Securities & Exchange Commission Approved the Plan of Distribution for the S&P Dow Jones Indices Fair Fund

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Jul 28, 2022, 09:00 ET

BEAVERTON, Ore., July 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The following statement is being issued by Epiq, the Fund Administrator appointed in the administrative action noted below.

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-20310

In the Matter of
S&P DOW JONES INDICES LLC,
Respondent.

TO: Individuals and entities, or their lawful successors, who purchased and/or held VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short Term ETNs linked to the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index due December 4, 2030, listed on a U.S. exchange and registered with the Commission and traded under the symbol XIV ("XIV" or "Security") during the period between 4:09:40 p.m. and 5:09 p.m. on February 5, 2018 ("Relevant Period").

PLEASE READ THIS PLAN NOTICE CAREFULLY AND IN ITS ENTIRETY.
YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A DISTRIBUTION PAYMENT FROM THE S&P DOW JONES INDICES FAIR FUND.

THIS PLAN NOTICE CONTAINS IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE S&P DOW JONES INDICES FAIR FUND AND THE CLAIMS PROCESS.

What this case is about:

On May 17, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") issued an Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, Pursuant to Section 8A of the Securities Act of 1933, Making Findings, and Imposing a Cease-and-Desist Order (the "Order") against the Respondent, S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC. In the Order, the Commission found that S&P, which publishes an index that measures the return from a rolling long position for certain VIX futures contracts, failed to disclose the existence of a feature in this index that kept securities prices static during a period of unprecedented volatility. As a result of this undisclosed feature, values being published and disseminated to the market were not based on the real-time prices of certain VIX futures contracts. The Commission ordered S&P Dow Jones to pay a $9,000,000 civil money penalty to the Commission.

Without admitting or denying the allegations, Respondent consented to the entry of an order alleging violations of Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933. The Commission established a Fair Fund pursuant to Section 308(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, so that the $9 million in civil money penalties paid by the Respondent could be distributed for the benefit of the harmed investors (the "S&P Dow Jones Indices Fair Fund"). The assets of the S&P Dow Jones Indices Fair Fund are subject to the continuing jurisdiction and control of the Commission.

The Commission approved the proposed Plan of Distribution (the "Plan") on May 12, 2022. You can review the Plan, available at www.SPDowJonesIndicesFairFund.com for more information and for the definitions of the capitalized terms.

Who is Eligible for Compensation:

To qualify for a payment from the Fair Fund, you must have purchased and/or held VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short Term ETNs linked to the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index due December 4, 2030, listed on a U.S. exchange and registered with the Commission and traded under the symbol XIV during the Relevant Period.

Your approved transactions must calculate to a Recognized Loss as calculated under the Plan and your Distribution Payment must equal or exceed $10.00.

How to Submit a Claim:

You must complete and sign the Claim Form and submit it to the Fund Administrator so that it is postmarked (or if not sent by U.S. Mail, received) no later than November 9, 2022, at the address listed below in order to be considered for eligibility to receive a distribution payment from the S&P Dow Jones Indices Fair Fund:

S&P Dow Jones Indices Fair Fund
c/o Fund Administrator
P.O. Box 5429
Portland, OR 97228-5429

If you have questions, or if you would like to receive a Claim Form in the mail, you may call the S&P Dow Jones Indices Fair Fund's toll-free number at 855-604-1705, send an email to [email protected], or visit www.SPDowJonesIndicesFairFund.com.

SOURCE Epiq