Proposed Collection; Comment Request, 8911-8912 [E8-2873]

Download as PDF rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 32 / Friday, February 15, 2008 / Notices international cooperation, enforcement practices, and the legal framework for IPR enforcement. A principal goal of the ACTA would be to establish, among governments committed to strong IPR protection, a common standard for IPR enforcement to combat global infringements of IPR particularly in the context of counterfeiting and piracy that addresses today’s challenges, in terms of increasing international cooperation, strengthening the framework of practices that contribute to effective enforcement of IPRs, and strengthening relevant IPR enforcement measures themselves. A fact sheet providing further details on the ACTA can be found on the USTR Web site at: https://www.ustr.gov/assets/ Document_Library/ Reports_Publications/2007/ asset_upload_file122_13414.pdf. Requirements for Comments: Comments should address specific matters that should be covered by the ACTA in the areas of (a) international cooperation; (b) enforcement practices; and (c) legal framework. Comments should be as detailed as possible. Comments must be in English. No submissions will be accepted via postal service mail. Documents should be submitted as either WordPerfect, MS Word, Adobe, or text (.TXT) files. Supporting documentation submitted as spreadsheets is acceptable as Quattro Pro or Excel files. A submitter requesting that information contained in a comment be treated as confidential business information must certify that such information is business confidential and would not customarily be released to the public by the submitter. A non-confidential version of the comment must also be provided. For any document containing business confidential information, the file name of the business confidential version should begin with the characters ‘‘BC-’’, and the file name of the public version should begin with the character ‘‘P-’’. The ‘‘P-’’ or ‘‘BC-’’ should be followed by the name of the submitter. Submissions should not include separate cover letters; information that might appear in a cover letter should be included in the submission itself. To the extent possible, any attachments to the submission should be included in the same file as the submission itself, and not as separate files. All comments should be sent (i) electronically, to the following e-mail address: ACTA@ustr.eop.gov, with ‘‘Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA): Request for Comments’’ in the subject line, or (ii) by fax, to Rachel Bae, at (202) 395–9458, with a confirmation VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:58 Feb 14, 2008 Jkt 214001 copy sent electronically to the e-mail address above. Public Inspection of Submissions: Within one business day of receipt, nonconfidential submissions will be placed in a public file, open for inspection at the USTR reading room, Office of the United States Trade Representative, Annex Building, 1724 F Street, NW., Room 1, Washington, DC. An appointment to review the file must be scheduled at least 48 hours in advance and may be made by calling Jacqueline Caldwell at (202) 395–6186. The USTR reading room is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 12 noon and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Stanford K. McCoy, Acting Assistant USTR for Intellectual Property and Innovation. [FR Doc. E8–2944 Filed 2–14–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3190–W8–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Proposed Collection; Comment Request Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549–0213. Extension: Rule 12d3–1; SEC File No. 270–504; OMB Control No. 3235–0561. 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 for extension and approval. Section 12(d)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a) generally prohibits registered investment companies (‘‘funds’’), and companies controlled by funds, from purchasing securities issued by a registered investment adviser, broker, dealer, or underwriter (‘‘securitiesrelated businesses’’). Rule 12d3–1 ‘‘Exemption of acquisitions of securities issued by persons engaged in securities related businesses’’ (17 CFR 270.12d3– 1) permits a fund to invest up to five percent of its assets in securities of an issuer deriving more than fifteen percent of its gross revenues from securities-related businesses, but a fund may not rely on rule 12d3–1 to acquire securities of its own investment adviser PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 8911 or any affiliated person of its own investment adviser. A fund may, however, rely on an exemption in rule 12d3–1 to acquire securities issued by its subadvisers in circumstances in which the subadviser would have little ability to take advantage of the fund, because it is not in a position to direct the fund’s securities purchases. The exemption in rule 12d3–1(c)(3) is available if (i) the subadviser is not, and is not an affiliated person of, an investment adviser that provides advice with respect to the portion of the fund that is acquiring the securities, and (ii) the advisory contracts of the subadviser, and any subadviser that is advising the purchasing portion of the fund, prohibit them from consulting with each other concerning securities transactions of the fund, and limit their responsibility in providing advice with respect to discrete portions of the fund’s portfolio. The Commission staff estimates that 3583 portfolios of approximately 649 fund complexes use the services of one or more subadvisers. Based on discussions with industry representatives, the staff estimates that it requires approximately 6 hours to draft and execute revised subadvisory contracts allowing funds and subadvisers to rely on the exemptions in rule 17a–10.1 The staff assumes that all existing funds amended their advisory contracts following the adoption of rule 17a–10 in 2002 that conditioned certain exemptions upon these contractual alterations, and therefore there is no continuing burden for those funds.2 Based on an analysis of fund filings, the staff estimates that approximately 600 fund portfolios enter into subadvisory agreements each year.3 Based on discussions with industry representatives, the staff estimates that it will require approximately 3 attorney hours 4 to draft and execute additional 1 Rules 12d3–1, 10f–3, 17a–10, and 17e–1 require virtually identical modifications to fund advisory contracts. The Commission staff assumes that funds would rely equally on the exemptions in these rules, and therefore the burden hours associated with the required contract modifications should be apportioned equally among the four rules. 2 We assume that funds formed after 2002 that intended to rely on rule 17a–10 would have included the contract provision in their initial subadvisory contracts. 3 The use of subadvisers has grown rapidly over the last several years, with approximately 600 portfolios that use subadvisers registering between December 2005 and December 2006. Based on information in Commission filings, we estimate that 31 percent of funds are advised by subadvisers. 4 The Commission staff’s estimates concerning the wage rates for attorney time are based on salary information for the securities industry compiled by the Securities Industry Association. The $292 per hour figure for an attorney is from the SIA Report E:\FR\FM\15FEN1.SGM Continued 15FEN1 8912 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 32 / Friday, February 15, 2008 / Notices clauses in new subadvisory contracts in order for funds and subadvisers to be able to rely on the exemptions in rule 17a–10. Because these additional clauses are identical to the clauses that a fund would need to insert in their subadvisory contracts to rely on rules 10f–3, 12d3–1, and 17e–1, and because we believe that funds that use one such rule generally use all of these rules, we apportion this 3 hour time burden equally to all four rules. Therefore, we estimate that the burden allocated to rule 17a–10 for this contract change would be 0.75 hours.5 Assuming that all 600 funds that enter into new subadvisory contracts each year make the modification to their contract required by the rule, we estimate that the rule’s contract modification requirement will result in 450 burden hours annually, with an associated cost of approximately $131,400.6 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, VA 22312; or send an email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Dated: February 7, 2008. Florence E. Harmon, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. E8–2873 Filed 2–14–08; 8:45 am] rwilkins on PROD1PC63 with NOTICES BILLING CODE 8011–01–P on Management & Professional Earnings in the Securities Industry 2006, modified to account for an 1800-hour work-year and multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee benefits and overhead. 5 This estimate is based on the following calculation (3 hours ÷ 4 rules = .75 hours). 6 These estimates are based on the following calculations: (0.75 hours × 600 portfolios = 450 burden hours); ($292 per hour × 450 hours = $131,400 total cost). VerDate Aug<31>2005 15:58 Feb 14, 2008 Jkt 214001 SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549–0213. Extension: Rule 17a–4; OMB Control No. 3235–0279; SEC File No. 270–198. 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 a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information for Rule 17a–4 (17 CFR 240.17a–4). Rule 17a–4 requires approximately 5,791 active, registered exchange members, brokers and dealers (‘‘brokerdealers’’) to preserve for prescribed periods of time certain records required to be made by Rule 17a–3 (17 CFR 240.17a–3) and other Commission rules, and other kinds of records which firms make or receive in the ordinary course of business. Rule 17a–4 also permits broker-dealers to employ, under certain conditions, electronic storage media to maintain these required records. The records required to be maintained under Rule 17a–4 are used by examiners and other representatives of the Commission to determine whether broker-dealers are in compliance with, and to enforce their compliance with, the Commission’s rules. The staff estimates that the average number of hours necessary for each broker-dealer to comply with Rule 17a– 4 is 254 hours annually. Thus, the total burden for broker-dealers is 1,470,914 hours annually. The staff believes that compliance personnel would be charged with ensuring compliance with Commission regulation, including Rule 17a–4. The staff estimates that the hourly salary of a compliance manager is $245 per hour.1 Based upon these numbers, the total cost of compliance for 5,791 respondents is the dollar cost is approximately $360.4 million (1,470,914 yearly hours × $245). 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. 1 This figure is based on the SIFMA Report on Office Salaries In the Securities Industry 2006 (Compliance Manager). PO 00000 Frm 00069 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503 or by sending an e-mail to: Alexander_T._Hunt@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) R. Corey Booth, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Shirley Martinson, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, VA 22312 or send an e-mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must be submitted within 30 days of this notice. Dated: February 11, 2008. Florence E. Harmon, Deputy Secretary. [FR Doc. E8–2874 Filed 2–14–08; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 8011–01–P SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549–0213. Extension: Rule 701; OMB Control No. 3235–0522; SEC File No. 270–306. 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 the request for extension of the previously approved collection of information discussed below. Rule 701(17 CFR 230.701) under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) requires issuers conducting employee benefit plan offerings in excess of $5 million in reliance on the rule to provide the employees covered by the plan with risk and financial statement disclosures. The purpose of Rule 701 is to ensure that a basic level of information is available to employees and others when substantial amounts of securities are issued in compensatory arrangements. Information provided under Rule 701 is mandatory. Approximately 300 companies annually rely on the Rule 701 exemption and it takes 2 hours per response. We estimate that 25% of the 2 hours per response (.5 hours) is prepared by the company for a total annual reporting burden of 150 E:\FR\FM\15FEN1.SGM 15FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 32 (Friday, February 15, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8911-8912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 
20549-0213.

Extension:
    Rule 12d3-1; SEC File No. 270-504; OMB Control No. 3235-0561.

    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 for extension and approval.
    Section 12(d)(3) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 
80a) generally prohibits registered investment companies (``funds''), 
and companies controlled by funds, from purchasing securities issued by 
a registered investment adviser, broker, dealer, or underwriter 
(``securities-related businesses''). Rule 12d3-1 ``Exemption of 
acquisitions of securities issued by persons engaged in securities 
related businesses'' (17 CFR 270.12d3-1) permits a fund to invest up to 
five percent of its assets in securities of an issuer deriving more 
than fifteen percent of its gross revenues from securities-related 
businesses, but a fund may not rely on rule 12d3-1 to acquire 
securities of its own investment adviser or any affiliated person of 
its own investment adviser.
    A fund may, however, rely on an exemption in rule 12d3-1 to acquire 
securities issued by its subadvisers in circumstances in which the 
subadviser would have little ability to take advantage of the fund, 
because it is not in a position to direct the fund's securities 
purchases. The exemption in rule 12d3-1(c)(3) is available if (i) the 
subadviser is not, and is not an affiliated person of, an investment 
adviser that provides advice with respect to the portion of the fund 
that is acquiring the securities, and (ii) the advisory contracts of 
the subadviser, and any subadviser that is advising the purchasing 
portion of the fund, prohibit them from consulting with each other 
concerning securities transactions of the fund, and limit their 
responsibility in providing advice with respect to discrete portions of 
the fund's portfolio.
    The Commission staff estimates that 3583 portfolios of 
approximately 649 fund complexes use the services of one or more 
subadvisers. Based on discussions with industry representatives, the 
staff estimates that it requires approximately 6 hours to draft and 
execute revised subadvisory contracts allowing funds and subadvisers to 
rely on the exemptions in rule 17a-10.\1\ The staff assumes that all 
existing funds amended their advisory contracts following the adoption 
of rule 17a-10 in 2002 that conditioned certain exemptions upon these 
contractual alterations, and therefore there is no continuing burden 
for those funds.\2\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Rules 12d3-1, 10f-3, 17a-10, and 17e-1 require virtually 
identical modifications to fund advisory contracts. The Commission 
staff assumes that funds would rely equally on the exemptions in 
these rules, and therefore the burden hours associated with the 
required contract modifications should be apportioned equally among 
the four rules.
    \2\ We assume that funds formed after 2002 that intended to rely 
on rule 17a-10 would have included the contract provision in their 
initial subadvisory contracts.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Based on an analysis of fund filings, the staff estimates that 
approximately 600 fund portfolios enter into subadvisory agreements 
each year.\3\ Based on discussions with industry representatives, the 
staff estimates that it will require approximately 3 attorney hours \4\ 
to draft and execute additional

[[Page 8912]]

clauses in new subadvisory contracts in order for funds and subadvisers 
to be able to rely on the exemptions in rule 17a-10. Because these 
additional clauses are identical to the clauses that a fund would need 
to insert in their subadvisory contracts to rely on rules 10f-3, 12d3-
1, and 17e-1, and because we believe that funds that use one such rule 
generally use all of these rules, we apportion this 3 hour time burden 
equally to all four rules. Therefore, we estimate that the burden 
allocated to rule 17a-10 for this contract change would be 0.75 
hours.\5\ Assuming that all 600 funds that enter into new subadvisory 
contracts each year make the modification to their contract required by 
the rule, we estimate that the rule's contract modification requirement 
will result in 450 burden hours annually, with an associated cost of 
approximately $131,400.\6\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ The use of subadvisers has grown rapidly over the last 
several years, with approximately 600 portfolios that use 
subadvisers registering between December 2005 and December 2006. 
Based on information in Commission filings, we estimate that 31 
percent of funds are advised by subadvisers.
    \4\ The Commission staff's estimates concerning the wage rates 
for attorney time are based on salary information for the securities 
industry compiled by the Securities Industry Association. The $292 
per hour figure for an attorney is from the SIA Report on Management 
& Professional Earnings in the Securities Industry 2006, modified to 
account for an 1800-hour work-year and multiplied by 5.35 to account 
for bonuses, firm size, employee benefits and overhead.
    \5\ This estimate is based on the following calculation (3 hours 
/ 4 rules = .75 hours).
    \6\ These estimates are based on the following calculations: 
(0.75 hours x 600 portfolios = 450 burden hours); ($292 per hour x 
450 hours = $131,400 total cost).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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, VA 22312; or 
send an e-mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.

    Dated: February 7, 2008.
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E8-2873 Filed 2-14-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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