11826 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 42 / Thursday, March 3, 2011 / Notices 

2 Instead of relying on rule 27d–1 and filing Form 

N–27D–1, depositors or principal underwriters for 

the issuers of periodic payment plans may rely on 

the exemption afforded by rule 27d–2. In order to 

comply with rule 27d–2: (i) The depositor or 

principal underwriter must secure from an 

insurance company a written guarantee of the 

refund requirements; (ii) the insurance company 

must satisfy certain financial criteria; and (iii) the 

depositor or principal underwriter must file as an 

exhibit to the issuer’s registration statement, a copy 

of the written undertaking, an annual statement that 

the insurance company has met the requisite 

financial criteria on a monthly basis, and an annual 

audited balance sheet. 1 15 U.S.C. 80a–17(a). 2 44 U.S.C. 3501. 

Commission’s oversight of compliance 

with the reserve requirements set forth 

in rule 27d–1. The form requires 

depositors and principal underwriters to 

report deposits to a segregated trust 

account, including those made pursuant 

to paragraphs (c) and (e) of the rule. 

Withdrawals pursuant to paragraph (f) 

of the rule also must be reported. In 

addition, the form solicits information 

regarding the minimum amount 

required to be maintained under 

paragraphs (d) and (e) of rule 27d–1. 

Depositors and principal underwriters 

must file the form once a year on or 

before January 31 of the year following 

the year for which information is 

presented.2

Rule 27d–1, which was explicitly 

authorized by statute, provides 

assurance that depositors and principal 

underwriters of issuers have access to 

sufficient cash to meet the demands of 

certificate holders who reconsider their 

decisions to invest in a periodic 

payment plan. The information 

collection requirements in rule 27d–1 

enable the Commission to monitor 

compliance with reserve rules. 

Effective October 27, 2006, the 

Military Personnel Financial Services 

Protection Act banned the issuance or 

sale of new periodic payment plans. 

Accordingly, the staff estimates that 

there is no information collection 

burden associated with rule 27d–1 or 

Form N–27D–1. For administrative 

purposes, however, we are requesting 

approval for an information collection 

burden of one hour per year. This 

estimate of burden hours is not derived 

from a comprehensive or necessarily 

even representative study of the cost of 

the Commission’s rules and forms. 

Complying with the collection of 

information requirements of rule 27d–1 

is mandatory for depositors or principal 

underwriters of issuers of periodic 

payment plans unless they comply with 

the requirements in rule 27d–2 (17 CFR 

270.27d–2). The information provided 

pursuant to rule 27d–1 is public and, 

therefore, will not be kept confidential. 

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, 

and a person is not required to respond 

to, a collection of information unless it 

displays a valid OMB control number. 

The public may view the background 

documentation for this information 

collection at the following Web site, 

http://www.reginfo.gov. 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: 

Shagufta_Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and 

(ii) Thomas Bayer, Chief Information 

Officer, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 

6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, 

VA 22312 or send an email to: 

PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must 

be submitted to OMB within 30 days of 

this notice. 

Dated: February 25, 2011. 

Cathy H. Ahn, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4723 Filed 3–2–11; 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 17a–6; SEC File No. 270–506; 

OMB Control No. 3235–0564. 

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501), 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. 

Section 17(a) of the Investment 

Company Act of 1940 (the ‘‘Act’’) 

generally prohibits affiliated persons of 

a registered investment company 

(‘‘fund’’) from borrowing money or other 

property from, or selling or buying 

securities or other property to or from, 

the fund or any company that the fund 

controls.1 Rule 17a–6 (17 CFR 270.17a– 

6) permits a fund and a ‘‘portfolio 

affiliate’’ (a company that is an affiliated 

person of the fund because the fund 

controls the company, or holds five 

percent or more of the company’s 

outstanding voting securities) to engage 

in principal transactions that would 

otherwise be prohibited under section 

17(a) of the Act under certain 

conditions. A fund may not rely on the 

exemption in the rule to enter into a 

principal transaction with a portfolio 

affiliate if certain prohibited 

participants (e.g., directors, officers, 

employees, or investment advisers of 

the fund) have a financial interest in a 

party to the transaction. Rule 17a–6 

specifies certain interests that are not 

‘‘financial interests,’’ including any 

interest that the fund’s board of 

directors (including a majority of the 

directors who are not interested persons 

of the fund) finds to be not material. A 

board making this finding is required to 

record the basis for the finding in its 

meeting minutes. This recordkeeping 

requirement is a collection of 

information under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (‘‘PRA’’).2

The rule is designed to permit 

transactions between funds and their 

portfolio affiliates in circumstances in 

which it is unlikely that the affiliate 

would be in a position to take advantage 

of the fund. In determining whether a 

financial interest is ‘‘material,’’ the board 

of the fund should consider whether the 

nature and extent of the interest in the 

transaction is sufficiently small that a 

reasonable person would not believe 

that the interest affected the 

determination of whether to enter into 

the transaction or arrangement or the 

terms of the transaction or arrangement. 

The information collection requirements 

in rule 17a–6 are intended to ensure that 

Commission staff can review, in the 

course of its compliance and 

examination functions, the basis for a 

board of director’s finding that the 

financial interest of an otherwise 

prohibited participant in a party to a 

transaction with a portfolio affiliate is 

not material. 

Based on staff discussions with fund 

representatives, we estimate that funds 

currently do not rely on the exemption 

from the term ‘‘financial interest’’ with 

respect to any interest that the fund’s 

board of directors (including a majority 

of the directors who are not interested 

persons of the fund) finds to be not 

material. Accordingly, we estimate that 

annually there will be no principal 

transactions under rule 17a–6 that will 

result in a collection of information. 

The Commission requests 

authorization to maintain an inventory 

of one burden hour to ease future 

renewals of rule 17a–6’s collection of 

information analysis should funds rely 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 42 / Thursday, March 3, 2011 / Notices 11827 

1The rule sets forth minimum reserve amounts 

and guidelines for the management and 

disbursement of the assets in the account. Rule 

27d–1(j) directs depositors and principal 

underwriters annually to make an accounting of 

their segregated trust accounts on Form N–27D–1, 

which is filed with the Commission. The form 

requires depositors and principal underwriters to 

report deposits to a segregated trust account, 

including those made pursuant to paragraphs (c) 

and (e) of the rule. Withdrawals pursuant to 

paragraph (f) of the rule also must be reported. In 

addition, the form solicits information regarding the 

minimum amount required to be maintained under 

paragraphs (d) and (e) of rule 27d–1. 

on this exemption to the term ‘‘financial 

interest’’ as defined in rule 17a–6. 

The estimate of burden hours is made 

solely for the purposes of the Paperwork 

Reduction Act. The estimate is not 

derived from a comprehensive or even 

a representative survey or study of the 

costs of Commission rules. Complying 

with this collection of information 

requirement is necessary to obtain the 

benefit of relying on rule 17a–6. 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. 

The public may view the background 

documentation for this information 

collection at the following Web site, 

http://www.reginfo.gov. 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: 

Shagufta_Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) 

Thomas Bayer, Chief Information 

Officer, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 

6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, 

VA 22312 or send an e-mail to: 

PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must 

be submitted to OMB within 30 days of 

this notice. 

Dated: February 25, 2011. 

Cathy H. Ahn, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4724 Filed 3–2–11; 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 27d–2, SEC File No. 270–500, 

OMB Control No. 3235–0566. 

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’’) has submitted to the 

Office of Management and Budget 

(‘‘OMB’’) a request for approval of the 

collections of information under the 

Investment Company Act of 1940 

(‘‘Act’’) summarized below. 

Rule 27d–2 (17 CFR 270.27d–2) is 

entitled ‘‘Insurance Company 

Undertaking in Lieu of Segregated Trust 

Account.’’ Rule 27d–1 (17 CFR 270.27d– 

1) under the Act requires the depositor 

or principal underwriter for an issuer of 

periodic payment plans to deposit funds 

into a segregated trust account to 

provide assurance of its ability to fulfill 

its refund obligations under sections 

27(d) and 27(f) of the Act.1 Rule 27d– 

2 provides an exemption from rule 27d– 

1 under the Act for depositors or 

principal underwriters for the issuers of 

periodic payment plans. In order to 

comply with the rule: (i) The depositor 

or principal underwriter must secure 

from an insurance company a written 

guarantee of the refund requirements; 

(ii) the insurance company must satisfy 

certain financial criteria; and (iii) the 

depositor or principal underwriter must 

file as an exhibit to the issuer’s 

registration statement, a copy of the 

written undertaking, an annual 

statement that the insurance company 

has met the requisite financial criteria 

on a monthly basis, and an annual 

audited balance sheet. 

Rule 27d–2, which was explicitly 

authorized by statute, provides 

assurance that depositors and principal 

underwriters of issuers have access to 

sufficient cash to meet the demands of 

certificate holders who reconsider their 

decisions to invest in a periodic 

payment plan. The information 

collection requirement in rule 27d–2 

enables the Commission to monitor 

compliance with insurance company 

undertaking requirements. 

Effective October 27, 2006, the 

Military Personnel Financial Services 

Protection Act banned the issuance or 

sale of new periodic payment plans. 

Accordingly, the staff estimates that 

there is no longer any information 

collection burden associated with rule 

27d–2. For administrative purposes, 

however, we are requesting approval for 

an information collection burden of one 

hour per year. This estimate of burden 

hours is not derived from a 

comprehensive or even a representative 

survey or study of the costs of 

Commission rules and forms. 

Complying with the collection of 

information requirements of rule 27d–2 

is mandatory for depositors or principal 

underwriters of issuers of periodic 

payment plans who rely on the rule for 

an exemption from complying with rule 

27d–1 and filing Form N–27D–1. The 

information provided pursuant to rule 

27d–2 is public and, therefore, will not 

be kept confidential. 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. 

The public may view the background 

documentation for this information 

collection at the following Web site, 

http://www.reginfo.gov. 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: 

Shagufta_Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) 

Thomas Bayer, Chief Information 

Officer, Securities and Exchange 

Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 

6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, 

VA 22312 or send an e-mail to: 

PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must 

be submitted to OMB within 30 days of 

this notice. 

Dated: February 25, 2011. 

Cathy H. Ahn, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–4727 Filed 3–2–11; 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 17a–10, SEC File No. 270–507, 

OMB Control No. 3235–0563. 

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. 

Section 17(a) of the Investment 

Company Act of 1940 (the ‘‘Act’’), 

generally prohibits affiliated persons of 

a registered investment company 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES