If the court determines that such liquidation is in the interest of the security holders of such trust, the court shall order such liquidation and, after payment of necessary expenses, the distribution of the proceeds to the security holders of the trust in such manner and on such terms as may to the court appear equitable.

(e) EXEMPTION.--

funding

(1) IN GENERAL.-Subsection (a) does not apply to any registered separate account variable insurance contracts, or to the sponsoring insurance company and principal underwriter of such account.

(2) LIMITATION ON SALES.-It shall be unlawful for any registered separate account funding variable insurance contracts, or for the sponsoring insurance company of such account, to sell any such contract

(A) unless the fees and charges deducted under the contract, in the aggregate, are reasonable in relation to the services rendered, the expenses expected to be incurred, and the risks assumed by the insurance company, and, beginning on the earlier of August 1, 1997, or the earliest effective date of any registration statement or amendment thereto for such contract following the date of enactment of this subsection, the insurance company so represents in the registration statement for the contract; and

(B) unless the insurance company—

(i) complies with all other applicable provisions of this section, as if it were a trustee or custodian of the registered separate account;

(ii) files with the insurance regulatory authority of the State which is the domiciliary State of the insurance company, an annual statement of its financial condition, which most recent statement indicates that the insurance company has a combined capital and surplus, if a stock company, or an unassigned surplus, if a mutual company, of not less than $1,000,000, or such other amount as the Commission may from time to time prescribe by rule, as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors; and

(iii) together with its registered separate accounts, is supervised and examined periodically by the insurance authority of such State.

(3) FEES AND CHARGES.-For purposes of paragraph (2), the fees and charges deducted under the contract shall include all fees and charges imposed for any purpose and in any

manner.

(4) REGULATORY AUTHORITY.-The Commission may issue such rules and regulations to carry out paragraph (2)Á) as it determines are necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors.

PERIODIC PAYMENT PLANS

SEC. 27. [80a-27] (a) It shall be unlawful for any registered investment company issuing periodic payment plan certificates, or

for any depositor of or underwriter for such company, to sell any such certificate, if—

(1) the sales load on such certificate exceeds 9 per centum of the total payments to be made thereon;

(2) more than one-half of any of the first twelve monthly payments thereon, or their equivalent, is deducted for sales load;

(3) the amount of sales load deducted from any one of such first payments exceeds proportionately the amount deducted from any other such payment, or the amount deducted from any subsequent payment exceeds proportionately the amount deducted from any other subsequent payment;

(4) the first payment on such certificate is less than $20, or any subsequent payment is less than $10;

(5) if such registered company is a management company, the proceeds of such certificate or the securities in which such proceeds are invested are subject to management fees (other than fees for administrative services of the character described in clause (C), paragraph (2), of section 26(a)) exceeding such reasonable amount as the Commission may prescribe, whether such fees are payable to such company or to investment advisers thereof; or

(6) if such registered company is a unit investment trust the assets of which are securities issued by a management company, the depositor of or principal underwriter for such trust, or any affiliated person of such depositor or underwriter, is to receive from such management company or any affiliated person thereof any fee or payment on account of payments on such certificate exceeding such reasonable amount as the Commission may prescribe.

(b) If it appears to the Commission, upon application or otherwise, that smaller companies are subjected to relatively higher operating costs and that in order to make due allowance therefor it is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and consistent with the protection of investors that a provision or provisions of paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subsection (a) relative to sales load be relaxed in the case of certain registered investment companies issuing periodic payment plan certificates, or certain specified classes of such companies, the Commission is authorized by rules and regulations or order to grant any such company or class of companies appropriate qualified exemptions from the provisions of said paragraphs.

(c) It shall be unlawful for any registered investment company issuing periodic payment plan certificates, or for any depositor of or underwriter for such company, to sell any such certificate, unless

(1) such certificate is a redeemable security; and

(2) the proceeds of all payments on such certificate (except such amounts as are deducted for sales load) are deposited with a trustee or custodian having the qualifications prescribed in paragraph (1) of section 26(a) for the trustees of unit investment trusts, and are held by such trustee or custodian under an indenture or agreement containing, in substance, the provi

sions required by paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 26(a) for the trust indentures of unit investment trusts.

(d) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, it shall be unlawful for any registered investment company issuing periodic payment plan certificates, or for any depositor of or underwriter for such company, to sell any such certificate unless the certificate provides that the holder thereof may surrender the certificate at any time within the first eighteen months after the issuance of the certificate and receive in payment thereof, in cash, the sum of (1) the value of his account, and (2) an amount, from such underwriter or depositor, equal to that part of the excess paid for sales loading which is over 15 per centum of the gross payments made by the certificate holder. The Commission may make rules and regulations applicable to such underwriters and depositors specifying such reserve requirements as it deems necessary or appropriate in order for such underwriters and depositors to carry out the obligations to refund sales charges required by this subsection.

(e) With respect to any periodic payment plan certificate sold subject to the provisions of subsection (d) of this section, the registered investment company issuing such periodic payment plan certificate, or any depositor of or underwriter for such company, shall in writing (1) inform each certificate holder who has missed three payments or more, within thirty days following the expiration of fifteen months after the issuance of the certificate, or, if any such holder has missed one payment or more after such period of fifteen months but prior to the expiration of eighteen months after the issuance of the certificate, at any time prior to the expiration of such eighteen-month period, of his right to surrender his certificate as specified in subsection (d) of this section, and (2) inform the certificate holder of (A) the value of the holder's account as of the time the written notice was given to such holder, and (B) the amount to which he is entitled as specified in subsection (d) of this section. The Commission may make rules specifying the method, form, and contents of the notice required by this subsection.

(f) With respect to any periodic payment plan (other than plan under which the amount of sales load deducted from any payment thereon does not exceed 9 per centum of such payment), the custodian bank for such plan shall mail to each certificate holder, within sixty days after the issuance of the certificate, a statement of charges to be deducted from the projected payments on the certificate and a notice of his right of withdrawal as specified in this section. The Commission may make rules specifying the method, form, and contents of the notice required by this subsection. The certificate holder may within forty-five days of the mailing of the notice specified in this subsection surrender his certificate and receive in payment thereof, in cash, the sum of (1) the value of his account, and (2) an amount, from the underwriter or depositor, equal to the difference between the gross payments made and the net amount invested. The Commission may make rules and regulations applicable to underwriters and depositors of companies issuing any such certificate specifying such reserve requirements as it deems necessary or appropriate in order for such underwriters and depositors to carry out the obligations to refund sales charges required by this subsection.

(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (d), a registered investment company issuing periodic payment plan certificates may elect, by written notice to the Commission, to be governed by the provisions of subsection (h) rather than the provisions of subsections (a) and (d) of this section.

(h) Upon making the election specified in subsection (g), it shall be unlawful for any such electing registered investment company issuing periodic payment plan certificates, or for any depositor of or underwriter for such company, to sell any such certificate, if—

(1) the sales load on such certificate exceeds 9 per centum of the total payments to be made thereon;

(2) more than 20 per centum of any payment thereon is deducted for sales load, or an average of more than 16 per centum is deducted for sales load from the first forty-eight monthly payments thereon, or their equivalent;

(3) the amount of sales load deducted from any one of the first twelve monthly payments, the thirteenth through twentyfourth monthly payments, the twenty-fifth through thirty-sixth monthly payments, or the thirty-seventh through forty-eighth monthly payments, or their equivalents, respectively, exceeds proportionately the amount deducted from any other such payment, or the amount deducted from any subsequent payment exceeds proportionately the amount deducted from any other subsequent payment;

(4) the deduction for sales load on the excess of the payment or payments in any month over the minimum monthly payment, or its equivalent, to be made on the certificate exceeds the sales load applicable to payments subsequent to the first forty-eight monthly payments or their equivalent;

(5) the first payment on such certificate is less than $20, or any subsequent payment is less than $10;

(6) if such registered company is a management company, the proceeds of such certificate or the securities in which such proceeds are invested are subject to management fees (other than fees for administrative services of the character described in clause (C) of paragraph (2) of section 26(a)) exceeding such reasonable amount as the Commission may prescribe, whether such fees are payable to such company or to investment advisers thereof; or

(7) if such registered company is a unit investment trust the assets of which are securities issued by a management company, the depositor of or principal underwriter for such trust, or any affiliated person of such depositor or underwriter, is to receive from such management company or any affiliated person thereof any fee or payment on account of payments on such certificate exceeding such reasonable amount as the Commission may prescribe.

(i)(1) This section does not apply to any registered separate account funding variable insurance contracts, or to the sponsoring insurance company and principal underwriter of such account, except as provided in paragraph (2).

(2) It shall be unlawful for any registered separate account funding variable insurance contracts, or for the sponsoring

insurance company of such account, to sell any such contract unless

(A) such contract is a redeemable security; and

(B) the insurance company complies with section 26(e) and any rules or regulations issued by the Commission under section 26(e).

FACE-AMOUNT CERTIFICATE COMPANIES

SEC. 28. [80a-28] (a) It shall be unlawful for any registered face-amount certificate company to issue or sell any face-amount certificate, or to collect or accept any payment on any such certificate issued by such company on or after the effective date of this title, unless

(1) such company, if organized before March 15, 1940, was actively and continuously engaged in selling face-amount certificates on and before that date, and has outstanding capital stock worth upon a fair valuation of assets not less than $50,000; or if organized on or after March 15, 1940, has capital stock in an amount not less than $250,000 which has been bona fide subscribed and paid for in cash; and

(2) such company maintains at all times minimum certificate reserves on all its outstanding face-amount certificates in an aggregate amount calculated and adjusted as follows:

(A) the reserves for each certificate of the installment type shall be based on assumed annual, semi-annual, quarterly, or monthly reserve payments according to the manner in which gross payments for any certificate year are made by the holder, which reserve payments shall be sufficient in amount, as and when accumulated at a rate not to exceed 32 per centum per annum compounded annually, to provide the minimum maturity or face amount of the certificate when due. Such reserve payments may be graduated according to certificate years so that the reserve payment or payments for the first certificate year shall amount to at least 50 per centum of the required gross annual payment for such year and the reserve payment or payments for each of the second to fifth certificate years inclusive shall amount to at least 93 per centum of each such year's required gross annual payment and for the sixth and each subsequent certificate year the reserve payment or payments shall amount to at least 96 per centum of each such year's required gross annual payment: Provided, That such aggregate reserve payments shall amount to at least 93 per centum of the aggregate gross annual payments required to be made by the holder to obtain the maturity of the certificate. The company may at its option take as loading from the gross payment or payments for a certificate year, as and when made by the certificate holder, an amount or amounts equal in the aggregate for such year to not more than the excess, if any, of the gross payment or payments required to be made by the holder for such year, over and above the percentage of the gross annual payment required herein for such year for reserve purposes. Such loading may be taken by the company prior