220.01 After the written trading plan described in Q&A 120.11 has been in effect for several months, the broker that has been executing plan sales goes out of business at a time when the person is aware of material nonpublic information. The person wishes to continue sales under the plan pursuant to its original terms. The person may transfer plan transactions to a different broker without being deemed to have cancelled the original plan and adopted a new plan if the transfer to the new broker is timed so that there is no cancellation of any transaction scheduled in the original plan, and the new broker effects sales in accordance with the original plan’s terms in compliance with Rule 10b5-1(c). [Mar. 25, 2009]

220.02 A company sought to establish a stock repurchase plan that would comply with Rules 10b5-1(c)(1) and 10b-18. Most shares would be repurchased through open market transactions, but the company intended to negotiate repurchase of at least one large block of stock through a privately negotiated transaction. The company proposed that the plan provide for an automatic reduction in the aggregate number of shares authorized for repurchase under the plan equal to the number of shares, if any, that the company discloses in Form 10-Q, Part II, Item 2 that it has repurchased in privately negotiated transactions. The broker executing plan repurchases would review company filings to determine the amount of any such repurchases that had been disclosed. Because this would give the issuer the potential to effectively modify the plan by doing the block trades while aware of material nonpublic information, the Division staff took the view that the Rule 10b5-1(c) affirmative defense would not be available. Question 120.14, which provides that delegation of discretion to a broker to reduce the number of shares to be sold under a trading plan to comply with the Rule 144(e) volume limitations, was distinguished because the reductions in Question 120.14 reflect limitations imposed by law rather than an exercise of discretion by the seller. [Mar. 25, 2009]