Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices 8303 

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 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 35d–1 (17 CFR 270.35d–1) under 

the Investment Company Act of 1940 

(15 U.S.C. 80a–1 et seq.) defines as 

‘‘materially deceptive and misleading’’ 

for purposes of Section 35(d), among 

other things, a name suggesting that a 

registered investment company or series 

thereof (a ‘‘fund’’) focuses its 

investments in a particular type of 

investment or investments, in 

investments in a particular industry or 

group of industries, or in investments in 

a particular country or geographic 

region, unless, among other things, the 

fund adopts a certain investment policy. 

Rule 35d–1 further requires either that 

the investment policy is fundamental or 

that the fund has adopted a policy to 

provide its shareholders with at least 60 

days prior notice of any change in the 

investment policy (‘‘notice to 

shareholders’’). The rule’s notice to 

shareholders provision is intended to 

ensure that when shareholders purchase 

shares in a fund based, at least in part, 

on its name, and with the expectation 

that it will follow the investment policy 

suggested by that name, they will have 

sufficient time to decide whether to 

redeem their shares in the event that the 

fund decides to pursue a different 

investment policy. 

The Commission estimates that there 

are approximately 8,800 open-end and 

closed-end funds that have names that 

are covered by the rule. The 

Commission estimates that of these 

8,800 funds, approximately 29 will 

provide prior notice to shareholders 

pursuant to a policy adopted in 

accordance with this rule per year. The 

Commission estimates that the annual 

burden associated with the notice to 

shareholders requirement of the rule is 

20 hours per response, for an annual 

total of 580 hours per year. 

Estimates of average burden hours are 

made solely for the purposes of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act and are not 

derived from a comprehensive or even 

representative survey or study of the 

costs of Commission rules and forms. 

The collection of information under rule 

35d–1 is mandatory. The information 

provided under rule 35d–1 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. 

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 Thomas Bayer, Director/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. 

Dated: February 8, 2012. 

Kevin M. O’Neill, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3338 Filed 2–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–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 17g–1; SEC File No. 270–208; OMB 

Control No. 3235–0213. 

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 17g–1 (17 CFR 270.17g–1) under 

the Investment Company Act of 1940 

(the ‘‘Act’’) (15 U.S.C. 80a–17(g)) 

governs the fidelity bonding of officers 

and employees of registered 

management investment companies 

(‘‘funds’’) and their advisers. Rule 17g– 

1 requires, in part, the following: 

Independent Directors’ Approval 

The form and amount of the fidelity 

bond must be approved by a majority of 

the fund’s independent directors at least 

once annually, and the amount of any 

premium paid by the fund for any ‘‘joint 

insured bond,’’ covering multiple funds 

or certain affiliates, must be approved 

by a majority of the fund’s independent 

directors. 

Terms and Provisions of the Bond 

The amount of the bond may not be 

less than the minimum amounts of 

coverage set forth in a schedule based 

on the fund’s gross assets; the bond 

must provide that it shall not be 

cancelled, terminated, or modified 

except upon 60-days written notice to 

the affected party and to the 

Commission; in the case of a joint 

insured bond, 60-days written notice 

must also be given to each fund covered 

by the bond; a joint insured bond must 

provide that the fidelity insurance 

company will provide all funds covered 

by the bond with a copy of the 

agreement, a copy of any claim on the 

bond, and notification of the terms of 

the settlement of any claim prior to 

execution of that settlement; and a fund 

that is insured by a joint bond must 

enter into an agreement with all other 

parties insured by the joint bond 

regarding recovery under the bond. 

Filings With the Commission 

Upon the execution of a fidelity bond 

or any amendment thereto, a fund must 

file with the Commission within 10 

days a copy of the executed bond or any 

amendment to the bond, the 

independent directors’ resolution 

approving the bond, and a statement as 

to the period for which premiums have 

been paid on the bond. In the case of a 

joint insured bond, a fund must also file 

(i) a statement showing the amount the 

fund would have been required to 

maintain under the rule if it were 

insured under a single insured bond and 

(ii) the agreement between the fund and 

all other insured parties regarding 

recovery under the bond. A fund must 

also notify the Commission in writing 

within five days of any claim or 

settlement on a claim under the fidelity 

bond. 

Notices to Directors 

A fund must notify by registered mail 

each member of its board of directors of 

(i) any cancellation, termination, or 

modification of the fidelity bond at least 

45 days prior to the effective date, and 

(ii) the filing or settlement of any claim 

under the fidelity bond when 

notification is filed with the 

Commission. 

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8304 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices 

1Based on statistics compiled by Commission 

staff, we estimate that there are approximately 3479 

funds that must comply with the collections of 

information under rule 17g–1 and have made a 

filing within the last 12 months. 

1 15 U.S.C. 78s(b)(1). 

2 17 CFR 240.19b–4. 

3See Securities Exchange Act Release No. 66035 

(December 22, 2011), 76 FR 82017 (‘‘Notice’’). 

4Amendment No. 1 amended the proposed rule 

change to provide an implementation plan of the 

proposed rule changes. The Exchange intends to 

begin implementation by no later than March 30, 

2012, with the specific implementation schedule to 

be announced via Regulatory Circular. Since 

Amendment No. 1 does not alter the substance of 

the proposal, it is not subject to notice and 

comment. 

5See letter from Todd Weingart, Spot On 

Brokerage Services, Division of Trading Block, 

William O’Keefe, Spot On Brokerage Services, 

Division of Trading Block, and Steve Stepanek, The 

SJS Group, Inc., to Elizabeth M. Murphy, Secretary, 

Commission, dated January 20, 2012. 

Rule 17g–1’s independent directors’ 

annual review requirements, fidelity 

bond content requirements, joint bond 

agreement requirement and the required 

notices to directors seek to ensure the 

safety of fund assets against losses due 

to the conduct of persons who may 

obtain access to those assets. These 

requirements also seek to facilitate 

oversight of a fund’s fidelity bond. The 

rule’s required filings with the 

Commission are designed to assist the 

Commission in monitoring funds’ 

compliance with the fidelity bond 

requirements. 

Based on conversations with 

representatives in the fund industry, the 

Commission staff estimates that for each 

of the estimated 3479 active funds,1 the 

average annual paperwork burden 

associated with rule 17g–1’s 

requirements is two hours, one hour 

each for a compliance attorney and the 

board of directors as a whole. The time 

spent by compliance attorney includes 

time spent filing reports with the 

Commission for any fidelity losses (if 

any) as well as paperwork associated 

with any notices to directors, and 

managing any updates to the bond and 

the joint agreement (if one exists). The 

time spent by the board of directors as 

a whole includes any time spent 

initially establishing the bond, as well 

as time spent on annual updates and 

approvals. The Commission staff 

therefore estimates the total ongoing 

paperwork burden hours per year for all 

funds required by rule 17g–1 to be 6958 

hours (3479 funds × 2 hours = 6958 

hours). 

These estimates of average burden 

hours are made solely for the purposes 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act. These 

estimates are not derived from a 

comprehensive or even a representative 

survey or study of Commission rules. 

The collection of information required 

by rule 17g–1 is mandatory and 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 control number. 

Written comments are requested 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 of this 

publication. 

Please direct your written comments 

to Thomas Bayer, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o Remi PavlikSimon, 6432 General Green Way, 

Alexandria, VA 22312; or send an email 

to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. 

February 8, 2012. 

Kevin M. O’Neill, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3337 Filed 2–13–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

Sunshine Act Meeting Notice 

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to 

the provisions of the Government in the 

Sunshine Act, Public Law 94–409, that 

the Securities and Exchange 

Commission will hold a Closed Meeting 

on Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 2:00 

p.m. 

Commissioners, Counsel to the 

Commissioners, the Secretary to the 

Commission, and recording secretaries 

will attend the Closed Meeting. Certain 

staff members who have an interest in 

the matters also may be present. 

The General Counsel of the 

Commission, or his designee, has 

certified that, in his opinion, one or 

more of the exemptions set forth in 5 

U.S.C. 552b(c)(3), (5), (7), 9(B) and (10) 

and 17 CFR 200.402(a)(3), (5), (7), 9(ii) 

and (10), permit consideration of the 

scheduled matters at the Closed 

Meeting. 

Commissioner Aguilar, as duty 

officer, voted to consider the items 

listed for the Closed Meeting in a closed 

session. 

The subject matter of the Closed 

Meeting scheduled for Thursday, 

February 16, 2012 will be: 

Formal order of investigation; 

Institution and settlement of 

injunctive actions; 

Institution and settlement of 

administrative proceedings; and 

Other matters relating to enforcement 

proceedings. 

At times, changes in Commission 

priorities require alterations in the 

scheduling of meeting items. 

For further information and to 

ascertain what, if any, matters have been 

added, deleted or postponed, please 

contact: The Office of the Secretary at 

(202) 551–5400. 

Dated: February 9, 2012. 

Kevin M. O’Neill, 

Deputy Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2012–3478 Filed 2–10–12; 11:15 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[Release No. 34–66348; File No. SR–CBOE– 

2011–122] 

Self-Regulatory Organizations; 

Chicago Board Options Exchange, 

Incorporated; Order Approving 

Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by 

Amendment No. 1, Related to Trading 

of FLEX Options 

February 7, 2012. 

I. Introduction 

On December 12, 2011, the Chicago 

Board Options Exchange, Incorporated 

(‘‘Exchange’’ or ‘‘CBOE’’) filed with the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’), pursuant to Section 

19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act 

of 1934 (‘‘Act’’),1 and Rule 19b–4 

thereunder,2 a proposed rule change to 

amend rules pertaining to the electronic 

trading of Flexible Exchange Options 

(‘‘FLEX Options’’) and to eliminate 

certain European-Capped style 

settlement and currency provisions with 

the FLEX rules that pertain to both 

electronic and open outcry trading. The 

proposed rule change was published for 

comment in the Federal Register on 

December 29, 2011.3 On February 7, 

2012, the Exchange filed an Amendment 

No. 1 to the proposed rule change.4 The 

Commission received one comment 

letter regarding the proposal.5 This 

order approves the proposed rule 

change, as modified by Amendment No. 

1. 

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