Please wait
KIRKPATRICK
& LOCKHART PRESTON GATES ELLIS LLP
State
Street Financial Center
One
Lincoln Street
Boston,
Massachusetts 02111
VIA
EDGAR
Christian
T. Sandoe, Esq.
Securities
and Exchange Commission
Washington,
DC 20549
| |
Re:
|
Definitive
Proxy Filing |
| |
|
|
The
Endowment Master Fund, L.P. (811-21527)
|
| |
|
|
The
Endowment Registered Fund, L.P. (811-21528)
|
| |
|
|
The
Endowment TEI Fund, L.P.
(811-21730)
|
Dear
Mr.
Sandoe:
We
have
received the Staff’s comments, provided on July 30, on the preliminary proxy
filing made by each of the above-captioned funds (each
a
"Fund," and collectively, the "Funds"). We
respectfully submit this response letter on behalf of the Funds. The Funds
have
each filed a definitive proxy, which reflects changes in response to the Staff’s
comments, as described below. The response is a joint response to the comments
in light of the fact that the disclosure for each of the Funds is substantially
identical. Defined terms have the same meanings used by the
Funds in
their registration statements.
For the Staff’s convenience, we have repeated each comment below, followed by
the response.
Comment:
1. In
the
cover letter, under “Proposal One,” it appears that either a sentence or a
reference to the transaction, which is first mentioned in the second sentence
of
the paragraph, has been deleted.
Response:
1. The
second sentence of the paragraph has been edited to make a reference to the
occurrence of the transaction.
Comment:
2. In
the
Proxy Statement, on page 2, under “Background” in Proposal 1, reference to
“Fund” in the first sentence should be a reference to “Master
Fund.”
Response:
2. The
reference has been corrected.
Comment:
3. In
the
Proxy Statement, under “Background” in Proposal 1, please include (i) the date
of the Prior Subadvisory Agreement, and (ii) the last time the Prior Subadvisory
Agreement was submitted to Partners (and the purpose for such
submission).
Response:
3. The
requested changes have been made.
Comment:
4. In
the
Proxy Statement, under Proposal 2, please begin the first sentence of the first
paragraph with “As a closed-end fund, . . .”
Response:
4. The
requested change has been made.
Comment:
5. Under
Proposal 2, in the discussion under “Proposed Revised Liquidity Definitions,”
please add a statement or discussion addressing whether certain Investment
Funds
currently in one existing liquidity category may fall into a different category
of liquidity following any approval of the proposal.
Response:
5. The
requested changes have been made, and the following disclosure has been
added:
As
a
result, the proposed liquidity categories do not match the existing categories,
and will be renamed to avoid potential confusion. In addition, the changes
likely will result in certain Investment Funds in which the Master Fund
currently invests being placed in a different liquidity category.
Comment:
6. Under
Proposal 2, in the discussion under “Proposed Revised Liquidity Definitions,”
please explain in the text how the Proposed Liquidity Definitions relate to
the
Current Liquidity Definitions and consider using the same terms (e.g., Liquid
Funds, Semi-Liquid Funds) in the new categories.
Response:
6. Additional
disclosure has been added per the response to Comment 5. Please note that it
has
been determined not to use the existing category names if the proposal is
approved. This is intended to avoid any possible confusion and to remove any
suggestion that the Investment Funds currently deemed to be in the “Liquid”
category are other than relatively illiquid investments. In addition, as raised
in the Staff’s comment 5 above and in the response to comment 5, certain
Investment Funds likely will move to different liquidity categories, which
are
not directly comparable, which could create confusion if category names were
retained.
Comment:
7. Under
“Board Considerations” regarding Proposal 1, please include, as required by Item
22(c) of Schedule 14A, a discussion of the conclusions that the Master Fund’s
board of directors reached when approving the New Subadvisory Agreement. The
disclosure should include the factors set forth in Item 22(c) and avoid a list
of considerations without conclusions.
Response:
7. The
requested changes have been made.
Comment:
8. Under
“Board Considerations” regarding Proposals 2 and 3, please include an
explanation of the phrase “illiquidity premium.”
Response:
8. The
requested change has been made.
Comment:
9. Under
“Board Considerations” regarding Proposals 2 and 3, please add, if appropriate,
a discussion of any changes to the Master Fund’s risk profile that will result
from approval of the proposals.
Response:
9. As
disclosed in the Proxy Statement, the changes are largely being put forth in
reaction to changes in liquidity terms of underlying Investment Funds, rather
than any intended change in the Master Fund’s risk profile. As a supplemental
response, a number of the Investment Funds in which the Master Fund currently
invests have, as indicated in the presentation of the proposal, lengthened
lock-up periods for investments. New allocations by the Master Fund to such
Investment Funds (which would be subject to new lock-up periods), which may
be
made if the proposals are approved, will not alter the Master Fund’s existing
risk profile, but may be prohibited under the existing categories.
Comment:
10. Under
“Voting,” in the sixth paragraph of the section, please add “by the Master
Fund’s board of directors on behalf of” following “This solicitation is being
made by . . .”
Response:
10. The
requested change has been made.
Comment:
11. Under
“Voting,” or where appropriate, please indicate (i) the record date, (ii) the
number of shareholders and (ii) the number of votes each investor
receives.
Response:
11. The
Record Date has been inserted into the Notice and the Proxy Statement, in the
blanks indicated for that date. In addition, at the beginning of the “Voting”
section, the amount of interests in each Fund outstanding and entitled to vote
has been included, along with a reference to the statement, appearing later
in
the section, that Partners are entitled to cast a number of votes equivalent
to
the Partner’s investment percentage as of the Record Date.
*
*
*
In
addition to the above matters, all dates have been included in, and corrections
of certain definitional inconsistencies and similar stylistic edits have been
made to, the definitive filing.
If
there
are any questions, please contact me at 617.261.3231.
| |
|
Sincerely,
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
/s/
George J. Zornada
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| |
|
George
J. Zornada
|
|
-4-