Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 164 / Wednesday, August 26, 2009 / Notices 43171 

1Custody of Investment Company Assets With 

Futures Commission Merchants and Commodity 

Clearing Organizations, Investment Company Act 

Release No. 22389 (Dec. 11, 1996) [61 FR 66207 

(Dec. 17, 1996)]. 

2This estimate is based on information 

conversations with representatives of the fund 

industry. 

3The rule requires a contract with the FCM to 

contain three provisions. Two of the provisions 

require the FCM to comply with existing 

requirements under the CEA and rules adopted 

under that Act. Thus, to the extent these provisions 

could be considered collections of information, the 

hours required for compliance would be included 

in the collection of information burden hours 

submitted by the Commodity Futures Trading 

Commission for its rules. The third contract 

provision requires that the FCM produce records or 

other information requested by the Commission or 

its staff. Commission staff has requested this type 

of information from an FCM so infrequently in the 

past that the annual burden hours are de minimis. 

provided to the Designated Federal 

Official 30 minutes before the meeting. 

In addition, one electronic copy of each 

presentation should be e-mailed to the 

Designated Federal Official 1 day before 

meeting. If an electronic copy cannot be 

provided within this timeframe, 

presenters should provide the 

Designated Federal Official with a CD 

containing each presentation at least 30 

minutes before the meeting. Electronic 

recordings will be permitted. Detailed 

procedures for the conduct of and 

participation in ACRS meetings were 

published in the Federal Register on 

October 6, 2008 (73 FR 58268–58269). 

Further information regarding this 

meeting can be obtained by contacting 

the Designated Federal Official between 

7:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. (ET). Persons 

planning to attend this meeting are 

urged to contact the above named 

individual at least two working days 

prior to the meeting to be advised of any 

potential changes to the agenda. 

Dated: August 19, 2009. 

Antonio F. Dias, 

Chief, Reactor Safety Branch B, Advisory 

Committee on Reactor Safeguards. 

[FR Doc. E9–20588 Filed 8–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7590–01–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 17f–6, SEC File No. 270–392, 

OMB Control No. 3235–0447. 

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), the Securities 

and Exchange Commission (the 

‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments 

on the collection of information 

summarized below. The Commission 

plans to submit this existing collection 

of information to the Office of 

Management and Budget for extension 

and approval. 

Rule 17f–6 (17 CFR 270.17f-6) under 

the Investment Company Act of 1940 

(15 U.S.C. 80a) permits registered 

investment companies (‘‘funds’’) to 

maintain assets (i.e., margin) with 

futures commission merchants 

(‘‘FCMs’’) in connection with 

commodity transactions effected on 

both domestic and foreign exchanges.1

Prior to the rule’s adoption, funds 

generally were required to maintain 

these assets in special accounts with a 

custodian bank. 

The rule requires a written contract 

that contains certain provisions 

designed to ensure important safeguards 

and other benefits relating to the 

custody of fund assets by FCMs. To 

protect fund assets, the contract must 

require that FCMs comply with the 

segregation or secured amount 

requirements of the Commodity 

Exchange Act (‘‘CEA’’) and the rules 

under that statute. The contract also 

must contain a requirement that FCMs 

obtain an acknowledgment from any 

clearing organization that the fund’s 

assets are held on behalf of the FCM’s 

customers according to CEA provisions. 

Finally, FCMs are required to furnish to 

the Commission or its staff on request 

information concerning the fund’s assets 

in order to facilitate Commission 

inspections. 

The Commission estimates that 

approximately 2270 funds effect 

commodities transactions and could 

deposit margin with FCMs under Rule 

17f-6 in connection with those 

transactions. Commission staff estimates 

that each fund uses and deposits margin 

with two different FCMs in connection 

with its commodity transactions.2

The Commission estimates that each 

of the 2270 funds spends an average of 

1 hour annually complying with the 

contract requirements of the rule (i.e., 

executing contracts that contain the 

requisite provisions with additional 

FCMs), for a total of 2270 annual burden 

hours. The estimate does not include 

the time required by an FCM to comply 

with the rule’s contract requirements 

because, to the extent that complying 

with the contract provisions could be 

considered ‘‘collections of information,’’ 

the burden hours for compliance are 

already included in other PRA 

submissions or are de minimis.3 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 and forms. 

Compliance with the collection of 

information requirements of the rule is 

necessary to obtain the benefit of relying 

on the rule. If an FCM furnishes records 

pertaining to a fund’s assets at the 

request of the Commission or its staff, 

the records will be kept confidential to 

the extent permitted by relevant 

statutory or regulatory provisions. The 

rule does not require these records be 

retained for any specific period of time. 

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 collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the Commission, 

including whether the information has 

practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the 

Commission’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 after this 

publication. 

Please direct your written comments 

to Charles Boucher, Director/CIO, 

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: August 19, 2009. 

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. E9–20527 Filed 8–25–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

Upon written request, copies available 

from: U.S. Securities and Exchange 

Commission, Office of Investor 


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