<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 B000000 12/31/97
000 C000000 0000002646
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0.a
000 J000000 A
001 A000000 AETNA INCOME SHARES
001 B000000 811-2361
001 C000000 8602754130
002 A000000 151 FARMINGTON AVENUE
002 B000000 HARTFORD
002 C000000 CT
002 D010000 06156
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 N
007 B000000 0
007 C010100 1
007 C010200 2
007 C010300 3
007 C010400 4
007 C010500 5
007 C010600 6
007 C010700 7
007 C010800 8
007 C010900 9
007 C011000 10
008 A000001 AETNA LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITY COMPANY
008 B000001 A
008 C000001 801-12643
008 D010001 HARTFORD
008 D020001 CT
008 D030001 06156
008 A000002 AELTUS INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC.
008 B000002 S
008 C000002 801-9046
008 D010002 HARTFORD
008 D020002 CT
008 D030002 06156
010 A000001 AETNA LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITY COMPANY
010 C010001 HARTFORD
010 C020001 CT
010 C030001 06156
011 A000001 AETNA LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITY COMPANY
011 B000001 8-13256
011 C010001 HARTFORD
<PAGE> PAGE 2
011 C020001 CT
011 C030001 06156
012 A000001 FIRSTAR TRUST COMPANY
012 B000001 85-00410
012 C010001 MILWAUKEE
012 C020001 WI
012 C030001 53201
012 C040001 0701
012 A000002 AETNA LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITY COMPANY
012 B000002 84-00000
012 C010002 HARTFORD
012 C020002 CT
012 C030002 06156
013 A000001 KPMG PEAT MARWICK LLP
013 B010001 HARTFORD
013 B020001 CT
013 B030001 06103
013 B040001 4103
014 A000001 AETNA LIFE INSURANCE AND ANNUITY COMPANY
014 B000001 8-15409
014 A000002 AETNA INVESTMENT SERVICES, INC.
014 B000002 8-46451
014 A000003 SYSTEMATIZED BENEFITS ADMINISTRATORS, INC.
014 B000003 8-37340
014 A000004 AELTUS CAPITAL, INC.
014 B000004 8-41464
014 A000005 AETNA FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC.
014 B000005 8-19393
015 A000001 MELLON BANK NA
015 B000001 C
015 C010001 PITTSBURGH
015 C020001 PA
015 C030001 15258
015 E010001 X
018 000000 Y
019 A000000 Y
019 B000000 25
019 C000000 AETNALIFEI
020 C000001 0
020 C000002 0
020 C000003 0
020 C000004 0
020 C000005 0
020 C000006 0
020 C000007 0
020 C000008 0
020 C000009 0
020 C000010 0
021 000000 0
022 A000001 LEHMAN BROTHERS, INC.
022 C000001 3279454
<PAGE> PAGE 3
022 D000001 3178906
022 A000002 GOLDMAN SACHS & CO.
022 C000002 2288271
022 D000002 2284737
022 A000003 FIRST BOSTON
022 C000003 1315700
022 D000003 1326699
022 A000004 MERRILL LYNCH
022 C000004 1138806
022 D000004 1177023
022 A000005 J.P. MORGAN
022 C000005 1035298
022 D000005 1026283
022 A000006 CITICORP
022 C000006 722681
022 D000006 693295
022 A000007 CITIBANK
022 C000007 189649
022 D000007 224781
022 A000008 MORGAN STANLEY & CO.
022 C000008 127602
022 D000008 85387
022 A000009 PRUDENTIAL FUNDING CORP.
022 C000009 106224
022 D000009 106240
022 A000010 BEAR STEARNS
022 C000010 64725
022 D000010 124071
023 C000000 10741665
023 D000000 10698393
024 000000 N
025 D000001 0
025 D000002 0
025 D000003 0
025 D000004 0
025 D000005 0
025 D000006 0
025 D000007 0
025 D000008 0
026 A000000 N
026 B000000 Y
026 C000000 Y
026 D000000 Y
026 E000000 N
026 F000000 N
026 G010000 N
026 G020000 N
026 H000000 N
027 000000 Y
028 A010000 1829
028 A020000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 4
028 A030000 0
028 A040000 6294
028 B010000 1937
028 B020000 0
028 B030000 0
028 B040000 7835
028 C010000 4974
028 C020000 0
028 C030000 0
028 C040000 3139
028 D010000 3678
028 D020000 0
028 D030000 0
028 D040000 5735
028 E010000 3040
028 E020000 0
028 E030000 0
028 E040000 3824
028 F010000 33404
028 F020000 23353
028 F030000 0
028 F040000 5416
028 G010000 48862
028 G020000 23353
028 G030000 0
028 G040000 32243
028 H000000 0
029 000000 N
030 A000000 0
030 B000000 0.00
030 C000000 0.00
031 A000000 0
031 B000000 0
032 000000 0
033 000000 0
034 000000 N
035 000000 0
036 B000000 0
037 000000 N
038 000000 0
039 000000 Y
040 000000 N
042 A000000 0
042 B000000 0
042 C000000 0
042 D000000 0
042 E000000 0
042 F000000 0
042 G000000 0
042 H000000 0
043 000000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 5
044 000000 0
045 000000 Y
046 000000 N
047 000000 Y
048 000000 0.400
048 A010000 0
048 A020000 0.000
048 B010000 0
048 B020000 0.000
048 C010000 0
048 C020000 0.000
048 D010000 0
048 D020000 0.000
048 E010000 0
048 E020000 0.000
048 F010000 0
048 F020000 0.000
048 G010000 0
048 G020000 0.000
048 H010000 0
048 H020000 0.000
048 I010000 0
048 I020000 0.000
048 J010000 0
048 J020000 0.000
048 K010000 0
048 K020000 0.000
049 000000 N
050 000000 N
051 000000 N
052 000000 N
053 A000000 N
054 A000000 Y
054 B000000 Y
054 C000000 Y
054 D000000 Y
054 E000000 Y
054 F000000 Y
054 G000000 Y
054 H000000 Y
054 I000000 Y
054 J000000 Y
054 K000000 Y
054 L000000 Y
054 M000000 Y
054 N000000 Y
054 O000000 Y
055 A000000 N
055 B000000 N
056 000000 Y
057 000000 N
<PAGE> PAGE 6
058 A000000 N
059 000000 Y
060 A000000 Y
060 B000000 Y
061 000000 0
062 A000000 Y
062 B000000 0.0
062 C000000 0.0
062 D000000 0.0
062 E000000 0.0
062 F000000 0.0
062 G000000 0.0
062 H000000 0.0
062 I000000 20.0
062 J000000 0.0
062 K000000 0.0
062 L000000 0.0
062 M000000 23.4
062 N000000 14.6
062 O000000 0.0
062 P000000 44.0
062 Q000000 2.4
062 R000000 0.7
063 A000000 0
063 B000000 11.0
064 A000000 N
064 B000000 N
066 A000000 N
067 000000 N
068 A000000 N
068 B000000 N
069 000000 N
070 A010000 Y
070 A020000 N
070 B010000 Y
070 B020000 N
070 C010000 Y
070 C020000 N
070 D010000 Y
070 D020000 N
070 E010000 Y
070 E020000 N
070 F010000 Y
070 F020000 N
070 G010000 Y
070 G020000 N
070 H010000 Y
070 H020000 N
070 I010000 N
070 I020000 N
070 J010000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 7
070 J020000 Y
070 K010000 Y
070 K020000 N
070 L010000 Y
070 L020000 Y
070 M010000 Y
070 M020000 N
070 N010000 Y
070 N020000 N
070 O010000 Y
070 O020000 N
070 P010000 N
070 P020000 N
070 Q010000 N
070 Q020000 N
070 R010000 Y
070 R020000 N
071 A000000 802657
071 B000000 778458
071 C000000 576969
071 D000000 135
072 A000000 12
072 B000000 43289
072 C000000 361
072 D000000 0
072 E000000 0
072 F000000 2576
072 G000000 516
072 H000000 0
072 I000000 0
072 J000000 0
072 K000000 0
072 L000000 0
072 M000000 0
072 N000000 0
072 O000000 0
072 P000000 0
072 Q000000 0
072 R000000 0
072 S000000 0
072 T000000 0
072 U000000 0
072 V000000 0
072 W000000 0
072 X000000 3092
072 Y000000 0
072 Z000000 40558
072AA000000 0
072BB000000 5834
072CC010000 2499
072CC020000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 8
072DD010000 40513
072DD020000 0
072EE000000 0
073 A010000 0.8020
073 A020000 0.0000
073 B000000 0.0000
073 C000000 0.0000
074 A000000 99
074 B000000 0
074 C000000 136971
074 D000000 578045
074 E000000 4515
074 F000000 0
074 G000000 0
074 H000000 0
074 I000000 0
074 J000000 23
074 K000000 0
074 L000000 9694
074 M000000 0
074 N000000 729347
074 O000000 0
074 P000000 0
074 Q000000 0
074 R010000 0
074 R020000 0
074 R030000 0
074 R040000 44386
074 S000000 0
074 T000000 684961
074 U010000 53303
074 U020000 0
074 V010000 12.85
074 V020000 0.00
074 W000000 0.0000
074 X000000 416
074 Y000000 0
075 A000000 0
075 B000000 642269
076 000000 0.00
077 A000000 Y
077 B000000 Y
077 C000000 N
077 D000000 N
077 E000000 N
077 F000000 N
077 G000000 N
077 H000000 N
077 I000000 N
077 J000000 N
077 K000000 N
<PAGE> PAGE 9
077 L000000 N
077 M000000 N
077 N000000 N
077 O000000 N
077 P000000 N
077 Q010000 Y
077 Q020000 N
077 Q030000 N
078 000000 N
080 A000000 NATIONAL UNION FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY
080 B000000 GULF INSURANCE COMPANY
080 C000000 15000
081 A000000 Y
081 B000000 45
082 A000000 N
082 B000000 0
083 A000000 N
083 B000000 0
084 A000000 N
084 B000000 0
085 A000000 Y
085 B000000 N
086 A010000 0
086 A020000 0
086 B010000 0
086 B020000 0
086 C010000 0
086 C020000 0
086 D010000 0
086 D020000 0
086 E010000 0
086 E020000 0
086 F010000 0
086 F020000 0
SIGNATURE J. SCOTT FOX
TITLE PRESIDENT
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<CIK> 0000002646
<NAME> AETNA INCOME SHARES FUND
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> 12-MOS
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> DEC-31-1997
<PERIOD-START> JAN-01-1997
<PERIOD-END> DEC-31-1997
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 704,969,011
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 719,531,511
<RECEIVABLES> 9,716,440
<ASSETS-OTHER> 98,960
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 729,346,911
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 41,050,764
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 0
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 3,335,654
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 44,386,418
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 673,733,207
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 53,302,798
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 50,995,995
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 2,498,642
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> 0
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> (5,833,856)
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> 14,562,500
<NET-ASSETS> 684,960,493
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 360,767
<INTEREST-INCOME> 43,289,145
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> (3,091,614)
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 40,558,298
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 3,644,569
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> 7,019,888
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> 51,222,755
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> (40,513,113)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 4,174,206
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> (5,037,165)
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 3,169,762
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> 41,231,064
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 2,453,457
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> (9,478,425)
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 2,576,345
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 0
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 3,091,614
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 642,269,074
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 12.623
<PER-SHARE-NII> 0.801
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> 0.228
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (0.802)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 12.850
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 0.48
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 0
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 0
</TABLE>
Filed July 16, 1997
AMENDMENT TO
DECLARATION OF TRUST
OF
AETNA INCOME SHARES
Amending and Restating Articles 5.2 and 5.3 of the Declaration of Trust
The undersigned, being a duly elected and qualified Trustee of Aetna Income
Shares (the "Trust"), a Massachusetts business trust, acting pursuant to
Section 11.3 and of the Declaration of Trust (the "Declaration of Trust")
dated January 25, 1984, the shareholder of the Trust, upon approval and
recommendation of the Board of Trustees of the Trust, on June 17, 1996,
approved the amendment and restatement of Articles 5.2 and 5.3 of the
Declaration of Trust as follows:
5.2. Non-Liability of Trustees, and Others.
The exercise by the Trustees of their powers and discretion hereunder
shall
be binding upon everyone interested. A Trustee shall be liable to the Trust
and the Shareholders for such Trustee's own willful misfeasance, bad faith,
gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct
of the office of Trustee, and for nothing else, and shall not be liable for
errors of judgment or mistakes of fact and law. Subject to the foregoing,
the Trustees shall not be responsible or liable in any event for any neglect
or wrongdoing of any officer, agent, employee, consultant, adviser,
administrator, distributor or principal underwriter, custodian or transfer,
dividend disbursing, shareholder servicing or accounting agent of the Trust,
nor shall any Trustee be responsible for the act or omission of any other
Trustee. Furthermore, no officer, employee or agent of the Trust shall be
liable to the Trust, its Shareholders, or to any Shareholder, Trustee,
officer, employee, or agent for any action or failure to act (including
the failure to compel in
any way any former or acting Trustee to redress any breach of trust),
except upon a showing of bad faith, willful misfeasance, gross negligence or
reckless disregard of duties.
5.3. Indemnification.
The Trust shall indemnify its Trustees and officers, and any person who
serves at the request of the Trust as a director, officer, employee or agent
of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise
as follows:
(a) Every person who is or has been a Trustee or officer of the Trust
and
persons who serve at the Trust's request as director or officer of another
corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise shall be
indemnified by the Trust to the fullest extent permitted by law against
liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid in connection
with any debt, claim, action, demand, suit, proceeding, judgment, decree,
liability or obligation of any kind in which he or she becomes involved as
party or otherwise
by virtue of being or having been a Trustee or officer of the Trust
or of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other
enterprise at the request of the Trust and against amounts paid or incurred
in the settlement thereof.
(b) The words "claim," "action," "suit" or "proceeding" shall apply to
all
claims, actions, suits or proceedings (civil, criminal, administrative,
legislative, investigative or other, including appeals), actual or
threatened, and the words "liability" and "expenses" shall include, without
limitation, attorneys' fees, costs, judgments, amounts paid in settlement,
fines, penalties and other liabilities.
(c) No indemnification shall be provided hereunder to a Trustee, officer,
employee or agent against any liability to the Trust or its shareholders by
reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless
disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of office.
(d) The right of indemnification herein provided may be insured against by
policies maintained by the Trust, shall be severable, shall not affect any
other rights to which any Trustee, officer, employee or agent may now or
hereafter be entitled, shall continue as to a person who has ceased to be
such Trustee, officer, employee or agent and shall inure to the benefit of
the heirs, executors and administrators of such a person.
(e) In the absence of a final decision on the merits by a court or other
body before which such proceeding was brought, an indemnification payment
will not be made, except as provided in paragraph (f) of this Article, unless
in the absence of such a decision, a reasonable determination based upon a
factual review has been made (1) by a majority vote of a quorum of non-party
Trustees who are not interested persons of the Trust, or (2) by independent
legal counsel in a written opinion that the indemnitee was not liable for an
act of
willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of
duties.
(f) The Trust further undertakes that advancement of expenses incurred in
the defense of a proceeding (upon undertaking for repayment unless it is
ultimately determined that indemnification is appropriate) against a Trustee
or officer of the Trust will not be made absent the fulfillment of at least
one of the following conditions: (i) the indemnitee provides security for
his undertaking, (ii) the Trust is insured against losses arising by reason
of any lawful advances or (iii) a majority of a quorum of disinterested
non-party Trustees
or independent legal counsel in a written opinion shall have
determined, based on a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a
full trial-type inquiry) that there is reason to believe the indemnitee
ultimately will be entitled to indemnification.
(g) No amendment of this Declaration or repeal of any of its provisions
shall limit or eliminate the rights of indemnification provided hereunder
with respect to acts or omission occurring prior to such amendment or repeal.
The foregoing shall be effective as of June 17, 1996.
Shaun P. Mathews, Trustee and President
2
5253AIS.DOC