SEC Division of Investment Management staff letter: Touchstone Variable Series Trust

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON. D.C. 20549
DIVISION OF
INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT
October 22,2008
John Ford
Pepper Hamilton LLP
3000 Two Logan Square
Eighteenth and Arch Streets
Philadelphia, PA 191 03-2799
Re: Touchstone Investment Trust-Institutional Money Market Fund and Money Market Fund (File No. 81 1-02538) Touchstone Variable Series Trust-Money Market Fund (File No. 81 1-0841 6) Dear Mr. Ford:
Your letter of September 26,2008 requests our assurance that we would not recommend that the Commission take any enforcement action under Sections 17(a)', 17(d)~ and 12(d)(313 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act"), and the rules thereunder, if Touchstone Investment Trust ("TINT"), on behalf of its separate series Institutional Money Market Fund ("TINT MMF") and Money Market Fund (together with the TINT MMF, the "TINT Funds"), Touchstone Variable Series Trust ("TVST"), on behalf of its separate series Money Market Fund ("TVST MMF") (together with the TINT Funds, the "Funds"), and Touchstone Advisors, Inc. ("Touchstone"), enter into the arrangement summarized below and more fully described in the letter. Touchstone is the investment adviser to the Funds and therefore is an affiliated person as defined in Section 2(a)(3) of the Act. 1 Section 17(a)(l) generally makes it unlawful for any affiliated person of a registered investment company, or an affiliated person of such person, acting as principal, to knowingly sell any security or other property to the registered investment company. 2 Section 17(d) generally makes it unlawfil for any affiliated person of a registered investment company, or any affiliated person of such a person, acting as principal, to effect any transaction in which the registered investment company is ajoint or joint and several participant with such person in contravention of rules and regulations adopted by the Commission. 3 Section 12(d)(3) generally makes it unlawful for any registered investment company to acquire any security issued by, or any interest in the business of, any broker-dealer, any person engaged in the business of underwriting, or an investment adviser of an investment company, or an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.