UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
BEFORE THE
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
In the Matter of
ALPINE GLOBAL DYNAMIC DIVIDEND FUND ALPINE TOTAL DYNAMIC DIVIDEND FUND ALPINE GLOBAL PREMIER PROPERTIES FUND AND ALPINE WOODS CAPITAL INVESTORS, LLC
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AMENDMENT NO. 1 AMENDING AND RESTATING AN APPLICATION FOR AN ORDER PURSUANT TO SECTION 6(c) OF THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940 (THE ACT) FOR EXEMPTION FROM SECTION 19(b) OF THE ACT AND RULE 19b-1 THEREUNDER
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Investment Company Act of 1940 |
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File No. 812-13630 |
Alpine Global Dynamic Dividend Fund (AGD), Alpine Total Dynamic Dividend Fund (AOD), Alpine Global Premier Properties Fund (AWP) and their investment adviser, Alpine Woods Capital Investors, LLC (the Investment Adviser and collectively with AGD, AOD, AWP, the Applicants) hereby apply for an order (the Order) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the Commission) pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Act providing AGD, AOD and AWP, and each registered closed-end investment company currently advised or to be advised in the future by the Investment Adviser (including any successor in interest(1)) or by an entity controlling, controlled by or under common control (within the meaning of Section 2(a)(9) of the Act) with the Investment Adviser an exemption from the provisions of Section 19(b) of the Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder, as more fully set forth below.(2) AGD, AOD and AWP and such
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A successor in interest is limited to entities that result from a reorganization into another jurisdiction or a change in the type of business organization. |
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All existing registered closed-end investment companies that currently intend to be able to rely on the requested Order are named as Applicants and any closed-end investment company that may rely on the Order in the future will satisfy each of the representations in the application except that such representations will be made in respect of actions by the board of trustees of such future fund and will be made at a future time. |
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future investment companies are hereinafter collectively referred to as the Funds and separately as a Fund.
I. Description of Applicants
AGD, AOD and AWP are, and each future Fund will be, a closed-end management investment company registered under the Act.
AGDs primary investment objective is to seek high current dividend income, more than 50% of which qualifies for the reduced federal income tax rates created by the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. Long-term growth of capital is AGDs secondary investment objective. AGD was organized as a statutory trust in Delaware on May 11, 2006. AGD seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in a managed portfolio of U.S. and non-U.S. equity securities. Under normal market conditions, AGD invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities, primarily common stocks. AGDs common shares of beneficial interest, no par value per share, are listed and traded on the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE). As of June 30, 2009, AGD had 24,628,378 common shares outstanding and assets of $197,206,146. Although it has no current intention to do so, AGD is authorized to issue preferred shares.
AODs primary investment objective is to seek high current dividend income with long-term growth of capital as a secondary investment objective. AOD was organized as a statutory trust in Delaware on October 27, 2006. AOD seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in a managed portfolio of U.S. and non-U.S. equity securities. Under normal market conditions, AOD invests at least 80% of its assets in equity securities, primarily common stocks. AODs common shares of beneficial interest, no par value per share, are traded on the NYSE. As of June 30, 2009, AOD had 215,413,280 common shares outstanding and assets of
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$1,766,843,652. Although it has no current intention to do so, AOD is authorized to issue preferred shares.
AWPs primary investment objective is capital appreciation, with high current income as a secondary investment objective. AWP was organized as a statutory trust in Delaware on February 13, 2007. AWP pursues its investment objectives by investing at least 80% of its assets in the equity and, to a lesser extent, debt securities of domestic and foreign issuers which are principally engaged in the real estate industry or real estate financing or which control significant real estate assets. AWPs common shares of beneficial interest, no par value, are listed and traded on the NYSE. As of June 30, 2009, AWP had 105,506,077 common shares outstanding and assets of $633,255,114. Although it has no current intention to do so, AWP is authorized to issue preferred shares.
As part of its investment strategy, each of AGD, AOD and AWP uses a dividend capture strategy in its efforts to maximize distributed dividend income. The dividend capture strategy has two facets rotation, whereby the Fund would sell a stock on or shortly after the stocks ex-dividend date and use the proceeds to purchase one or more other stocks that are expected to pay dividends before the next dividend payment on the stock being sold, and special dividends, whereby the Fund receives dividends from a company that returns large cash balances to shareholders as a one-time dividend payment. Through this rotation practice, each Fund may receive more dividend payments over a given period of time than if it held a single stock. Receipt of a greater number of dividend payments during a given time period could augment the total amount of dividend income a Fund receives over this period. The use of dividend capture strategies will expose the Funds to increased trading costs and potential for capital loss or gain, particularly in the event of significant short-term price movements of stocks subject to dividend
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capture trading. There can be no guarantee that the Funds dividend capture strategy will be successful.
The Investment Adviser, Alpine Woods Capital Investors, LLC, serves as the investment adviser to AGD, AOD and AWP and is responsible for their overall management. The Investment Adviser is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and was organized on December 3, 1997, as a Delaware limited liability company. It is a privately-owned investment management firm that currently manages a family of open-end mutual funds in addition to AGD, AOD and AWP and also provides institutional investment management.
II. Relief Requested
Section 19(b) of the Act provides that it shall be unlawful in contravention of such rules, regulations, or orders as the Commission may prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors for any registered investment company to distribute long-term capital gains, as defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code), more often than once every twelve months. Rule 19b-1 under the Act provides that no registered investment company which is a regulated investment company as defined in Section 851 of the Code shall make more than (i) one capital gain dividend, as defined in Section 852(b)(3)(C) of the Code, in any one taxable year of the company, (ii) one additional capital gain distribution made in whole or in part to avoid payment of excise tax under Section 4982 of the Code plus (iii) one supplemental clean-up capital gain dividend pursuant to Section 855 of the Code, which amount may not exceed 10% of the total amount distributed for the year.
The Applicants believe that Rule 19b-1 should be interpreted to permit each Fund to pay an unlimited number of distributions on its common and preferred shares so long as it makes the designation necessary under the Code and Rule 19b-1 to transform such distributions into
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capital gain dividends restricted by Rule 19b-1 only as often as is permitted by Rule 19b-1, even if the Code would then require retroactively spreading the capital gain resulting from such designation over more than the permissible number of distributions. However, to obtain certainty for each Funds proposed distribution policies, in the absence of such an interpretation Applicants hereby request an order pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Act granting an exemption from Section 19(b) of the Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder to permit each Fund to make periodic capital gain dividends (as defined in Section 852(b)(3)(C) of the Code) as often as monthly in any one taxable year in respect of its common shares and as often as specified by or determined in accordance with the terms thereof in respect of the Funds preferred shares.
Although the Applicants do not currently contemplate issuing preferred shares or implementing a specified periodic payment policy for the preferred shares of one or more of the Funds, if issued, they may wish to do so in the future. To retain this flexibility and avoid having to seek additional exemptive relief in the future, the Applicants are requesting relief pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Act from the provisions of Section 19(b) of the Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder to permit each Fund to make periodic capital gain dividends (as defined in Section 852(b)(3)(C) of the Code) on any series of its preferred shares if such preferred shares are issued. Such distributions would be made as often as are specified in or pursuant to the terms of such series so long as the Fund maintains in effect a distribution policy with regard to such series of its preferred shares of a specific percentage of liquidation preference of such series of preferred shares, whether such specified percentage is determined at the time the preferred shares are initially issued, pursuant to periodic remarketing or auctions or otherwise.
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III. Representations of the Applicants
Applicants make the following representations regarding the requested relief:
Prior to the organizational meeting of each of AGD, AOD and AWP, held on June 23, 2006, December 18, 2006 and March 12, 2007, respectively, the board of trustees of each of AGD, AOD and AWP (each such board of trustees and each board of trustees of a future Fund, a Board), including a majority of the members who are not interested persons of each Fund as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Act (the Independent Trustees), were provided with such information as the Investment Adviser deemed reasonably necessary to permit each Board to consider the appropriateness of adopting a proposed periodic distribution policy. In particular, each Board and the Independent Trustees reviewed information regarding the purpose and terms of the proposed distribution policy, the likely effects of such policy on each Funds long-term total return (in relation to market price and net asset value (NAV) per share), the relationship between each Funds distribution rate on its common shares under the policy and such Funds total return (in relation to NAV per share). The Independent Trustees also considered what conflicts of interest the Investment Adviser, the affiliated persons of the Investment Adviser and each Fund might have with respect to the adoption or implementation of the proposed periodic distribution policy. After considering such information, the Board, including the Independent Trustees, of each of AGD, AOD and AWP approved the proposed periodic distribution policy with respect to such Funds common shares as disclosed in such Funds prospectus (the Plan) and determined that the Plan is consistent with such Funds investment objectives and in the best interests of such Funds common shareholders.
In the event that one or more Funds issues preferred shares in the future, each such Funds Board, including the Independent Trustees, will be provided with such information as the Investment Adviser deems reasonably necessary to permit such Board to consider the
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appropriateness of adopting a specified periodic payment policy with regard to such preferred shares, including information regarding the purpose and terms of the specified periodic payment policy, the likely effects of such policy on each such Funds long-term total return (in relation to market price and net asset value (NAV) per share), the relationship between each such Funds distribution rate on its preferred shares under the policy, each such Funds total return (in relation to NAV per share) and information regarding any conflicts of interest the Investment Adviser, the affiliated persons of the Investment Adviser and each such Fund might have with respect to the adoption or implementation of a specified periodic payment policy with regard to such preferred shares.
The purpose of the Plan of each of AGD, AOD and AWP is to permit such Fund to distribute over the course of each year, through monthly distributions as nearly equal as practicable and any required special distributions, an amount closely approximating the total taxable income of such Fund during such year and, if so determined by its Board, all or a portion of the returns of capital paid by portfolio securities to such Fund during such year. In accordance with the Plan of each Fund, the Fund would distribute to its common shareholders a fixed monthly amount, but reserves the right to distribute an amount equal to a fixed percentage of the market price or of the NAV per share of the Funds common shares at a particular point in time, any of which may be adjusted from time to time. Under each Plan, the minimum annual distribution rate with respect to such Funds common shares would be independent of the Funds performance during any particular period, but would be expected to correlate with the Funds performance over time. Except for extraordinary distributions and potential increases or decreases in the final dividend periods in light of the Funds performance for the entire calendar year and to enable the Fund to comply with the distribution requirements of Subchapter M of the
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Code for the calendar year, each distribution on the common shares would be at the stated rate then in effect.
At the meeting held on September 22, 2008, each Board adopted policies and procedures under Rule 38a-1 that:
The records of the actions of the Board of each of AGD, AOD and AWP summarize the basis for its approval of its Plan, including its consideration of the factors described above. Such records will be maintained for a period of at least six years from the date of such meeting, the first two years in an easily accessible place, or for such longer period as may otherwise be required by law.
In order to rely on the Order, a future Fund must satisfy each of the foregoing representations except that such representations will be made in respect of actions by the Board of such future Fund and will be made at a future time, and except that the purpose of its distribution policy may differ from the purpose of AGDs, AODs and AWPs Plans in that such distribution policys purpose may be to distribute a fixed amount or a fixed percentage of NAV
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or NAV per share without regard to the level of income, appreciation or total return of such Fund over particular series of dividend periods, or with regard to only one or a combination of such elements over such period of time and may exclude reference to distributions of capital received from portfolio companies. Notwithstanding the foregoing, under any such distribution policy such future Fund would expect that its distributions would correlate with its total return over time plus, if applicable, distributions of capital received from such future Funds portfolio companies.
IV. Justification for the Requested Relief
Section 6(c) of the Act provides that the Commission may exempt any person or transaction from any provision of the Act or any rule under the Act to the extent that such exemption is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and consistent with the protection of investors and the purposes fairly intended by the policy and provisions of the Act. For the reasons set forth below, Applicants submit that the requested exemption from Section 19(b) of the Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder would be consistent with the standards set forth in Section 6(c) of the Act and in the best interests of the Applicants and their respective shareholders.
Applicants believe that the shareholders of AGD, AOD and AWP are generally conservative, dividend-sensitive investors who desire current income periodically and may favor a fixed distribution policy. The Board of each of AGD, AOD and AWP believe that investors in the common shares of a Fund may prefer an investment vehicle that provides monthly distributions and a steady cash flow. In this regard, Applicants note in particular that a significant portion of AWPs assets are or will be invested in the securities of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). REITs typically specify the distribution rate to be paid on their
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securities until notice of any change in the policy or until such distributions are recharacterized by the REITs. Accordingly, investors in AWP may expect a similar distribution policy.
An exemption from Rule 19b-1 would benefit shareholders in another way. Common shares of closed-end funds that invest primarily in equity securities often trade in the marketplace at a discount to their NAVs. In the view of the Applicants, this discount may be reduced if the Funds are permitted to pay relatively frequent dividends on their common shares at a consistent rate, whether or not those dividends contain an element of capital gain. Such a reduction in discount would benefit the Funds and their shareholders.
One of the concerns leading to the enactment of Section 19(b) and adoption of Rule 19b-1 was that shareholders might be unable to distinguish between frequent distributions of capital gains and dividends from investment income.(3) However, Rule 19a-l under the Act effectively addresses this concern by requiring that distributions (or the confirmation of the reinvestment thereof) estimated to be sourced in part from capital gains or capital be accompanied by a separate statement showing the sources of the distribution (e.g., estimated net income, net short-term capital gains, net long-term capital gains and/or return of capital). The same information is included in each Funds annual report to shareholders and on its IRS Form 1099-DIV, which is sent to each common and preferred shareholder, if preferred shares are issued by one or more Funds, who received distributions during a particular year (including shareholders who have sold shares during the year).
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See Securities and Exchange Commission 1966 Report to Congress on Investment Company Growth (H.R. Rep. No. 2337, 89th Cong., 2d Sess. 190-95 (1966)); S. Rep. No. 91-184, 91st Cong., 1st Sess. 29 (1969); H.R. Rep. No. 91-1382, 91st Cong., 2d Sess. 29 (1970) (the Report). |
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In addition, each of AGD, AOD and AWP will make the additional disclosures required by the conditions set forth in Part V below, and each of them has adopted compliance policies and procedures in accordance with Rule 38a-1 under the Act to ensure that all required notices and disclosures are sent to shareholders.
Rule 19a-l, the Plans and the Funds compliance policies ensure that each Funds shareholders would be provided sufficient information to understand that their periodic distributions are not tied to the Funds net investment income (which for this purpose is the Funds taxable income other than from capital gains) and realized capital gains to date, and may not represent yield or investment return. Accordingly, continuing to subject the Funds to Section 19(b) and Rule 19b-1 would afford shareholders no additional protection. In addition, the Funds will undertake to request intermediaries to forward 19(a) Notices to their customers and to reimburse them for the costs of forwarding. Such forwarding may occur in any manner permitted by statute, rule, order or the staff.
Rule 19b-1, when applied to a Plan, actually gives rise to one of the concerns that Rule 19b-1 was intended to avoid: inappropriate influence on portfolio management decisions. Funds that pay long-term capital gains distributions only once per year in accordance with Rule 19b-1 impose no pressure on management to realize capital gains at times when purely investment considerations do not dictate doing so. In the absence of an exemption from Rule 19b-1, the adoption of a periodic distribution plan imposes pressure on management (i) not to realize any net long-term capital gains until the point in the year that the Fund can pay all of its remaining distributions in accordance with Rule 19b-1 and (ii) not to realize any long-term capital gains during any particular year in excess of the amount of the aggregate pay-out for the year (since as
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a practical matter excess gains must be distributed and accordingly would not be available to satisfy pay-out requirements in following years), notwithstanding that purely investment considerations might favor realization of long-term gains at different times or in different amounts.
No purpose is served by the distortion in the normal operation of a periodic distribution plan required in order to comply with Rule 19b-1. There is no reason or logic in requiring any fund that adopts a periodic distribution plan either to retain (and pay taxes on) long-term capital gains (with the resulting additional tax return complexities for the funds shareholders) or to avoid designating its distributions of long-term gains as capital gains dividends for tax purposes (thereby avoiding a Rule 19b-1 problem but providing distributions taxable at ordinary income rates rather than the much lower long-term capital gains rates and being required to pay income tax on the amount of such income). The desirability of avoiding these anomalous results creates pressure to limit the realization of long-term capital gains that otherwise would be taken for purely investment considerations.
The Order requested by the Applicants would minimize these anomalous effects of Rule 19b-1 by enabling the Funds to realize long-term capital gains as often as investment considerations dictate without fear of violating Rule 19b-1.
Another concern that led to the enactment of Section 19(b) of the Act and adoption of Rule 19b-1 was that frequent capital gains distributions could facilitate improper fund share sales practices, including, in particular, the practice of urging an investor to purchase shares of a fund on the basis of an upcoming capital gains dividend (selling the dividend), where the dividend would result in an immediate corresponding reduction in NAV and would be in effect a taxable return of the investors capital. Applicants submit that this concern should not apply to closed-
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end investment companies, such as the Funds, which do not continuously distribute shares. Furthermore, if the underlying concern extends to secondary market purchases of shares of closed-end funds that are subject to a large upcoming capital gains dividend, adoption of a periodic distribution plan actually helps minimize the concern by avoiding, through monthly distributions, any buildup of large end-of-the-year distributions.
The Applicants also submit that the selling the dividend concern is not applicable to preferred shares, which entitle a holder to no more than a specified periodic dividend and, like debt securities, are initially sold at a price based upon their liquidation preference, credit quality, dividend rate and frequency of payment. Investors buy preferred shares for the purpose of receiving specific payments at the frequency bargained for, and any application of Rule 19b-1 to preferred shares would be contrary to the expectation of investors. There is also currently a tax rule that provides that any loss attributable to a long-term capital gain realized within six months prior to the incurrence of the loss must be treated as a long-term capital loss to avoid the selling of dividends.
Subparagraphs (a) and (f) of Rule 19b-1 limit the number of capital gains dividends, as defined in Section 852(b)(3)(C) of the Code, that a fund may make with respect to any one taxable year to one, plus a supplemental clean-up distribution made pursuant to Section 855 of the Code not exceeding 10% of the total amount distributed for the year, plus one additional capital gain dividend made in whole or in part to avoid the excise tax under Section 4982 of the Code.
Applicants assert that by limiting the number of capital gain dividends that a Fund may make with respect to any one year, Rule 19b-1 may prevent the normal and efficient operation of a periodic distribution plan whenever that Funds realized net long-term capital gains in any year
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exceed the total of the monthly distributions that may include such capital gains under the Rule. Rule 19b-1 thus may force the fixed regular periodic distributions to be funded with returns of capital(4) (to the extent net investment income and realized short term capital gains are insufficient to fund the distribution), even though realized net long term capital gains otherwise would be available. To distribute all of a Funds long-term capital gains within the limits in Rule 19b-1, a Fund may be required to make total distributions in excess of the annual amount called for by its periodic distribution plan or to retain and pay taxes on the excess amount. Applicants believe that the application of Rule 19b-1 to a Funds periodic distribution plan may create pressure to limit the realization of long-term capital gains based on considerations unrelated to investment goals.
Revenue Ruling 89-81 under the Code requires that a fund that seeks to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Code and that has both common shares and preferred shares outstanding designate the types of income, e.g., investment income and capital gains, in the same proportion as the total distributions distributed to each class for the tax year. To satisfy the proportionate designation requirements of Revenue Ruling 89-81, whenever a fund has realized a long term capital gain with respect to a given tax year, the fund must designate the required proportionate share of such capital gain to be included in common and preferred share dividends. Although Rule 19b-1 allows a fund some flexibility with respect to the frequency of capital gains distributions, a fund might use all of the exceptions available under Rule 19b-1 for a tax year and still need to distribute additional capital gains allocated to the preferred shares to comply with Revenue Ruling 89-81.
(4) These would be returns of capital for financial accounting purposes and not for tax accounting purposes.
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The potential abuses addressed by Section 19(b) and Rule 19b-1 do not arise with respect to preferred shares issued by a closed-end fund. Such distributions are either fixed or are determined in periodic auctions by reference to short-term interest rates rather than by reference to performance of the issuer, and Revenue Ruling 89-81 determines the proportion of such distributions that are comprised of the long-term capital gains.
Applicants also submit that the selling the dividend concern is not applicable to preferred shares, which entitle a holder to no more than a periodic dividend at a fixed rate or the rate determined by the market, and, like debt securities, are priced based upon their liquidation value, dividend rate, credit quality, and frequency of payment. Investors buy preferred shares for the purpose of receiving payments at the frequency bargained for and do not expect the liquidation value of their shares to change.
The proposed Order will assist the Funds in avoiding these Rule 19b-1 problems.
The relief requested is that the Commission permit the Funds to make periodic distributions in respect of their common shares as often as monthly and in respect of their preferred shares as specified by or determined in accordance with the terms thereof. Granting this relief would provide the Funds with flexibility in meeting investor interest in receiving more frequent distributions. By spreading out the amount of individual periodic distributions even further, implementation of the additional relief would actually ameliorate the concerns that gave rise to Section 19(b) and Rule 19b-1 and help avoid the selling of dividends problem, which Section 19(b) and Rule 19b-1 are not effective in preventing.
The potential issues under Rule 19b-1 are basically not relevant to distributions on preferred shares. Not only are such distributions fixed or determined in periodic auctions or remarketings by reference to short-term interest rates, rather than by reference to performance of
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the issuer, but also the long-term capital gain component is mandated by the Internal Revenue Service to be the same proportion as the proportion of long-term gain dividends bears to the total distributions in respect of the common shares and consequently the long-term gain component cannot even be known until the last dividend of the year. In these circumstances it would be very difficult for any of the potential abuses reflected in Rule 19b-1s restrictions to occur.
In summary, Rule 19b-l in the circumstances referred to above distorts the effective and proper functioning of each Funds distributions and gives rise to the very pressures on portfolio management decisions that Rule 19b-1 was intended to avoid. These distortions forced by Rule 19b-1 serve no purpose and are not in the best interests of shareholders.
V. Applicants Conditions
Applicants agree that any order of the Commission granting the requested relief will be subject to the following conditions:
Each Funds chief compliance officer will (a) report to the Funds Board, no less frequently than once every three months or at the next regularly scheduled quarterly Board meeting, whether (i) the Fund and its Investment Adviser have complied with the conditions of the Order and (ii) a material compliance matter (as defined in Rule 38a-l(e)(2) under the Act) has occurred with respect to such conditions; and (b) review the adequacy of the policies and procedures adopted by the Board no less frequently than annually.
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Such disclosure shall be made in a type size at least as large and as prominent as the estimate of the sources of the current distribution; and
Such disclosure shall be made in a type size at least as large as and as prominent as any other information in the 19(a) Notice and placed on the same page in close proximity to the amount and the sources of the distribution;
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If a broker, dealer, bank or other person (financial intermediary) holds common shares issued by a Fund in nominee name, or otherwise, on behalf of a beneficial owner, the Fund: (a) will request that the financial intermediary, or its agent, forward the 19(a) Notice to all beneficial owners of the Funds shares held through such financial intermediary; (b) will provide, in a timely manner, to the financial intermediary, or its agent, enough copies of the 19(a) Notice assembled in the form and at the place that the financial intermediary, or its agent, reasonably requests to facilitate the financial intermediarys sending of the 19(a) Notice to each beneficial owner of the Funds shares; and (c) upon the request of any financial intermediary, or its agent, that. receives copies of the 19(a) Notice, will pay the financial intermediary, or its agent, the reasonable expenses of sending the 19(a) Notice to such beneficial owners.
If:
then:
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A Fund will not make a public offering of the Funds common shares other than:
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The requested order will expire on the effective date of any amendments to Rule 19b-1 that provide relief permitting certain closed-end investment companies to make periodic distributions of long-term capital gains with respect to their outstanding common shares as frequently as twelve times each year.
VI. Applicable Precedent
The Commission has granted relief substantially the same as that sought here on several occasions as in the following orders:
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VII. Procedural Compliance
By resolution at a Board meeting held on December 15, 2008, the Boards of AGD, AOD and AWP adopted the following resolutions authorizing the execution and filing of this Application, including any amendments.
RESOLVED, that each of Alpine Global Dynamic Dividend Fund, Alpine Total Dynamic Dividend Fund and Alpine Global Premier Properties Fund (each a Fund and collectively, the Funds) apply to the Securities and Exchange Commission, pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, for an exemption from Section 19(b) of the Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder permitting the Funds to make periodic capital
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gains distributions on any class of capital stock of the Funds in any one taxable year, and make such amendments to such application as the officers of and counsel to the Funds deem necessary and appropriate; and be it
RESOLVED, that the President, the Treasurer, and the Secretary of the Funds be and each of them hereby is authorized, acting singularly, to execute and cause to be filed the application and any amendments thereto hereinabove authorized in such form as the officer executing the same may approve, his execution thereof to be conclusive evidence of such approval.
Pursuant to Rule 0-2(c) under the Act, each Applicant hereby states that the person signing and filing this Application on its behalf is fully authorized to do so; that under the provisions of the Agreement and Declaration of Trust or Operating Agreement, as applicable, of such Applicant, responsibility for the management of the affairs of such Applicant is vested in its Board or Member, as applicable; and that such Applicant has complied with all requirements for the execution and filing of this Application in its name and on its behalf.
These verifications required by Rule 0-2(d) are attached to this Application as Exhibits A and B.
Pursuant to Rule 0-2(f) under the Act, the Applicants further state that:
1. (a) The address of each of the Applicants is as follows:
2500 Westchester Avenue, Suite 215
Purchase, New York 10577
(914) 251-0880
Thomas R. Westle
Blank Rome LLP
405 Lexington Avenue
New York, New York 10174
(212) 885-5239
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On the basis of the foregoing, the Applicants respectfully request that the Commission enter an order pursuant to Section 6(c) of the Act exempting the Funds from the provisions of Section 19(b) of the Act and Rule 19b-1 thereunder to permit each Fund to make distributions on its common shares consisting in whole or in part of capital gain dividends as frequently as once per month so long as it complies with the conditions of the Order and maintains in effect a distribution policy with respect to its common shares calling for periodic distributions of an amount equal to a fixed amount per share, a fixed percentage of market price per share or a fixed percentage of such Funds NAV per share. In addition, the Applicants also request relief to permit each Fund to make periodic long-term capital gains distributions on any future series of preferred shares issued so long as such Fund maintains in effect a distribution policy with regard to such series of its preferred shares of a specific percentage of liquidation preference of such series of preferred shares, whether such specified percentage is determined at the time the preferred shares are initially issued, pursuant to periodic remarketing or auctions or otherwise.
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ALPINE GLOBAL DYNAMIC DIVIDEND FUND |
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By: |
/s/ SAMUEL A. LIEBER |
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Name: |
Samuel A. Lieber |
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Title: |
President and Principal Executive Officer |
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ALPINE TOTAL DYNAMIC DIVIDEND FUND |
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By: |
/s/ SAMUEL A. LIEBER |
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Name: |
Samuel A. Lieber |
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Title: |
President and Principal Executive Officer |
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ALPINE GLOBAL PREMIER PROPERTIES FUND |
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By: |
/s/ SAMUEL A. LIEBER |
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Name: |
Samuel A. Lieber |
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Title: |
President |
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ALPINE WOODS CAPITAL INVESTORS, LLC |
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By: |
/s/ SAMUEL A. LIEBER |
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Name: |
Samuel A. Lieber |
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Title: |
Chief Executive Officer |
Dated: July 31, 2009
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EXHIBIT INDEX
A. Verification of Alpine Global Dynamic Dividend Fund, Alpine Total Dynamic Dividend Fund and Alpine Global Premier Properties Fund
B. Verification Alpine Woods Capital Investors, LLC
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EXHIBIT A
VERIFICATION
The undersigned states that he has duly executed the attached amended and restated Application dated July 31, 2009 for and on behalf of Alpine Global Dynamic Dividend Fund, Alpine Total Dynamic Dividend Fund and Alpine Global Premier Properties Fund (collectively, the Funds); that he is President of such Funds; and that all action by the Trustees of such Funds necessary to authorize the undersigned to execute and file such instrument has been taken. The undersigned further states that he is familiar with such instrument and the contents thereof, and that the facts therein set forth are true to the best of his knowledge, information and belief.
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/s/ SAMUEL A. LIEBER |
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Samuel A. Lieber |
A-1
EXHIBIT B
VERIFICATION
The undersigned states that he has duly executed the attached amended and restated Application dated July 31, 2009 for and on behalf of Alpine Woods Capital Investors, LLC; that he is Chief Executive Officer of Alpine Woods Capital Investors, LLC; and that all action by the Member of Alpine Woods Capital Investors, LLC necessary to authorize the undersigned to execute and file such instrument has been taken. The undersigned further states that he is familiar with such instrument and the contents thereof, and that the facts therein set forth are true to the best of his knowledge, information and belief.
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/s/ SAMUEL A. LIEBER |
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Samuel A. Lieber |
|
Chief Executive Officer |
B-1