Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 51867-51868 [06-7300]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 169 / Thursday, August 31, 2006 / Notices Section 213.3339 United States International Trade Commission TCGS60030 Confidential Assistant to a Commissioner. Effective July 24, 2006. Section 213.3343 Administration Office of Personnel Management. Dan G. Blair, Deputy Director. [FR Doc. E6–14490 Filed 8–30–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6325–39–P Farm Credit FLOT60013 Executive Assistant to a Member, Farm Credit Administration Board. Effective July 18, 2006. Section 213.3344 Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Proposed Collection; Comment Request SHGS00004 Confidential Assistant to a Commission Member. Effective July 19, 2006. Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, Washington, DC 20549. Section 213.3351 Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission Extension: Rule 15a–5; SEC File No. 270– 527; OMB Control No. 3235–0587. FRGS60017 Confidential Assistant to the Chairman. Effective July 7, 2006. Section 213.3360 Consumer Product Safety Commission PSGS60064 Special Assistant (Legal) to a Commissioner. Effective July 25, 2006. Section 213.3373 Trade and Development Agency TDGS60002 Congressional Liaison to the Director. Effective July 5, 2006. Section 213.3384 Department of Housing and Urban Development DUGS60330 Special Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development. Effective July 13, 2006. DUGS60293 Staff Assistant to the President, Government National Mortgage Association. Effective July 17, 2006. DUGS60502 Special Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing. Effective July 17, 2006. DUGS60213 Staff Assistant to the Assistant Secretary for Policy Development and Research. Effective July 20, 2006. Section 213.3394 Transportation Department of erjones on PROD1PC72 with NOTICES DTGS60372 Deputy Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs to the Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs. Effective July 17, 2006. Section 213.3371 Office of Government Ethics GGGS02900 Confidential Assistant to the Director. Effective July 21, 2006. Authority: 5 U.S.C. 3301 and 3302; E.O. 10577, 3 CFR 1954–1958 Comp., p. 218. VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:29 Aug 30, 2006 Jkt 208001 Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the ‘‘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 and approval. Section 15(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a– 15(a)) (the ‘‘Investment Company Act’’ or ‘‘Act’’) prohibits any person from serving as an investment adviser (or a subadviser) to a fund except under a written contract that the fund’s shareholders have approved. The Commission has granted exemptive relief, by order, to a number of registered open-end management investment companies (‘‘funds’’) whose investment advisers do not directly manage a portfolio of securities, but instead supervise one or more subadvisers, which are themselves responsible for the day-to-day management of the funds’ portfolios (‘‘manager of managers funds’’).1 Sponsors have analogized subadvisers in a manager of managers arrangement to portfolio managers employed by a fund adviser who may be hired and fired without the consent of shareholders. Proposed Rule 15a–5 (17 CFR 270.15a–5) and amendments to Form N– 1A (17 CFR 239.15A, 17 CFR 274.11A) together would codify the orders we have issued for manager of managers funds, including many of their 1 In this notice, we use the term ‘‘subadviser’’ to mean a party that contracts with a fund’s principal adviser to provide investment advisory services to the fund, and the term ‘‘principal adviser’’ to mean a party that contracts directly with a fund to provide investment advisory services to the fund. PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 51867 conditions, allowing any fund that satisfies the conditions to enter into or materially amend a subadvisory contract without shareholder approval. To provide for the protection of fund shareholders, a fund that relied on the proposed rule would have to satisfy a number of conditions, some of which would result in information collection requirements. For example, any fund that relied on the proposed rule would have to include certain provisions in all its advisory and subadvisory contracts. Specifically, all the fund’s subadvisory contracts for which shareholder approval is not sought would have to provide the principal adviser with the authority to terminate the subadvisory contract at any time, on no more than 60 days written notice, without payment of penalty.2 In addition, the advisory contract between each principal adviser and the fund would have to require that the principal adviser supervise the activities of its subadvisers. These provisions are intended to ensure that only manager of managers funds (in which subadvisers resemble and perform the duties of a portfolio manager in a typical fund) are eligible for relief under the proposed rule and to allow the principal adviser to carry out its principal duties to the fund, the selection and monitoring of subadvisers, in an efficient manner. During the first year after adoption of the rule, Commission staff estimates that each fund relying on the rule would incur an initial one-time burden to modify its existing contract with the principal adviser to require the principal adviser to supervise the activities of its subadvisers. Staff estimates this burden would be 5 hours per fund (4 hours by in-house counsel, 0.5 hours by fund directors, 0.5 hours by support staff).3 Commission staff estimates that 149 funds would have to modify their advisory contracts with their principal advisers to comply with the proposed rule, which would result in an estimated total of 745 burden hours and 149 responses.4 2 Most subadvisory contracts already contain terms that allow the principal adviser to terminate the contract at any time. We therefore estimate there would be no burden hours or costs imposed on funds by this requirement. 3 These estimates are based on discussions with fund representatives. 4 These 149 funds include 125 funds that currently rely on exemptive orders, 14 funds that have filed an application for an exemptive order and, as explained infra note 5, 10 additional funds that we estimate would choose to rely on the proposed rule during the first year. E:\FR\FM\31AUN1.SGM 31AUN1 51868 Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 169 / Thursday, August 31, 2006 / Notices erjones on PROD1PC72 with NOTICES Commission staff estimates that after the first year, approximately 10 funds 5 would spend, on average, 5 hours annually (4 hours by in-house counsel, 0.5 hours by fund directors, 0.5 hours by support staff) to modify their advisory contracts with their principal advisers to comply with the proposed rule. Thus, the Commission estimates these modifications would result in a total of 50 burden hours and 10 responses. The proposed rule also would require funds to provide shareholders (and file with the Commission) an information statement within 90 days after entry into the subadvisory contract or after making a material change to a wholly-owned subsidiary’s existing subadvisory contract. The information statement must describe the agreement and contain all of the information that shareholders would have received in a proxy statement had a shareholder vote been held. This information collection is needed to ensure that shareholders are aware of the identity of the subadvisers that would be making investment decisions for the fund and the terms of each subadvisory contract. During the first 3 years after adoption of the proposed rule, Commission staff estimates that 179 funds 6 would each spend 20 hours 7 annually in preparing and distributing information statements. The total annual estimate for complying with the third party disclosure requirement of rule 15a–5 would be 3580 burden hours and 358 responses. To arrive at the total information collection burden, staff has calculated a weighted average of the first year burden and the annual burden thereafter. Using a three-year period, the 5 Based on the number of manager of managers applications submitted since 1995, the staff estimates that 20 additional funds would seek to rely on the proposed rule each year. Approximately 10 of those funds would be funds whose securities have already been publicly offered, and therefore would need to modify their advisory contracts with principal advisers. We estimate that the 10 new funds that would rely on the proposed rule would incur no additional burden or costs to include these provisions in the initial advisory contract. 6 Commission staff estimates that 159 funds (including 125 funds that currently rely on exemptive orders, 14 funds that have filed an application for an exemptive order, and 20 additional funds that would have filed for exemptive relief during the first year after the rule’s adoption) would rely on the proposed rule during the first year after its adoption. After the first year, the staff estimates that each year 20 additional funds would rely on the proposed rule. 7 Based on discussions with fund representatives, the Commission estimates that on average each fund would hire 2 new subadvisers per year. Therefore, funds would be required to send to shareholders 2 information statements per year. Based on discussions with fund representatives, the Commission estimates that each fund would spend 10 hours to prepare and mail each information statement. VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:29 Aug 30, 2006 Jkt 208001 estimated weighted annual average information collection burden is 3862 hours 8 and 414 responses.9 The collections of information required by proposed rule 15a–5 would be voluntary because rule 15a–5 is an exemptive rule and, therefore, funds may choose not to rely on the proposed rule. The filings with the Commission required under the proposed rule would be available to the public. 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 control number. Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden 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 R. Corey Booth, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O Shirley Martinson, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312 or send am e-mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Dated: August 23, 2006. Jill M. Peterson, Assistant Secretary. [FR Doc. 06–7300 Filed 8–30–06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8010–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Upon written request, copies available from: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, Washington, DC 20549. Extension: Rule 6c–7; SEC File No. 270–269; OMB Control No. 3235–0276. 8 This estimate is based on the following calculation: (4325 hours (year 1) + 3630 hours (year 2) + 3630 hours (year 3)) ÷ 3 = 3861.6 hours. 9 This estimate is based on the following calculation: (507 responses (year 1) + 368 responses (year 2) + 368 responses (year 3)) ÷ 3 = 414.3 responses. PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘‘Commission’’) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (‘‘OMB’’) a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information discussed below. Rule 6c–7 (17 CFR 270.6c–7) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–1 et seq.) (‘‘1940 Act’’) provides exemption from certain provisions of Sections 22(e) and 27 of the 1940 Act for registered separate accounts offering variable annuity contracts to certain employees of Texas institutions of higher education participating in the Texas Optional Retirement Program. There are approximately 80 registrants governed by Rule 6c–7. The burden of compliance with Rule 6c–7, in connection with the registrants obtaining from a purchaser, prior to or at the time of purchase, a signed document acknowledging the restrictions on redeemability imposed by Texas law, is estimated to be approximately 3 minutes per response for each of approximately 2,600 purchasers annually (at an estimated $70 per hour), for a total annual burden of 130 hours (at a total annual cost of $9,100). Rule 6c–7 requires that the separate account’s registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) include a representation that Rule 6c–7 is being relied upon and is being complied with. This requirement enhances the Commission’s ability to monitor utilization of and compliance with the rule. There are no recordkeeping requirements with respect to Rule 6c–7. 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 of the costs of Commission rules or forms. The Commission does not include in the estimate of average burden hours the time preparing registration statements and sales literature disclosure regarding the restrictions on redeemability imposed by Texas law. The estimate of burden hours for completing the relevant registration statements are reported on the separate PRA submissions for those statements. (See the separate PRA submissions for Form N–3 (17 CFR 274.11b) and Form N–4 (17 CFR 274.11c). Complying with the collection of information requirements of the rules is necessary to obtain a benefit. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a E:\FR\FM\31AUN1.SGM 31AUN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 169 (Thursday, August 31, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51867-51868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-7300]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, Washington, DC 
20549.

Extension: Rule 15a-5; SEC File No. 270-527; OMB Control No. 3235-
0587.

    Notice is hereby given that pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (the ``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 and approval.
    Section 15(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-
15(a)) (the ``Investment Company Act'' or ``Act'') prohibits any person 
from serving as an investment adviser (or a subadviser) to a fund 
except under a written contract that the fund's shareholders have 
approved. The Commission has granted exemptive relief, by order, to a 
number of registered open-end management investment companies 
(``funds'') whose investment advisers do not directly manage a 
portfolio of securities, but instead supervise one or more subadvisers, 
which are themselves responsible for the day-to-day management of the 
funds' portfolios (``manager of managers funds'').\1\ Sponsors have 
analogized subadvisers in a manager of managers arrangement to 
portfolio managers employed by a fund adviser who may be hired and 
fired without the consent of shareholders.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ In this notice, we use the term ``subadviser'' to mean a 
party that contracts with a fund's principal adviser to provide 
investment advisory services to the fund, and the term ``principal 
adviser'' to mean a party that contracts directly with a fund to 
provide investment advisory services to the fund.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Proposed Rule 15a-5 (17 CFR 270.15a-5) and amendments to Form N-1A 
(17 CFR 239.15A, 17 CFR 274.11A) together would codify the orders we 
have issued for manager of managers funds, including many of their 
conditions, allowing any fund that satisfies the conditions to enter 
into or materially amend a subadvisory contract without shareholder 
approval. To provide for the protection of fund shareholders, a fund 
that relied on the proposed rule would have to satisfy a number of 
conditions, some of which would result in information collection 
requirements.
    For example, any fund that relied on the proposed rule would have 
to include certain provisions in all its advisory and subadvisory 
contracts. Specifically, all the fund's subadvisory contracts for which 
shareholder approval is not sought would have to provide the principal 
adviser with the authority to terminate the subadvisory contract at any 
time, on no more than 60 days written notice, without payment of 
penalty.\2\ In addition, the advisory contract between each principal 
adviser and the fund would have to require that the principal adviser 
supervise the activities of its subadvisers. These provisions are 
intended to ensure that only manager of managers funds (in which 
subadvisers resemble and perform the duties of a portfolio manager in a 
typical fund) are eligible for relief under the proposed rule and to 
allow the principal adviser to carry out its principal duties to the 
fund, the selection and monitoring of subadvisers, in an efficient 
manner.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ Most subadvisory contracts already contain terms that allow 
the principal adviser to terminate the contract at any time. We 
therefore estimate there would be no burden hours or costs imposed 
on funds by this requirement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    During the first year after adoption of the rule, Commission staff 
estimates that each fund relying on the rule would incur an initial 
one-time burden to modify its existing contract with the principal 
adviser to require the principal adviser to supervise the activities of 
its subadvisers. Staff estimates this burden would be 5 hours per fund 
(4 hours by in-house counsel, 0.5 hours by fund directors, 0.5 hours by 
support staff).\3\ Commission staff estimates that 149 funds would have 
to modify their advisory contracts with their principal advisers to 
comply with the proposed rule, which would result in an estimated total 
of 745 burden hours and 149 responses.\4\
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    \3\ These estimates are based on discussions with fund 
representatives.
    \4\ These 149 funds include 125 funds that currently rely on 
exemptive orders, 14 funds that have filed an application for an 
exemptive order and, as explained infra note 5, 10 additional funds 
that we estimate would choose to rely on the proposed rule during 
the first year.

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[[Page 51868]]

    Commission staff estimates that after the first year, approximately 
10 funds \5\ would spend, on average, 5 hours annually (4 hours by in-
house counsel, 0.5 hours by fund directors, 0.5 hours by support staff) 
to modify their advisory contracts with their principal advisers to 
comply with the proposed rule. Thus, the Commission estimates these 
modifications would result in a total of 50 burden hours and 10 
responses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \5\ Based on the number of manager of managers applications 
submitted since 1995, the staff estimates that 20 additional funds 
would seek to rely on the proposed rule each year. Approximately 10 
of those funds would be funds whose securities have already been 
publicly offered, and therefore would need to modify their advisory 
contracts with principal advisers. We estimate that the 10 new funds 
that would rely on the proposed rule would incur no additional 
burden or costs to include these provisions in the initial advisory 
contract.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The proposed rule also would require funds to provide shareholders 
(and file with the Commission) an information statement within 90 days 
after entry into the subadvisory contract or after making a material 
change to a wholly-owned subsidiary's existing subadvisory contract. 
The information statement must describe the agreement and contain all 
of the information that shareholders would have received in a proxy 
statement had a shareholder vote been held. This information collection 
is needed to ensure that shareholders are aware of the identity of the 
subadvisers that would be making investment decisions for the fund and 
the terms of each subadvisory contract.
    During the first 3 years after adoption of the proposed rule, 
Commission staff estimates that 179 funds \6\ would each spend 20 hours 
\7\ annually in preparing and distributing information statements. The 
total annual estimate for complying with the third party disclosure 
requirement of rule 15a-5 would be 3580 burden hours and 358 responses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ Commission staff estimates that 159 funds (including 125 
funds that currently rely on exemptive orders, 14 funds that have 
filed an application for an exemptive order, and 20 additional funds 
that would have filed for exemptive relief during the first year 
after the rule's adoption) would rely on the proposed rule during 
the first year after its adoption. After the first year, the staff 
estimates that each year 20 additional funds would rely on the 
proposed rule.
    \7\ Based on discussions with fund representatives, the 
Commission estimates that on average each fund would hire 2 new 
subadvisers per year. Therefore, funds would be required to send to 
shareholders 2 information statements per year. Based on discussions 
with fund representatives, the Commission estimates that each fund 
would spend 10 hours to prepare and mail each information statement.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To arrive at the total information collection burden, staff has 
calculated a weighted average of the first year burden and the annual 
burden thereafter. Using a three-year period, the estimated weighted 
annual average information collection burden is 3862 hours \8\ and 414 
responses.\9\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ This estimate is based on the following calculation: (4325 
hours (year 1) + 3630 hours (year 2) + 3630 hours (year 3)) / 3 = 
3861.6 hours.
    \9\ This estimate is based on the following calculation: (507 
responses (year 1) + 368 responses (year 2) + 368 responses (year 
3)) / 3 = 414.3 responses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The collections of information required by proposed rule 15a-5 
would be voluntary because rule 15a-5 is an exemptive rule and, 
therefore, funds may choose not to rely on the proposed rule. The 
filings with the Commission required under the proposed rule would be 
available to the public. 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 control number.
    Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
the burden 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 R. Corey Booth, Director/
Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O 
Shirley Martinson, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312 
or send am e-mail to: PRA--Mailbox@sec.gov.

    Dated: August 23, 2006.
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 06-7300 Filed 8-30-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
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