Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Rule 14e-5

July 11, 2013

Response of the Office of Mergers and Acquisitions
Division of Corporation Finance

Via Facsimile and U.S. Mail
W. John McGuire, Esq.
Bingham McCutchen LLP
2020 K Street, NW
Washington, DC 20006

RE: AdvisorShares Trust and Tender Offer for Shares of Funds

Dear Mr. McGuire:

We are responding to your letter requesting exemptive and no-action relief dated July 9, 2013 and addressed to Michele M. Anderson and Daniel F. Duchovny as supplemented by telephone conversations with the staff. To avoid having to recite or summarize the facts set forth in your letter, our response is attached to the enclosed photocopy of your correspondence. Unless otherwise noted, capitalized terms in this letter have the same meaning as in your July 9, 2013 correspondence.

On the basis of the representations made and the facts presented in your July 9, 2013 letter, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) hereby grants an exemption from Rule 14e-5 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The exemption from Rule 14e-5 permits any person acting as a dealer-manager of a tender offer for a security contained in a Creation Basket or a Redemption Basket to either redeem Shares of a Fund in “Creation Unit” size aggregations to a Fund for a Creation Basket or a Redemption Basket that may include a security subject to the tender offer and/or purchase the Shares of a Fund in the secondary market during such tender offer.

In addition, on the basis of the representations made and the facts presented in your July 9, 2013 letter, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance will not recommend that the Commission take enforcement action under Rule 14e-5 if a broker-dealer acting as a dealer-manager of a tender offer for a Portfolio Security held by a Fund purchases or arranges to purchase shares of such Portfolio Security in the secondary market for the purpose of tendering them to purchase one or more Creation Units of Shares of a Fund, as described in your letter.

In granting this relief, we note in particular that:

• any bids, purchases or redemptions by dealer-managers would not be effected for the purpose of facilitating a tender offer;
   
• any purchases of a Portfolio Security by a dealer-manager during a tender offer will be effected as adjustments to a basket of securities in the ordinary course of business as a result of the composition of a Fund’s portfolio; and
   
• except for the relief specifically granted herein, any person acting as a dealer-manager of a tender offer will comply with Rule 14e-5.

The foregoing exemptive and no-action relief is based solely on the representations and the facts presented in your letter, as supplemented by telephone conversations with the Commission staff. The relief granted is strictly limited to the application of the rule listed above to the transactions described in your letter. You should discontinue these transactions pending further consultations with the staff if any of the facts or representations set forth in your letter change. In addition, this position is subject to modification or revocation if at any time the Commission or the Division of Corporation Finance determines that such action is necessary or appropriate in furtherance of the purposes of the Exchange Act.

We also direct your attention to the anti-fraud and anti-manipulation provisions of the federal securities laws, including Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Exchange Act, and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The participants in the transactions contemplated by your letter must comply with these and any other applicable provisions of the federal securities laws. The Division of Corporation Finance expresses no view on any other questions that may be raised by these transactions, including but not limited to, the adequacy of disclosure concerning and the applicability of any other federal or state laws to such transactions.

Incoming Letter:

The Incoming Letter is in Acrobat format.

http://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/cf-noaction/2013/advisorshares-trust-071113-14e5.htm