Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request; Prohibited Transaction Exemption 97-41, Collective Investment Funds Conversion Transactions, 17986-17987 [E9-8908]
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17986
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 74 / Monday, April 20, 2009 / Notices
plan fiduciary and provide the plan
with an opportunity to withdraw from
the program. For Large Accounts, prior
to the cross-trade, the Manager must
provide information about the crosstrading program and obtain written
authorization from the fiduciary of a
Large Account to engage in cross-trading
in connection with a portfolio
restructuring program. Following
completion of the Large Account’s
restructuring, information must be
provided by the Manager about all
cross-trades executed in connection
with a portfolio-restructuring program.
Finally, the exemption requires that
Managers maintain for a period of 6
years from the date of each cross-trade
the records necessary to enable plan
fiduciaries and certain other persons
specified in the exemption (e.g.,
Department representatives or
contributing employers), to determine
whether the conditions of the
exemption have been met.
EBSA previously submitted the
information collection provisions of
PTE 2002–12 to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review in connection with promulgation
of the prohibited transaction exemption.
OMB approved the information
collection request (ICR) under OMB
Control No. 1210–0115. The ICR
approval is currently scheduled to
expire on August 31, 2009.
rmajette on PRODPC74 with NOTICES
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department of Labor
(Department) is particularly interested
in comments that:
• Provide information related to the
number of entities offering Index and
Model-Driven Funds and their client
plans, and the number of Large
Accounts that may make use of the
exemption;
• Evaluate whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary
for the proper performance of the
functions of the Department, including
whether the information will have
practical utility;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the
Department’s estimate of the burden of
the proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:02 Apr 17, 2009
Jkt 217001
e.g., permitting electronic submissions
of responses.
III. Current Actions
This notice requests comments on an
extension of the information collections
in PTE 2002–12. After considering
comments received in response to this
notice, the Department intends to
submit the ICR to OMB for continuing
approval. Extension of the information
collection provision of the exemption is
important because, without the
disclosures and recordkeeping provided
for in the exemption, participants’ and
beneficiaries’ investments in a pension
plan might not be adequately protected.
In addition, Managers that cross trade
securities among Funds or cross trade
securities in connection with the
restructuring of a portfolio of a Large
Account would be subject to statutorily
imposed sanctions under ERISA. Lastly,
the exemption provides a benefit to
plans and participants through savings
that result from index/model crosstrading. No change to the existing ICR
is being proposed or made at this time.
A summary of the ICR and the current
burden estimates follows:
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Title: Prohibited Transaction Class
Exemption 2002–12, Cross-Trades of
Securities by Index and Model-Driven
Funds.
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection of
information.
OMB Number: 1210–0115.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; Business or other for-profit;
Not-for-profit institutions.
Respondents: 60.
Responses: 960.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 855.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the ICR submitted to OMB
for approval; they will also become a
matter of public record.
Dated: April 13, 2009.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research,
Employee Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–8904 Filed 4–17–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–29–P
PO 00000
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security
Administration
Proposed Extension of Information
Collection; Comment Request;
Prohibited Transaction Exemption 97–
41, Collective Investment Funds
Conversion Transactions
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as
part of its continuing effort to reduce
paperwork and respondent burden,
conducts a preclearance consultation
program to provide the general public
and Federal agencies with an
opportunity to comment on proposed
and continuing collections of
information in accordance with the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA
95). This program helps to ensure that
the Department can properly assess the
impact of its information collection
requirements on respondents and
minimize the reporting burden (in both
time and financial resources) on the
public and that the public can clearly
understand the Department’s
information collection instruments and
provide the requested data in the
desired format. Currently, the Employee
Benefits Security Administration
(EBSA) is soliciting comments on a
proposed extension of the information
collection provisions of Prohibited
Transaction Class Exemption 97–41,
Collective Investment Funds Conversion
Transactions. A copy of the Information
Collection Request (ICR) may be
obtained by contacting the office listed
in the ADDRESSES section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted to the office shown in the
ADDRESSES section below on or before
June 19, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to G. Christopher Cosby Lahne, Office of
Policy and Research, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Room N–5718,
Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693–8410,
FAX (202) 219–4745 (the foregoing are
not toll-free numbers). Comments may
also be submitted electronically to the
following Internet e-mail address:
ebsa.opr@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Prohibited Transaction Exemption
(PTE) 97–41 provides an exemption
from the prohibited transaction
provisions of the Employment
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Fmt 4703
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20APN1
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 74 / Monday, April 20, 2009 / Notices
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974
(ERISA) and from certain taxes imposed
by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
The exemption permits employee
benefit plans to purchase shares of one
or more open-end investment
companies (funds) registered under the
Investment Advisers Act of 1940 by
transferring in-kind, to the investment
company, assets of the plan that are part
of a collective investment fund (CIF)
maintained by a bank or plan advisor
that is both a fiduciary of the plan and
an investment advisor to the investment
company offering the fund.
The exemption requires that an
independent fiduciary receive advance
written notice of any covered
transaction, as well as specific written
information concerning the mutual
funds to be purchased. The independent
fiduciary must also provide written
advance approval of conversion
transactions and receive written
confirmation of each transaction, as well
as additional on-going disclosures as
defined in PTE 97–41. These disclosures
are the basis for this ICR.
EBSA previously submitted the
information collection provisions of
PTE 2002–12 to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) for
review in connection with promulgation
of the prohibited transaction exemption.
OMB approved the information
collection request (ICR) under OMB
Control No. 1210–0115. The ICR
approval is currently scheduled to
expire on June 30, 2009.
rmajette on PRODPC74 with NOTICES
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department is particularly
interested in comments that:
• Evaluate 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;
• Evaluate the accuracy of the
agency’s estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information,
including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used;
• Enhance the quality, utility, and
clarity of the information to be
collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the
collection of information on those who
are to respond, including through the
use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other
technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology,
e.g., permitting electronic submission of
responses.
VerDate Nov<24>2008
15:02 Apr 17, 2009
Jkt 217001
III. Current Action
This notice requests comments on the
extension of the ICR included in PTE
97–41. The Department is not proposing
or implementing changes to the existing
ICR at this time. The following
summarizes the ICR and the current
burden estimates:
Type of Review: Extension of a
currently approved collection of
information.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
Titles: Prohibited Transaction Class
Exemption 97–41, Collective Investment
Funds Conversion Transactions.
OMB Number: 1210–0104.
Affected Public: Individuals or
households; Business or other for-profit;
Not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,756.
Respondents: 105.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Responses: 105.
Total Burden Cost (Operating and
Maintenance): $282,000.
Comments submitted in response to
this notice will be summarized and/or
included in the request for OMB
approval of the ICR; they will also
become a matter of public record.
Dated: April 13, 2009.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research,
Employee Benefits Security Administration.
[FR Doc. E9–8908 Filed 4–17–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510–20–P
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security
Administration
Proposed Extension of Information
Collection; Comment Request;
Prohibited Transaction Class
Exemption 2004–07, Transactions With
Trust REIT Shares
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security
Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the
Department), as part of its continuing
effort to reduce paperwork and
respondent burden, conducts a
preclearance consultation program to
provide the general public and Federal
agencies with an opportunity to
comment on proposed and continuing
collections of information in accordance
with the Paperwork Reduction Act of
1995 (PRA 95) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)).
This helps to ensure that the
Department can properly assess the
impact of its information collection
requirements on respondents and
PO 00000
Frm 00049
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
17987
minimize the reporting burden (in both
time and financial resources) on the
public and that the public can clearly
understand the Department’s collection
instruments and provide the requested
data in the desired format. Currently,
the Employee Benefits Security
Administration (EBSA) is soliciting
comments on a proposed extension of
the information collection provisions in
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption
(PTE) 2004–07, which concerns publicly
traded shares of beneficial interest in
real estate investment trusts structured
under State law as business trusts. A
copy of the information collection
request (ICR) may be obtained by
contacting the office listed in the
ADDRESSES section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be
submitted on or before June 19, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments
to G. Christopher Cosby, Office of Policy
and Research, Employee Benefits
Security Administration, U.S.
Department of Labor, 200 Constitution
Avenue, NW., Room N–5647,
Washington, DC 20210. Telephone:
(202) 693–8410; Fax: (202) 219–4745.
These are not toll-free numbers.
Comments may also be submitted
electronically to the following Internet
e-mail address: ebsa.opr@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
PTE 2004–07 exempts from certain
prohibited transaction restrictions of the
Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 (ERISA) and from certain
taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986 (the Code), the acquisition,
holding, sale, and contribution in kind
of publicly traded shares of beneficial
interest in a real estate investment trust
that is structured under State law as a
business trust (Trust REIT), on behalf of
and to individual account plans
sponsored by the REIT or its affiliates,
provided that certain conditions are
met.
The exemption allows individual
account plans (Plans) established by
Trust REITs to offer a beneficial interest
in the Trust REIT in the form of
Qualifying REIT Shares, as defined in
the exemption, to participants in Plans
sponsored by the REIT or its employer
affiliates, to require that employer
contributions be used to purchase such
shares, and to permit ‘‘contributions in
kind’’ of such shares to these Plans by
employers.
The exemption conditions relief on
compliance with a number of
information collection requirements.
These information collections are to be
provided or made available to plan
E:\FR\FM\20APN1.SGM
20APN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 74 (Monday, April 20, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17986-17987]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-8908]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employee Benefits Security Administration
Proposed Extension of Information Collection; Comment Request;
Prohibited Transaction Exemption 97-41, Collective Investment Funds
Conversion Transactions
AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of Labor, as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a preclearance
consultation program to provide the general public and Federal agencies
with an opportunity to comment on proposed and continuing collections
of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995
(PRA 95). This program helps to ensure that the Department can properly
assess the impact of its information collection requirements on
respondents and minimize the reporting burden (in both time and
financial resources) on the public and that the public can clearly
understand the Department's information collection instruments and
provide the requested data in the desired format. Currently, the
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments
on a proposed extension of the information collection provisions of
Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 97-41, Collective Investment
Funds Conversion Transactions. A copy of the Information Collection
Request (ICR) may be obtained by contacting the office listed in the
Addresses section of this notice.
DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the
ADDRESSES section below on or before June 19, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Direct all written comments to G. Christopher Cosby Lahne,
Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW.,
Room N-5718, Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 219-4745
(the foregoing are not toll-free numbers). Comments may also be
submitted electronically to the following Internet e-mail address:
ebsa.opr@dol.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 97-41 provides an exemption
from the prohibited transaction provisions of the Employment
[[Page 17987]]
Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and from certain taxes
imposed by the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The exemption permits
employee benefit plans to purchase shares of one or more open-end
investment companies (funds) registered under the Investment Advisers
Act of 1940 by transferring in-kind, to the investment company, assets
of the plan that are part of a collective investment fund (CIF)
maintained by a bank or plan advisor that is both a fiduciary of the
plan and an investment advisor to the investment company offering the
fund.
The exemption requires that an independent fiduciary receive
advance written notice of any covered transaction, as well as specific
written information concerning the mutual funds to be purchased. The
independent fiduciary must also provide written advance approval of
conversion transactions and receive written confirmation of each
transaction, as well as additional on-going disclosures as defined in
PTE 97-41. These disclosures are the basis for this ICR.
EBSA previously submitted the information collection provisions of
PTE 2002-12 to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in
connection with promulgation of the prohibited transaction exemption.
OMB approved the information collection request (ICR) under OMB Control
No. 1210-0115. The ICR approval is currently scheduled to expire on
June 30, 2009.
II. Desired Focus of Comments
The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
Evaluate 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;
Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the
information to be collected; and
Minimize the burden of the collection of information on
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting
electronic submission of responses.
III. Current Action
This notice requests comments on the extension of the ICR included
in PTE 97-41. The Department is not proposing or implementing changes
to the existing ICR at this time. The following summarizes the ICR and
the current burden estimates:
Type of Review: Extension of a currently approved collection of
information.
Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of
Labor.
Titles: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption 97-41, Collective
Investment Funds Conversion Transactions.
OMB Number: 1210-0104.
Affected Public: Individuals or households; Business or other for-
profit; Not-for-profit institutions.
Estimated Total Burden Hours: 1,756.
Respondents: 105.
Frequency of Response: On occasion.
Responses: 105.
Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $282,000.
Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized
and/or included in the request for OMB approval of the ICR; they will
also become a matter of public record.
Dated: April 13, 2009.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. E9-8908 Filed 4-17-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-20-P