67 FR 232 pgs. 71999-72000 - Existing Collection; Comment Request
Type: NOTICEVolume: 67Number: 232Pages: 71999 - 72000
FR document: [FR Doc. 02-30530 Filed 12-2-02; 8:45 am]
Agency: Securities and Exchange Commission
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Existing Collection; Comment Request
Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, Washington, DC 20549.
Extension:
Rule 31a-1, SEC File No. 270-173, OMB Control No. 3235-0178
Rule 18f-3, SEC File No. 270-385, OMB Control No. 3235-0441
Rule 498, SEC File No. 270-435, OMB Control No. 3235-0488
Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. 3501-3520], the Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") is soliciting comments on the collections of information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit these existing collections of information to the Office of Management and Budget ("OMB") for extension.
Rule 31a-1 [17 CFR 270.31a-1] under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Act") is entitled "Records to be maintained by registered investment companies, certain majority-owned subsidiaries thereof, and other persons having transactions with registered investment companies." Rule 31a-1 requires registered investment companies ("funds"), and every underwriter, broker, dealer, or investment adviser that is a majority-owned subsidiary of a fund, to maintain and keep current accounts, books, and other documents which constitute the record forming the basis for financial statements required to be filed pursuant to section 30 of the Act [15 U.S.C. 80a-30] and of the auditor's certificates relating thereto. The rule lists specific records to be maintained by funds. The rule also requires certain underwriters, brokers, dealers, depositors, and investment advisers to maintain the records that they are required to maintain under federal securities laws.
There are approximately 4,500 investment companies registered with the Commission, all of which are required to comply with rule 31a-1. For purposes of determining the burden imposed by rule 31a-1, the Commission staff estimates that each registered investment company is divided into approximately four series, on average, and that each series is required to comply with the recordkeeping requirements of rule 31a-1. Based on conversations with fund representatives, it is estimated that rule 31a-1 imposes an average burden of approximately 1,400 hours annually per series for a total of 5,600 annual hours per investment company. The estimated total annual burden for all 4,500 investment companies subject to the rule therefore is approximately 25,200,000 hours. Based on conversations with fund representatives, however, the Commission staff estimates that even absent the requirements of rule 31a-1, most of the records created pursuant to the rule are the type that generally would be created as a matter of normal business custom and to prepare financial statements.
Section 18(f)(1)1of the Act2prohibits registered open-end management investment companies from issuing any senior security. Rule 18f-3 under the Act3exempts from section 18(f)(1) a fund that issues multiple classes of shares representing interests in the same portfolio of securities (a "multiple class fund") if the fund satisfies the conditions of the rule. In general, each class must differ in its arrangement for shareholder services or distribution or both, and must pay the related expenses of that different arrangement.
Footnotes:
1 15 U.S.C. 80a-18(f)(1).
2 15 U.S.C. 80a.
3 17 CFR 270.18f-3.
The rule includes one requirement for the collection of information. A multiple class fund must prepare and fund directors must approve a written plan setting forth the separate arrangement and expense allocation of each class, and any related conversion features or exchange privileges ("rule 18f-3 plan").4Approval of the plan must occur before the fund issues any shares of multiple classes, and whenever the fund materially amends the plan. In approving the plan, a majority of the fund board, including a majority of the fund's independent directors, must determine that the plan is in the best interests of each class and the fund as a whole.
Footnotes:
4 Rule 18f-3(d).
The requirement that the fund prepare and directors approve a written rule 18f-3 plan is intended to ensure that the fund compiles information relevant to the fairness of the separate arrangement and expense allocation for each class, and that directors review and approve the information. Without a blueprint that highlights material differences among classes, directors might not perceive potential conflicts of interests when they determine whether the plan is in the best interests of each class and the fund. In addition, the plan may be useful to Commission staff in reviewing the fund's compliance with the rule.
There are approximately 516 multiple class funds.5Based on a review of typical rule 18f-3 plans, the Commission's staff estimates that the 516 funds together make an average of 258 responses each year to prepare and approve a written rule 18f-3 plan, requiring approximately 18.5 hours per response, and a total of 4,773 burden hours per year in the aggregate.6Preparation of the rule 18f-3 plan may require 11 hours of the services of an attorney or accountant, at a cost of approximately $130 per hour for professional time, and approval of the plan may require 1.5 hours of the attention of each of 5 directors, at a cost of approximately $500 per hour per director. The staff therefore estimates that the aggregate annual cost of complying with the paperwork requirements of the rule is approximately $1,336,440 ((11 hours × 1 professional × 258 responses x $130) + (1.5 hours × 5 directors × 258 responses × $500)).
Footnotes:
5 This estimate is based on data from Form N-SAR, the semi-annual report that funds file with the Commission.
6 The estimate reflects the assumption that each multiple class fund prepares and approves a rule 18f-3 plan every two years when issuing a new class or amending a plan (or that 258 of all 516 funds prepare and approve a plan each year). The estimate assumes that the time required to prepare a plan is 11 hours per plan (or 2,838 hours for 258 funds annually), and the time required to approve a plan is an additional 1.5 hours per director per plan (or 1,935 hours for 258 funds annually (assuming five directors per fund)).
The estimated annual burden of 4,773 hours represents an increase of 3,260.5 hours over the prior estimate of 1,512.5 hours. The increase in burden hours is attributable to more accurate estimates of the burden hours that reflect additional time spent by professionals and time spent by directors. The estimated number of multiple class funds has decreased, however, from 550 to 516.
Rule 498 of the Securities Act of 1933 [17 C.F.R. 230.498] permits open-end management investment companies (or a series of an investment company organized as a series company, which offers one or more series of shares representing interests in separate investment portfolios) to provide investors with a "profile" that contains a summary of key information about a fund, including the fund's investment objectives, strategies, risks and performance, and fees, in a standardized format. The profile provides investors the option of buying fund shares based on the information in the profile or reviewing the fund's prospectus before making an investment decision. Investors purchasing shares based on a profile receive the fund's prospectus prior to or with confirmation of their investment in the fund.
Consistent with the filing requirement of a fund's prospectus, a profile must be filed with the Commission thirty days before first use. Such a filing allows the Commission to review the profile for compliance with rule 498. Compliance with the rule's standardized format assists investors in evaluating and comparing funds.
It is estimated that approximately 16 initial profiles and 316 updated profiles are filed with the Commission annually. The Commission estimates that each profile contains on average 1.25 portfolios, resulting in 20 portfolios filed annually on initial profiles and 395 portfolios filed annually on updated profiles. The number of burden hours for preparing and filing an initial profile per portfolio is 25. The number of burden hours for preparing and filing an updated profile per portfolio is 10. The total burden hours for preparing and filing initial and updated profiles under rule 498 is 4,450, representing a decrease of 2,660 hours from the prior estimate of 7,110. The reduction in burden hours is attributable to the lower number of profiles actually prepared and filed as compared to the previous estimates.
The estimate of average burden hours is made solely for the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act, and is not derived from a comprehensive or even a representative survey or study. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.
Written comments are requested on: (a) Whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information has practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden[s] of the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 days of this publication.
Please direct your written comments to Kenneth A. Fogash, Acting Associate Executive Director/CIO, Office of Information Technology, Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 5th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20549.
Dated: November 21, 2002.
Margaret H. McFarland,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 02-30530 Filed 12-2-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P