REGULATED INVESTMENT COMPANIES AND REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS

§ 1.851 Statutory provisions; definition of regulated investment company.

SEC. 851. Definition of regulated investment company-(a) General rule. For purposes of this subtitle, the term "regulated investment company" means any domestic corporation (other than a personal holding company as defined in section 542)

(1) Which, at all times during the taxable year, is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (54 Stat. 789; 15 U. S. C. 80a-1 to 80b-2), either as a management company or as a unit investment trust, or

(2) Which is a common trust fund or similar fund excluded by section 3(c)(3) of such Act (15 U. S. C. 80a-3 (c)) from the definition of "investment company" and is not inIcluded in the definition of "common trust fund" by section 584(a).

(b) Limitations. A corporation shall not be considered a regulated investment company for any taxable year unless

(1) It files with its return for the taxable year an election to be regulated investment company or has made such election for a previous taxable year which began after December 31, 1941;

(2) At least 90 percent of its gross income is derived from dividends, interest, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities;

(3) Less than 30 percent of its gross income is derived from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities held for less than 3 months; and

(4) At the close of each quarter of the taxable year

(A) At least 50 percent of the value of its total assets is represented by

(i) Cash and cash items (including receivables), Government securities and securities of other regulated investment companies, and

(ii) Other securities for purposes of this calculation limited, except and to the extent provided in subsection (e), in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater in value than 5 percent of the value of the total assets of the taxpayer and to not more than 10 percent of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, and

(B) Not more than 25 percent of the value of its total assets is invested in the securities (other than Government securities or the securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, or of two or more issuers which the taxpayer controls and which are determined, under regulations prescribed by the Secretary or his delegate, to be engaged in the same or similar

trades or businesses or related trades or businesses.

(c) Rules applicable to subsection (b)(4). For purposes of subsection (b)(4) and this subsection

(1) In ascertaining the value of the taxpayer's investment in the securities of an issuer, for the purposes of subparagraph (B), there shall be included its proper proportion of the investment of any other corporation, a member of a controlled group, in the securities of such issuer, as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary or his delegate.

(2) The term "controls" means the ownership in a corporation of 20 percent or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote.

(3) The term "controlled group" means one or more chains of corporations connected through stock ownership with the taxpayer if

(A) 20 percent or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote of each of the corporations (except the taxpayer) is owned directly by one or more of the other corporations, and (B) The taxpayer owns directly 20 percent or more of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock entitled to vote, of at least one of the other corporations.

(4) The term "value" means, with respect to securities (other than those of majorityowned subsidiaries) for which market quotations are readily available, the market value of such securities; and with respect to other securities and assets, fair value as determined in good faith by the board of directors, except that in the case of securities of majority-owned subsidiaries which are investment companies such fair value shall not exceed market value or asset value, whichever is higher.

(5) All other terms shall have the same meaning as when used in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

(d) Determination of status. A corporation which meets the requirements of subsections (b)(4) and (c) at the close of any quarter shall not lose its status as a regulated investment company because of a discrepancy during a subsequent quarter between the value of its various investments and such requirements unless such discrepancy exists immediately after the acquisition of any security or other property and is wholly or partly the result of such acquisition. A corporation which does not meet such requirements at the close of any quarter by reason of a discrepancy existing immediately after the acquisition of any security or other property which is wholly or partly the result of such acquisition during such quarter shall not lose its status for such quarter as a regulated investment company if such discrepancy is eliminated within 30 days

after the close of such quarter and in such cases it shall be considered to have met such requirements at the close of such quarter for purposes of applying the preceding sentence.

(e) Investment companies furnishing capital to development corporations—(1) General rule. If the Securities and Exchange Commission determines, in accordance with regulations issued by it, and certifies to the Secretary or his delegate not earlier than 60 days prior to the close of the taxable year of a registered management company, that such investment company is principally engaged in the furnishing of capital to other corporations which are principally engaged in the development or exploitation of inventions, technological improvements, new processes, or products not previously generally available, such investment company may, in the computation of 50 percent of the value of its assets under subparagraph (A) of subsection (b)(4) for any quarter of such taxable year, include the value of any securities of an issuer, whether or not the investment company owns more than 10 percent of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer, the basis of which, when added to the basis of the investment company for securities of such issuer previously acquired, did not exceed 5 percent of the value of the total assets of the investment company at the time of the subsequent acquisition of securities. The preceding sentence shall not apply to the securities of an issuer if the investment company has continuously held any security of such issuer (or of any predecessor company of such issuer as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary or his delegate) for 10 or more years preceding such quarter of such taxable year.

(2) Limitation. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply at the close of any quarter of a taxable year to an investment company if at the close of such quarter more than 25 percent of the value of its total assets is represented by securities of issuers with respect to each of which the investment company holds more than 10 percent of the outstanding voting securities of such issuers and in respect of each of which or any predecessor thereof the investment company has continuously held any security for 10 or more years preceding such quarter unless the value of its total assets so represented is reduced to 25 percent or less within 30 days after the close of such quarter.

(3) Determination of status. For purposes of this subsection, unless the Securities and Exchange Commission determines otherwise, a corporation shall be considered to be principally engaged in the development or exploitation of inventions, technological improvements, new processes, or products not

previously generally available, for at least 10 years after the date of the first acquisition of any security in such corporation or any predecessor thereof by such investment company if at the date of such acquisition the corporation or its predecessor was principally so engaged, and an investment company shall be considered at any date to be furnishing capital to any company whose securities it holds if within 10 years prior to such date it has acquired any of such securities, or any securities surrendered in exchange therefor, from such other company or predecessor thereof. For purposes of the certification under this subsection, the Securities and Exchange Commission shall have authority to issue such rules, regulations and orders, and to conduct such investigations, and hearings, either public or private, as it may deem appropriate.

(4) Definitions. The terms used in this subsection shall have the same meaning as in subsections (b)(4) and (c) of this section. [Sec. 851 as amended by sec. 38, Technical Amendments Act 1958 (72 Stat. 1638)]

§ 1.851-1 Definition of regulated investment company.

(a) In general. The term "regulated investment company" is defined to mean any domestic corporation (other than a personal holding company as defined in section 542) which meets (1) the requirements of section 851(a) and paragraph (b) of this section, and (2) the limitations of section 851(b) and § 1.851-2. As to the definition of the term "corporation", see section 7701(a)(3).

(b) Requirement. To qualify as a regulated investment company, a corporation must be:

(1) Registered at all times during the taxable year, under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 to 80b-2), either as a management company or a unit investment trust, or

(2) A common trust fund or similar fund excluded by section 3(c)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-3(c)) from the definition of "investment company" and not included in the definition of "common trust fund" by section 584(a).

§1.851-2 Limitations.

(a) Election to be a regulated investment company. Under the provisions of section 851(b)(1), a corporation,

even though it satisfies the other requirements of part I, subchapter M, chapter 1 of the Code, for the taxable year, will not be considered a regulated investment company for such year, within the meaning of such part I, unless it elects to be a regulated investment company for such taxable year, or has made such an election for a previous taxable year which began after December 31, 1941. The election shall be made by the taxpayer by computing taxable income as a regulated investment company in its return for the first taxable year for which the election is applicable. No other method of making such election is permitted. An election once made is irrevocable for such taxable year and all succeeding taxable years.

(b) Gross income requirement. Section 851(b) (2) and (3) provides that (1) at least 90 percent of the corporation's gross income for the taxable year must be derived from dividends, interest, and gains from the sale or other disposition of stocks or securities, and (2) less than 30 percent of its gross income must have been derived from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities held for less than three months. In determining the gross income requirements under section 851(b) (2) and (3), a loss from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities does not enter into the computation. A determination of the period for which stock or securities have been held shall be governed by the provisions of section 1223 insofar as applicable.

(c) Diversification of investments. (1) Subparagraph (A) (A) of section 851(b)(4) requires that at the close of each quarter of the taxable year at least 50 percent of the value of the total assets of the taxpayer corporation be represented by one or more of the following:

(i) Cash and cash items, including receivables;

(ii) Government securities;

(iii) Securities of other regulated investment companies; or

(iv) Securities (other than those described in subdivisions (ii) and (iii) of this subparagraph) of any one or more issuers which meet the following limi

tations: (a) The entire amount of the securities of the issuer owned by the taxpayer corporation is not greater in value than 5 percent of the value of the total assets of the taxpayer corporation, and (b) the entire amount of the securities of such issuer owned by the taxpayer corporation does not represent more than 10 percent of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer. For the modification of the percentage limitations applicable in the case of certain venture capital investment companies, see section 851(e) and § 1.851-6.

Assuming that at least 50 percent of the value of the total assets of the corporation satisfies the requirements specified in this subparagraph, and that the limiting provisions of subparagraph (B) of section 851(b)(4) and subparagraph (2) of this paragraph are not violated, the corporation will satisfy the requirements of section 851(b)(4), notwithstanding that the remaining assets do not satisfy the diversification requirements of subparagraph (A) of section 851(b)(4). For example, a corporation may own all the stock of another corporation, provided it otherwise meets the requirements of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 851(b)(4).

(2) Subparagraph (B) of section 851(b)(4) prohibits the investment at the close of each quarter of the taxable year of more than 25 percent of the value of the total assets of the corporation (including the 50 percent or more mentioned in subparagraph (A) of section 851(b)(4)) in the securities (other than Government securities or the securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, or of two or more issuers which the taxpayer company controls and which are engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses, including such issuers as are merely a part of a unit contributing to the completion and sale of a product or the rendering of a particular service. Two or more issuers are not considered as being in the same or similar trades or businesses merely because they are engaged in the broad field of manufacturing or of any other general classification of in

dustry, but issuers shall be construed to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses if they are engaged in a distinct branch of business, trade, or manufacture in which they render the same kind of service or produce or deal in the same kind of product, and such service or products fulfill the same economic need. If two or more issuers produce more than one product or render more than one type of service, then the chief product or service of each shall be the basis for determining whether they are in the same trade or business.

[T.D. 6500, 25 FR 11910, Nov. 26, 1960, as amended by T.D. 6598, 27 FR 4090, Apr. 28, 1962]

§1.851-3 Rules applicable to section 851(b)(4).

In determining the value of the taxpayer's investment in the securities of any one issuer, for the purposes of subparagraph (B) of section 851(b)(4), there shall be included its proper proportion of the investment of any other corporation, a member of a controlled group, in the securities of such issuer. See example (4) in § 1.851-5. For purposes of §§ 1.851-2, 1.851-4, 1.851-5, and 1.851-6, the terms "controls", "controlled group", and "value" have the meaning assigned to them by section 851(c). All other terms used in such sections have the same meaning as when used in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C., ch. 2D) or that act as amended.

§ 1.851-4 Determination of status.

With respect to the effect which certain discrepancies between the value of its various investments and the requirements of section 851(b)(4) and paragraph (c) of §1.851-2, or the effect that the elimination of such discrepancies will have on the status of a company as a regulated investment company for purposes of part I, subchapter M, chapter 1 of the Code, see section 851(d). A company claiming to be a regulated investment company shall keep sufficient records as to investments so as to be able to show that it has complied with the provisions of section 851 during the taxable year. Such records shall be kept at all times

Investment Company W owns all of the voting stock of Corporations A and B, 15 percent of the voting stock of Corporation C, and less than 10 percent of the voting stock of the other corporations. None of the corporations is a member of a controlled group. Investment Company W meets the requirements under section 851(b)(4) at the end of its first quarter. It complies with subparagraph (A) of section 851(b)(4) since it has 55 percent of its assets invested as provided in such subparagraph. It complies with subparagraph (B) of section 851(b)(4) since it does not have more than 25 percent of its assets invested in the securities of any one issuer, or of two or more issuers which it controls.

Example (2). Investment Company V at the close of a particular quarter of the taxable year has its assets invested as follows:

Investment Company X owns more than 20 percent of the voting power of Corporations B and C and less than 10 percent of the voting power of all of the other corporations. Corporation R manufactures radios and Corporation C acts as its distributor and also distributes radios for other companies. Investinent Company X fails to meet the requirements of subparagraph (B) of section 851(b)(4) since it has 35 percent of its assets invested in the securities of two issuers which it controls and which are engaged in related trades or businesses.

Example (4). Investment Company Y at the close of a particular quarter of the taxable year has its assets invested as follows:

Corporation K has 20 percent of its assets invested in Corporation L and Corporation L has 40 percent of its assets invested in Corporation B. Corporation A also has 30 percent of its assets invested in Corporation B, and owns more than 20 percent of the voting power in Corporation B. Investment Company Y owns more than 20 percent of the voting power of Corporations A and K. Corporation K owns more than 20 percent of the voting power of Corporation L, and Corporation L owns more than 20 percent of the voting power of Corporation L. Investment Company Y is disqualified under subparagraph (B) of section 851(b)(4) since more than 25 percent of its assets are considered invested in Corporation B as shown by the following calculation:

Example (5). Investment Company Z, which keeps its books and makes its returns on the basis of the calendar year, at the close of the first quarter of 1955 meets the requirements of section 851(b)(4) and has 20 percent of its assets invested in Corporation A. Later during the taxable year it makes distributions to its shareholders and because of such distributions it finds at the close of the taxable year that it has more than 25 percent of its remaining assets invested in Corporation A. Investment Company Z does not lose its status as a regulated investment company for the taxable year 1955 because of such distributions, nor will it lose its status as a regulated investment company for 1956 or any subsequent year solely as a result of such distributions.

Example (6). Investment Company Q, which keeps its books and makes its returns on the basis of a calendar year, at the close of the first quarter of 1955, meets the requirements of section 851(b)(4) and has 20 percent of its assets invested in Corporation P. At the close of the taxable year 1955, it finds that it has more than 25 percent of its assets invested in Corporation P. This situation results entirely from fluctuations in the market values of the securities in Investment Company Q's portfolio and is not due in whole or in part to the acquisition of any security or other property. Corporation Q does not lose its status as a regulated investment company for the taxable year 1955 because of such fluctuations in the market values of the securities in its portfolio, nor will it lose its status as a regulated investment company for 1956 or any subsequent year solely as a result of such market value fluctuations.

§ 1.851-6 Investment companies furnishing capital to development corporations.

(a) Qualifying requirements. (1) In the case of a regulated investment company which furnishes capital to development corporations, section 851 (e) provides an exception to the rule relating to the diversification of investments, made applicable to regulated investment companies by section 851(b)(4)(A). This exception (as pro