previously stated under our request with respect to

.

.

.

. the exemption under Rule 101(c)(4), transactions in the Shares would be exempted from Rule

102oll.the basis of the exception contained in paragraph (d)(4) of Rule 102.'

Alternatively, the Trust respectfully requests thatthe COITunission grant an exemption

underpai·agraph(e) of Rule 102 to such effect. Application.ofRule l02iri this context would'

not further the anti-manipuhitivepu.rPoses underlyingthe Rule.

The pUfposeof Rule 102 is to prevent persons from manipulating the price of a security

during- a distribution and to protect the'integrityofthe offering proces~ by prohibiting activities

that could artificially influence the market for that particular security. For the reasons described

in cOnnection with the requested Rule 101 relief, redemption transactions and secondary

•. ·.. ,·~a:rkettraIisactiQrisJn theShaies:aren~tvial)lemeansto:fuan,ipulateth~:pri"ce'ofa:secUri~yin.

.

'

,

..:the M~Hill'ETF' s portl'oliodunilg:a -diStributiori'o"f such secQrity. The Tru~twill redeem: ..

. ,the Creation Units of Shares

atthe NAV of

the Shares; .Although

tlie Shareswill

betta:ded

on .

.

.

-....

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. ' ..'

;.

. the secomlarym~ket, the.Sh~esmayonlY be. redeemed in Cre:iltion{jilits. Thus, theTrust .

IJ

--'-:"".'

"be1~evesthat the redemption by the Trust ofthe .shares at N V· iIi eonsideratioIl,principally'fo.r

. 1n-Kind:Rede~ptiQn Securit~es does not· involve the abuses that Rule" 102 was inteild~ to·

prevent.

LAW.

. . . MorganieWis.·

.

Ms. Josephine J. Tao.

July 1, 2010 .

Page 22

".

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..COU~SELO"S ..AT

. RulelOb-l1

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Rule 1Ob- I7 re<iuin~sari issuer of a class ofpubliely';trad<Xl securities to give notiCe of

c~rtainspecified actions (~.g., divideIlds, stock spl~ts,rights offerings) relatIng to such dassof

.

.

.

.

securities in accordance with Rule IOb-17(b): Paragr~ph(c)ofthe Rule, however; stlit~s that

.. the Rule shall not apply to redeemable securities issued by open-end investment companies.

.

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"

.and unit investment trusts registered under the i940 Act. 20 Exceptfof the fact that redemption·

. is subject to the minimum conditionoftendering 25;000 Shares, theTrusti~ intended to

furiction like any other open-end fund continuously offering its shares. 2\ It is in recOgnition of.··

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.

the foregoing that the Division of Investment Management issued an order permitti~g the Trust.

.

.

to issue shares with limited redeemabiljty while still treating therrust like any other open-end

.investment company. In addition, compliance with Rule 1Ob-17 would be impractical in light

Qfthenatureofthe Mars Hill ETF. This is because it is not possible. for the Trust to accurately

project ten days in advance what dividend, if any, would be paid on a particular record date.

'

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.

Therefore; the exemption under paragraph (c) of Rule IOb-17, whi~h covers open-¢nd .

to

. ., Ui~estmentcomi>(lJries

with fully.' redeeIJiablesh~es;

s~ould' . he applicahle . . theTrust·

,.:: . . . .

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:.

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... SectiOli l1(~)(l)of the Securities ExcbangeAct·of~934~mdRulesl0b-lO,11dl-2,

15c1~5··

aild 15Ci-6 thereunder .

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:The'Advi~orShares Request·Letterdid ·not seek telieffrom the above~refer~~ced .•.

: pr9Visions based on our understandirig that the Trustcould rely on the generic relief from these

20. .

see supr.a note 9.

.

.

SeesujJra note9~

LAW

,.'.

·.. ·.Morgan~~·

~.O.uNSE.L·O •. S AT LA·~.

. ·Ms..Josephine I. Tao .

July 1,2010'

.Page 23

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provisions provldedin the WisdomTree

letter. .Because we ndw understand thatthatgenenc

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~elief

.

'. '. was not available, the Trost is requesting relief from these provisions prospectively on hehalfof .

the·.Original Fund and the Mars HillETF. 22

Rule 10b-IO

Rule IOb-lO requires a broker or dealer effecting a lransactio'n in a security for a .

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. customer to give:orse~d written notification to suchcu~tomerdiscl()sing the infonnatio£l

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specified in paragraph (a) of Rule 1Ob-l 0, includi~g the identity, price and number of shares or

units (or principai amount) of tl1.e security purchased ofsQld. The Trust requests that the .

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Commission grant an exemption from Rule lOb-I 0, as dis~ussedbeIow,with respect to the

creation (i.'e., issu.ance) or redemption ofCreatiori Units. The Trust is notrequesting exemptive.

or interpretive relief from Rule 1Ob-l 0 in connection with purchases and sales of shares of the .

Mars Hill ETF or the Original Fund in the second<iJ:y market

.The Trust proposes' that broker-dealers ot other persons acting for their customers in.

either purchasing or redeeming Creation Units ofthe Mars. HilfETF or the Original Fund be'

',pemiitted tOlJf.0'vide such ctist()IIi~r~withastate~entofthenl.jiti1J~r

. "."

ofCteatiortUnitsg:~~t6d :?r •

"','

.' rede~med Withoutproviding:a statem~ntofthe'ideniity; numberandptice of shares of the In-:

.Kind Creati()n Securities or In-kindRedemption Securities~Thet;reation ListS and the .' .'

Redemption Lists fbrthe Mars

HillE~F and the Original Fund will b¢ made available by the•.

Custodian·or the Advi~er,thro~ghtheNSCC, iminediately prior to the opening ofbusine~s on .' '.

i2

Repres~~tationSin this reqiIe~t ~~nce~gthe Original Fund are in addition tothos'e repre:?entationsmadein

the AdvisorSharesRequest·Letter, which ~eincoIporated into thiS let~etby reference. .

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.:¥oWfiUWis,

C o·u N·.S ~ L 0·.. SAT.

Ms. Josephine J. Tao

july 1, 2010

Page 24

LAW

the Exchange on each Business Day. We anticipate thittaIlyinstitutlon Of broker";deale~

engaging in creation or redemptioritrarisactions would hav~done so only WithkIiowletIge ofthe

composition of the applicable securities, so thatspecific information in the Rule fOb-l 0

notification would be redundant.

,­

The Trust agrees that any exemptive relief under Rule 1Ob:'l () with respect to creations·

androoemptions will be subject to the following conditions:

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(1) Confirmation statements of creation and redemption transactionS for the MarsHill·

·of Rule I Ob-l 0 other than identity,price, and number ofshares of each individual

securities constituent ofthe Creation List or the Redemption List tendered ot received

;

. ,

.

by the customer in the transaction;

(2) Any confirmation statelllentoia creation or redemption transaction ror the Mars Hill

ETF or the_Original Ftin4. th~tQmits-the identity, -price, or.:n:umb~r.of shares ofeach ::

",

. ',"

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~;.

::

- .

... indiyidtial se~uqties·

consiittiehtc"~f

tlj¢·." Cr~ti6.nLis{

~rtheRedaription-List

will "..

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...

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"contain a stat~fl1~nt that such omitted irlforrnatioti will be provided tothecw;toll1er

.

. "

...upon iequest;,artd

. (3)pJIsuch requ~stswill be fiilfiliediti a timelyth~et inaccord~,?~.withpM~gniPh. (?). "

,",'

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.

.

Lewis

. MOI-gGlil

Ms.· Josephine J.. Tao

JulY!,201O

Page2S

SeciionU(d}(l}; Rule.lldl':'2

Section 11(d)(l) of the 'Exchange Act generally prohibits'apet~onwl1oisboth--a- broker

~nd a deal~r fromeffe~ting anytiansaction in which thebioker-dealere~tends Credit toa

customer on any security which was part of a new Issue in the distribution of which he· .

participated as a inember'of a selling syndicate or group within thirty days 'prior to such.

transaction~' Rule I1dl.;.2 provides anexemption from Section 11(d)(1) for securities issue<fby a

regIstered open-end investment company or unit investm~nt trust with respect to transactions by

.

.

a broker-dealer who extends credit on such security, provided the person to whom credit has

...'been extended has o:wned the security for more than thirtyd~ys. 23

. The Trust hereby requests that the Staff, consistent withand subject to the same

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.

.

.

conditions as the Index JQ Letter, provide relief under Section 11(d)(1) and Rtiklldl-2; The

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Trust believes that

application

of the thirty-day. restriction in Rule 1 idl-i to broker~dealers

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',.'.

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,

_engaging

eXdusiv~1y in secqndary

rnarket·traflS~ctiohsii:l

Sh<ti-¢s oi-shares

of. the Original ,F'und. '.

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. . (foes'not f4rtJier :th~pufpose§ofSeciiollll(d)(l ) or Rule lid 1~2,: The·~rilY·.CQttlpens~lion:a;

btoke~:"dealer· will re~eive' for representing a customer in pu(ch~lng Shates':orsp:ares'ofthe" .

.

.

.

Original.Fund is the. coi:rimissionor .asset':'based·

bro~erage acCount fee. charged. to .thatcustoiner,

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'23.

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,

. Applicants note that broker-dealers.that engage in both creation ofCreationUn1ts.ofshareS of

,

the Mars :mlI

.ETF or·the Dogmal Fund and secondary market traI1Sa~~Oll!?'lllsuch shares- an:d~t ine¥t the .reqliiiements .

of Rule' Ildl-l may be (;overedby the exemptions provided in such nih:. : .

.

.. :.

MorganU~'"

c'o'u N'S"£ .L"O'Il.S"'A'T'. L'''.W'

· Ms~ Josephine J. Tao

July 1; 2010

Page 26

which in aU likellhoodis the same compensation thebrokei-dealerwouldreceivein connection

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· with any stock purchase by a custorne~~There is no sp¢cial finfU1~ial incentive to a broker- .

· deal~, other than the broker:"dealer'sregular commission, to ~ngage in secondary market

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.

transactions in Shares orshares'ofthe Original Fund, either as principal or agent.'

Rule.15cl-5' and 15ci-6

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.

RUle 15c1-5 requires a broker or dealer c~ntrolkd by, controlling, or under common

control with, the issuer ofa.security-who induces the purchase

or sale by a customer of a

security, to disclose the existence ofsuch cOntrol before enteringihto a contract with or fm such

customer for the purchaSe or sale of sucll security. Rule 15c1-6 requires a broker or dealer to: "

send '~r customer written notification of its participation In the primary or secondary distribution

of any security in which it effects anytransacti()n iuor for such customer's accountor induces

·the purchaseor~ale of such security by such custome.r.· .

.

.

The Trust believes that disclosure by a broker-dealer ofa control relationship with the

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"

is~m~r'Qfa'Portfolio Se~urityor ofa participation inth~ distriblitidn of a 'Portfoli~:S6curity~ould:' '.

. 'inIp~ieanticillecessary:aridunjustifiabie buiden onpr6ker~d~aieiSe~gagingjntransactionsin'·

'

.

.

.

...

.

' . .

~h~esoftheMars" Hill ETFor"Original Fund for theircustomers. :There is norealisticpotetitial.

'.

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.

. Hill"ETF or On&inal Fund. Applicationofthe rules could advetsely affectth~rath-acti~eIiessof .

Shaf~s and shares"'ofthe Original Fund tobroker,.dealerl)alld'thereby affect market. liquidity

oJ

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'.

llie Mars HillETF or Original Fund

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share~. TheTru$t~ ~erefore, requests the Stafftograntno- .

....

Morgan lA'*is'.

" c o' u ~ S £"i. 0 .. S . AT' LAW

. Ms. JosephineJ. Tao.

'Jrilyl; 2010

.Page 27

aCtion relief from application of the rules w'ith respect to creations and redeinptionsofth~Mats.

' .

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' .

Hill ETF Of Original Fu.nd sliares and secondary market transactions therein.

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ConClusion .

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Basooon the foregoing; we respectfully request that the Commission and the. Staff grimt

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the relief requested herein. The Jonns of J;elief requested are substailtiallysimiJai to those actions

.thatthe Cominission andt~e Staff have taken in similar circumstances, most notably in the

Index IQ and Wisdom T~ee Letters. If you have any questions pleaSe call me at-(202) 739.5654

or my colleague Michael Berenson at202.739.5450.

Sincerely,

0·ffLfvJ~

W.JohnMcGuire

cc:

Bradley Gude

.Michael·Be~enson ­

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This is a copy of a public record, reproduced as it was published. It is not legal advice, and it may not be the version a court would rely on. Check the official source before you cite it.

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