[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 20, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65695-65696]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30857]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Request for Public Comment
Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and
Exchange Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services,
Washington, DC 20549.
Extension:
Rule 31a-2, SEC File No. 270-174, OMB Control No. 3235-0179;
Rule 7d-1, SEC File No. 270-176, OMB Control No. 3235-0311;
Form N-14, SEC File No. 270-297, OMB Control No. 3235-0336.
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'') is publishing the following summaries of
collections for public comment.
Rule 31a-2 concerns preservation of records by registered
investment companies and certain majority-owned subsidiaries thereof.
The Commission periodically inspects the operations of all registered
investment companies to ensure their compliance with the provisions of
the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``the Act'') and the rules
thereunder. A significant portion of the time used in these inspections
is spent reviewing the information contained in the books and records
required to be preserved by Rule 31a-2. Each of the 4,902 respondents
incur an average estimated 15.4 burden hours annually to comply with
this requirement.
Rule 7d-1 specifies conditions under which a Canadian (or other
foreign) management investment company may request an order from the
Commission permitting it to register under the Act. The rule's
information collection requirements seek to ensure that the substantive
provisions of the Act may be enforced as a matter of contract right in
the Untied States or Canada by the company's shareholders or the
Commission.
The Commission believes that three Canadian investment companies
and one other foreign investment company have registered under Rule 7d-
1 and are currently active. Apart from information collection
requirements imposed on all registered investment companies (which are
reflected in the information collection burdens applicable to those
requirements), Rule 7d-1 imposes ongoing burdens to maintain in the
United States records of the company and related records of its
investment adviser and to update, as necessary, a list of affiliated
persons of the company, investment adviser, and principal underwriter.
The four companies and their associated persons spend approximately 101
hours annually complying with the requirements of the rule. This
estimate is a revision of the 75 burden hours currently allocated to
Rule 7d-1. The revision reflects the inclusion of an additional
respondent and the Commission staff's administrative experience with
the rule.
Canadian and other foreign investment companies have not sought to
register under the Act pursuant to Rule 7d-1 in the past three years.
If a company were to file an application under the rule, the Commission
estimates that the rule would impose initial information collection
burdens of approximately 90 hours on the company and its associated
persons. Since no fund has sought to register under the Act pursuant to
Rule 7d-1 in the last three years, the Commission is not including
those burdens in its calculation of the annual hours burdens.
After registration, a foreign company may file a supplemental
application seeking special exemptive relief from provisions of the Act
based on the company's particular circumstances. Because such filings
are not mandated by Rule 7d-1 and are made at a company's discretion,
no burden hours are allocated for such applications.
Form N-14 is the form for registration of securities to be issued
by investment companies registered under the Act in business
combination transactions
[[Page 65696]]
specified in Rule 145(a) and exchange offers. There are approximately
95 registrants filing annually on Form N-14. Approximately 58,900 hours
are used to meet the requirements of Form N-14. This represents 620
hours per registrant per year.
The estimate of average burden hours is made solely for the
purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act, and is not derived from a
comprehensive study or even a representative survey or study of the
costs of SEC rules and forms.
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 shall
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of
the burden of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
information on respondent, 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.
Direct your written comments to Michael E. Bartell, Associate
Executive Director, Office of Information Technology, Securities and
Exchange Commission, 450 5th Street NW., Washington, DC 20549.
Dated: December 13, 1995.
Jonathan G. Katz,
Secretary,
[FR Doc. 95-30857 Filed 12-19-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M