Question: When a statutory trust registers the offer and sale of beneficial units in multiple series, or a limited partnership registers the offer and sale of limited partnership interests in multiple series, on a single registration statement, should each series be treated as a separate registrant?

Answer: No. Even though a series of beneficial units or limited partnership interests may represent interests in a separate or discrete set of assets – and not in the statutory trust or limited partnership as a whole – unless the series is a separate legal entity, it cannot be a co-registrant for Securities Act or Exchange Act purposes. For these types of offerings, the disclosure in the Securities Act registration statement or Exchange Act report should be presented on a series basis, including series-level (1) financial statements and audit opinions, (2) business and property descriptions, (3) risk factor disclosure, and (4) evaluations and disclosure about the effectiveness of disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls and procedures. In addition, materiality determinations generally should be made at the series level. While the “Controls and Procedures” section of the periodic report (Item 9A in the 10-K and Item 4 in the 10-Q) should clarify that the scope of the evaluation and disclosure covers each series individually, as well as the registrant as a whole, the certifications required by Exchange Act Rule 13a-14(a) or 15d-14(a) may not be modified and must be made in the form required. [Apr. 24, 2009]