A 4818 - August 25, 1998

Important Notice

A 4818 - August 25, 1998
P&S 4382

TO: ALL PARTICIPANTS

ATTENTION: MANAGER MUTUAL FUNDS OPERATIONS; MANAGER DATA PROCESSING, MANAGER CASHIERS, MANAGER P&S DEPARTMENT, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS; MANAGER CUSTOMER ACCOUNT TRANSFER DEPARTMENT

SUBJECT: UPDATED TESTING SCHEDULE OF THE AUTOMATED CUSTOMER ACCOUNT TRANSFER SERVICE (ACATS) - FUND/SERV INTERFACE

National Securities Clearing Corporation’s (NSCC) Fund/SERV system provides the mutual fund industry with an automated and centralized method for processing mutual fund orders, account registrations and centralized net settlement. The Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS) expedites the transfer of customer accounts from firm to firm. The ACATS-Fund/SERV interface facilitates the automated re-registration of mutual fund assets that are transferred through the ACATS system.

NSCC recently revised some of the dates associated with the implementation and testing of the redesigned ACATS system. For information regarding the implementation please refer to Important Notice A4792 dated June 30, 1998 for firm participants, and Important Notice A4796 dated July 15, 1998 for fund participants.

In reviewing the testing schedule, NSCC has determined that it will provide more testing time for ACATS-Fund/SERV than indicated in Important Notice A4796 dated July 15, 1998. NSCC will offer specific testing opportunities, which will correspond with the two implementation phases of the ACATS-Fund/SERV modifications. The information found in this Important Notice pertains to the revised testing schedule of the ACATS-Fund/SERV link.

The implementation on November 16, 1998, for fund participants, is for format changes to the following ACATS-Fund/SERV Records:

Transfer Re-Registration (Record Type 018)
Transfer Acknowledgment/Rejection (Record Type 019)
Transfer Reminder (Record Type 080)

Testing to correspond with this phase (for funds only) is scheduled for October 19 - November 13, 1998, in the Participant Test (PT) region. See Appendix A for information on the format testing.

The second phase of testing, to correspond with firm participants’ implementation of the ACATS redesign on January 25,1999, will allow fund and firm partnering for the new ACATS data. This partnering was scheduled to begin on December 14, 1998; test partnering will now be made available from November 16, 1998 – January 21, 1999. NSCC’s Participant Test (PT) region will be used by the mutual fund industry to test these changes to the ACATS-Fund/SERV link. See Appendix B for details about the participant test.

In addition to the two phases of testing mentioned above, NSCC has provided canned ACATS-Fund/SERV registration and reminder output to the funds as of August 03, 1998. See Appendix C for details about the canned data. Please note: This information is unchanged from what is described in Important Notice A4796.

Special Note to Fund/SERV Original (Six-Digit) Format Users

An update has been made to the six-digit fixed format of the Enhanced ACATS Transfer Acknowledgment/Rejection (Record Type 019) as of August 14, 1998. In record 2 of 2, the filler in position 5 – 7 was erroneously stated as position 5 – 8. The Actual Share Quantity Transferred was portrayed as 13 positions and should be 14 positions starting in position 8.

An update has also been made to the six-digit variable format of the Enhanced ACATS Transfer (Record Type 018). The offsets starting from the Alternate Payable 2 Reason (position 1081) were incorrect. Please check the layouts on the NSCC website www.y2000.org./nscc for the correct offsets.

Please review the layouts on the web to ensure that you have the latest version of the formats.

Updated Schedule of Events

The following is a summary of the events described in this Important Notice. The changes to the schedule from Important Notice A4796 are in bold face.

Date	Event	Participant Affected
August 03, 1998	First day for canned output for funds. (See Appendix C)	Funds only
August 03, 1998	First day for funds to contact the Participant Test Group for test setup. (See Appendix B)	Funds only
October 19, 1998 – November 13, 1998	Fund testing of ACATS-Fund/SERV format changes (See Appendix A)	Funds only
November 16, 1998	First day of mandatory format changes for ACATS-Fund/SERV link	Funds only
November 16, 1998	First day for firm participant testing of ACATS redesign.	Firms only
November 16, 1998 – January 21, 1999	Fund/firm testing of mutual fund re-registrations.	Funds and Firms
January 25, 1999	First day for ACATS redesign.	First day of system changes for firms. First time for firm-inputted data in fund layouts.

Related Important Notices

Details of the redesigned ACATS and ACATS Fund/SERV interface have been outlined in the following Important Notices:

Important Notice A4649 dated September 12, 1997: Details of the redesigned ACATS and ACATS Fund/SERV Interface.

Important Notice A4699 dated December 29, 1997: Further details regarding the ACATS-Fund/SERV interface.

Important Notice A4726 dated February 27, 1998: Updates to the ACATS-Fund/SERV link.

Important Notice A4736 dated March 17th, 1998: Updates to the ACATS layouts.

Important Notice A4773 dated May 26, 1998: Detailed information on firm testing of the ACATS redesign.

Important Notice A4792 dated June 30, 1998: Notification of the schedule change to the ACATS redesign.

Important Notice A4796 dated July 15, 1998: Notification of the testing and implementation schedule for ACATS-Fund/SERV.

All the Important Notices are available on NSCC’s website at www.nssc.com

Any questions pertaining to this Important Notice can be directed to NSCC’s Participant Services at (212) 412-8432, the Mutual Fund Hotline at (212) 412-8893, your account manager, or the undersigned at (212) 412-8843.

Barbara Simon
Director, Marketing

Appendix A: Format Testing Information

Fund participants will have an opportunity to test their format changes for the November 16, 1998 implementation, in the Participant Test (PT) region. ACATS Re-Registrations from production (Record Type 018) will be passed to the funds in the PT region. Acknowledgments/Rejections (Record Type 019) from the funds can be submitted into the PT region. Reminders (Record Type 080) will be generated where appropriate.

The fund has the opportunity to request that only a specific number of transfers or "all" production transfers be passed to the PT region. In addition, the fund may request that every day’s transfers or any combination of day’s transfers be passed. For example, a fund can request that 10 transfers from Monday and Tuesday be passed to the fund in the PT region.

This test is not partner testing with firms. These acknowledgments will not be passed through ACATS to the firms. The purpose of the test is for the funds to verify their November 16, 1998 format changes only. Funds will receive a reject from NSCC if the Acknowledgments/Rejections (Record Type 019) format is incorrect. If the format is valid, it will be dropped from the test region.

Please see Appendix B section 5 for the Fund/SERV DATATRAK SYSIDS and AutoRoute Product Ids that will be used for the ACATS-FUND/SERV format test.

Steps for Funds to Follow for ACATS-Fund/SERV Format Testing

The fund participant must fill out the ACATS-Fund/SERV Test Member Form (Please see Appendix D.) The fund must specify start and end dates for testing.
In the special instructions, the fund should indicate whether it wants the entire ACATS transfer file ("ALL") or just a certain number of transfers. In addition, the instructions should indicate whether the fund wants every day of the week or specific days’ data.
The fund participant must fax the form to the SIAC Participant Test Group (PTG) at (212) 383-5433.
PTG will notify the fund of the information needed to test, and the date testing can begin.
The fund should fax SIAC Enterprise Services Center at (212) 383-1298 with any questions that arise during the testing period. The questions will be answered via phone or fax. Please use the form in Appendix F to submit your questions.

PTG can be contacted now at (212) 383-4891 to begin test set-up with proper DATATRAK and AutoRoute numbers. Funds are encouraged to contact SIAC PTG as soon as possible. This will provide SIAC with sufficient set-up time and funds with ample testing time.

Appendix B: Participant Testing Information

Same as described in Important Notice A4796 except where boldfaced.

1. Getting Started

To facilitate the testing process, the fund should identify a firm test partner. If you need assistance identifying a firm test partner, please review the ACATS coordinator list found at acats.nscc.com and fundserv.nscc.com or contact your NSCC account manager.

The fund and firm will agree on the accounts and CUSIPS to be used in the test. The funds must ensure that the agreed upon CUSIPS are set up in the Participant Test (PT) region by filling out the CUSIP profile form. (See Appendix E). Please allow one week to set up new test CUSIPS. Funds should also ensure that their test systems are set up with the agreed upon account numbers.

Beginning August 3, 1998, fund participants can contact the SIAC Participant Test Group (PTG) at (212) 383-4891 to begin the process of establishing connectivity into the PT region. The proper forms should be filled out to specify the applicable DATATRAK SYSIDS, AutoRoute Product Ids, and CUSIPS to be used in the test. (See forms in Appendix D and Appendix E).

Review Appendix B, section 5 for the Fund/SERV DATATRAK SYSIDS and AutoRoute Product Ids that will be used for the ACATS-FUND/SERV participant test.

2. Participant Testing

Starting on November 16, 1998, firms are strongly encouraged to submit registration information (found on the ACATS FR record) that will be passed by ACATS into the Fund/SERV PT region. This information will be used to create the ACATS Re-Registrations (Record Type 018) which will be passed to the funds from the PT region. The funds will submit Acknowledgments/Rejections (Record Type 019) into the PT region, which will then be passed to the firms as ACATS Fund Statistics (F Record). The fund will receive ACATS Reminders (Record Type 080) for seven days if the ACATS transfer is not acknowledged.

3. Steps for Funds to Follow for ACATS-Fund/SERV Participant Testing

The fund participant must fill out the ACATS-Fund/SERV Test Member Profile and CUSIP forms (see Appendix D and Appendix E).
The fund participant must fax the form to PTG at (212) 383-5433.
PTG will notify the fund of the information needed to test, and the date that testing can begin.
The fund should fax SIAC Enterprise Services Center at (212) 383-1298 with any questions that arise during the testing period. The questions will be answered via phone or fax. Please use the form in Appendix F to submit your questions.

Appendix B: Participant Testing Information (continued)

4. Timing

The Fund/SERV system will operate in the PT region from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. The end of the day is considered 5 PM. Any input transmission occurring after 5 PM should contain the next business day date in the DATATRAK header record.

Sending the registration record to the fund depends on the timing of the ACATS system. Therefore, the registration that typically will get to the funds at approximately 8 PM in production can be part of either the last cycle of the day or the first cycle of the next day in the PT region.

Following is the ACATS-Fund/SERV Participant Test Region schedule.

Input Time		Extract Time	AutoRoute File	Cycle	Recipient Communicat. Level	Data Included
From	To	Extract Time	AutoRoute File	Cycle	Recipient Communicat. Level	Data Included
7:00 am	8:00 am	8:15 am	02980361	1	Multi-batch	Registration, rejected ack
8:00 am	9:15 am	9:30 am	02980361	2	Multi-batch	Registration, rejected ack
9:15 am	11:00 am	11:15 am	02980361	14	Multi-batch	Registration, rejected ack
11:00 am	12:30 pm	12:45 pm	02980361	15	Multi-batch	Registration, rejected ack
12:30 pm	2:00 pm	2:15 pm	02980361	17	Multi-batch	Registration, rejected ack
2:00 pm	3:00 pm	3:15 pm	02980361	98	Multi-batch	Registration, rejected ack
					Single-batch	Registration, rejected ack
		3:20 pm	02980362	None	Multi-batch	Registration, rejected ack, Reminders
					Single- batch	Registration, rejected ack, Reminders
3:00 pm	4:00 pm	4:15 pm	02980363	1	Multi-batch	Registration, rejected ack
4:00 pm	4:45 pm	5:00 pm	02980363	98	Multi-batch	Registration, rejected ack
					Single- batch	Registration, rejected ack

Note: Column 'Input Time From To' refers to multi-batch recipients only. Single batch recipients will get all the data (of the specified type) they have not received up to the specified output time.

5. ACATS-Fund/SERV Participant Test Files

a. FUND/SERV INPUT FILES

DATATRAK SYSID	FILE DESCRIPTIONS
41122 (6-digit date) 41126 (Y2K)	Fund Input – Fixed Length (Acknowledgment Record 019)
43122 (6-digit date and Y2K)	Fund Input – Variable Length (Acknowledgment Record 019)

b. FUND/SERV OUTPUT FILES

AUTOROUTE PRODUCT (Same for Fixed or Variable)	FILE DESCRIPTIONS
02980361 (6-digit date) 02982361 (Y2K)	Multi-batch Cycle 1,2,14,15,17, 98(last) (Registration Record 018, Rejected Record 019 Acknowledgments)
02980362 (6-digit date) 02982362 (Y2K)	Multi-batch Reminders Record 080, Registration Record 018, Rejected Record 019 Acknowledgments
02980363(6-digit date) 02982363 (Y2K)	Late Multi-batch Cycle 1, 98(last) (Registration Record 018, Rejected Record 019 Acknowledgments)

Appendix C: Canned Data

Beginning August 3, 1998, funds can receive canned output data for ACATS-Fund/SERV Transfer Re-Registrations (Record Type 018) and for ACATS-Fund/SERV Transfer Reminders (Record Type 080). Please contact the Participant Test Group (PTG) at (212) 383-4891 to receive the canned data.

The canned data files are part of the Fund/SERV canned output that exists currently. The following examples will be provided:

Pre 1/25/99 Registration Record. This will be an example of a registration (type 018) record with spaces in the new ACATS redesigned fields.
Post 1/25/99 Registration Record. This will be an example of a registration (type 018) record populated with ACATS redesigned data.
Redesigned Default Registration Record. This will be an example of the new data passed in the default registration (type 018) record.
Six-digit date Reminder Record. This will be an example of a six-digit date (type 080) record. This record will be populated in the same manner before and after the ACATS redesign implementation on 1/25/99.
Pre 1/25/99 eight-digit date Y2K Record. This will be an example of an eight-digit date ACATS reminder (type 080) record prior to the redesign implementation.
Post 1/25/99 eight-digit date Y2K Record. This will be an example of an eight-digit date ACATS reminder (type 080) record after the redesign implementation.

Canned Output Files:

AUTOROUTE PRODUCT (Same for Fixed or Variable)	FILE DESCRIPTIONS
02990361 (6-digit date) 02992361 (Y2K)	Registration Record 018 data examples: Pre 1/25/99 (12-digit control number), Post 1/25/99 (20-digit control number), Redesigned Default Registration
02990362 (6-digit date) 02992362 (Y2K)	Reminder Record 080 examples: Six-digit date reminder, Pre 1/25/99 eight-digit date Y2K, Post 1/25/99 eight-digit date Y2K

Appendix D: (available on the web at fundserv.nssc.com)

ACATS Fund/SERV TEST

MEMBER PROFILE UPDATE

TO: SIAC Participant Test Group (PTG)
TODAY’S DATE:

New York, NY 10041
(212) 383-4891
(212) 383-5433 (FAX)

Attn: Florence Santiago

ADD MODIFY THE FIRM NUMBER SHOWN BELOW TO THE TEST PROFILE
MEMBER NUMBER: FUND	DATE OF TEST: FROM ------------------- TO -------------------
NAME OF MEMBER:
INPUT: SINGLE MULTI INTERACTIVE DATATRAK SYSIDS: 41122 (6-digit date Fixed) 41126 (Y2K Fixed) 43122 (Variable – Y2k and 6-digit date)
OUTPUT: SINGLE MULTI INTERACTIVE AUTOROUTE PRODUCTS: 02980361 (6-digit date multi-cycle registrations) 02980362 (6-digit reminders) 02980363 (6-digit late file) 02982361 (Y2K multi-cycle registrations) 02982362 (Y2K reminders) 02982363 (Y2K late file)
TESTING PARTNER(S) NAMES & MEMBER NUMBER(S):
PURPOSE OF TEST: ACATS–Fund/SERV Fund Format Testing ACATS–Fund/SERV Fund/Firm Participant Testing for ACATS Redesign
RECEIVE EMPTY FILES: NO (NO AUTOROUTE HEADERS) (This is the default setup) YES (INCLUDES AUTOROUTE HEADERS)
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:

Primary Contact: __________________________________________________________________

Telephone number: ________________________________________________________________

Appendix E: (available on the web at fundserv.nssc.com)

ACATS Fund/SERV TEST

CUSIP PROFILE UPDATE

TO: SIAC PTG
TODAY’S DATE:

New York, NY 10041
(212) 383-4891
(212) 383-5433 (FAX)

Attn: Florence Santiago

ADD DELETE MODIFY THE CUSIP NUMBER SHOWN BELOW TO THE PARTICIPANT TEST CUSIP PROFILE
CUSIP NUMBER: EXISTS IN PRODUCTION TEST CUSIP ONLY	DATE OF TEST: FROM ------------------- TO -------------------
NAME OF FUND (CUSIP)
SECURITY TYPE LOAD FUND NO-LOAD FUND MONEY MARKET FUND UIT
CURRENCY TYPE USD (SAME DAY SETTLEMENT) USN (NEXT DAY SETTLEMENT)
SETTLEMENT CYCLE (IN BUSINESS DAYS)
ORDERS DAYS FROM TRADE DATE	CASH ADJUSTMENTS DAYS FROM CASH ADJ. INPUT
AS-OF ORDERS DAYS FROM CONFIRM DATE	EXCHANGES DAYS FROM EXCH. INPUT
DISTRIBUTION TYPE MONTHLY QUARTERLY SEMI-ANNUAL ANNUAL OTHER
FUND DISTRIBUTOR/CLEARING NUMBER
FUND DISTRIBUTOR/CLEARING NAME
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS:

ACATS Fund/SERV TEST

CUSIP PROFILE UPDATE

SPECIAL PROCESSING REQUIREMENTS

PROCESSING CUT-OFF TIME (NYT) FOR MONEY MARKET CUSIPS ONLY

PURCHASES REDEMPTIONS

AS-OF PROCESSING RANGE (IN CALENDAR DAYS)

REGISTRATION PROCESS INDICATOR PEND TO SEND WHEN

SETTLEMENT RECEIVED

ACAT-FUND/SERV ELIGIBILITY INDICATOR

YES NO

EXCHANGE INDICATOR

YES NO

CROSS MEMBER EXCHANGE OPTION

YES NO

CROSS EXCHANGE MEMBER NUMBER

CROSS EXCHANGE MEMBER NAME

ACATS Fund/SERV TEST

CUSIP PROFILE UPDATE

ALTERNATE ORDER SETTLEMENT INDICATOR YES NO
ALTERNATE SETTLEMENT CYCLE (IN BUSINESS DAYS)
ALTERNATE SETTLEMENT FIRMS
CLEARING NUMBER	FIRM NAME	CLEARING NUMBER	FIRM NAME










ALTERNATE TRANSFER AGENT OPTION YES NO
ALTERNATE TRANSFER AGENT FIRMS/EXECUTING FIRMS
FIRM NAME OR SYMBOL	FIRM NAME	FIRM NUMBER OR SYMBOL	FIRM NAME

Authorized signature: ___________________________________________________________________

Telephone number: ____________________________________________________________________

Appendix F: (available on the web at fundserv.nscc.com)

ACATS Fund/SERV TEST

Fund Participant Questions

TO: SIAC Enterprise Services Center
(212) 383-1298 (FAX)

TO BE FILLED OUT BY FUND PARTICIPANT:

FUND PARTICIPANT NUMBER:	DATE SUBMITTED: INQUIRY TRACKING NUMBER: (PARTICIPANT NUMBER + UNIQUE NUMBER)
FUND PARTICIPANT NAME:
INPUT QUESTIONS ON DATATRAK SYSIDS: 41122 (6-digit date Fixed) 41126 (Y2K Fixed) 43122 (Variable – Y2k and 6-digit date)
OUTPUT QUESTIONS ON AUTOROUTE PRODUCTS: 02980361 (6-digit date multi-cycle registrations) 02980362 (6-digit reminders) 02980363 (6-digit late file) 02982361 (Y2K multi-cycle registrations) 02982362 (Y2K reminders) 02982363 (Y2K late file)
QUESTION:
FIRM CONTACT: PHONE NUMBER: FAX NUMBER:

TO BE COMPLETED BY ESC:

ASSIGNED TO:

RESOLUTION & DATE:

DATE FIRM CONTACTED WITH RESULTS: