64726 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 210 / Monday, October 30, 2000 / Notices

trustees qualifying indentures for

offerings of debt securities. Rules 7a–15

through 7a–37 are disclosure guidelines

and do not directly result in any

collection of information. The

respondents are persons and entities

subject to Trust Indenture Act

requirements. No information collection

burdens are imposed directly by these

rules so they are assigned only one

burden hour for administrative

convenience.

Rule 13e–1 (OMB 3235–0305; SEC

File No. 270–255) makes it unlawful for

an issuer who has received notice that

it is the subject of a tender offer made

under 14(d)(1) of the Securities

Exchange Act of 1934 and that has

commenced under Rule 14d–2 to

purchase any of its equity securities

during the tender offer unless it first

files a statement with the Commission

containing information required by the

rule. This rule is in keeping with the

commission’s statutory responsibility to

prescribe rules and regulations that are

necessary for the protection of investors.

Public companies are the respondents.

An estimated 20 respondents file Rule

13e–1 submissions annually at an

estimated 13 hours per response for a

total annual burden of 260 hours. All

information provided is made available

to the public.

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 Michael E. Bartell, Associate

Executive Director, Office of

Information Technology, Securities and

Exchange Commission, 450 5th Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20549.

Dated: October 20, 2000.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–27717 Filed 10–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

Submission for OMB Review;

Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available

From: Securities and Exchange

Commission, Office of Filings and

Information Services, Washington, DC

20549.

SEC Investor Complaint Forms, SEC File No.

270–485, OMB Control No. 3235-new.

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 (‘‘SEC’’) has

submitted to the Office of Management

and Budget a request for approval of

three proposed forms. The titles of the

forms are SEC Investor Complaint Form

(two versions) and SEC Investor

Question Form.

The SEC receives annually over

150,000 letters, e-mails, faxes, and

phone calls from investors who have

complaints and questions on a wide

range of investment-related issues. The

SEC proposes to place on its website

two online forms, and to make available

a hard-copy complaint form, to be used

by investors to submit complaints and

questions to the SEC through the

Internet, by mail, or by fax. The SEC

will use the information supplied on the

forms to respond to general investor

queries, process investor complaints, or

initiate enforcement investigations in

appropriate matters. The information

that is captured automatically in the

online forms and through manual data

entry of the hard-copy form will allow

the SEC to employ automation to direct

a complaint or question to the

appropriate division or office at the SEC

(primarily the Division of Enforcement

or the Office of Investor Education and

Assistance) for review and processing,

to maintain a record of the complaint or

question, and to track the volume of

complaints and questions received.

Investors are not required to use the

online or hard-copy Investor Complaint

Form or the Investor Question Form and

may continue to submit written

complaints and questions by letter (sent

by mail or fax), e-mail messages, and

telephone calls. However, investors who

complete the forms enable the SEC to

process their complaints and questions

more quickly and efficiently.

The respondents to the Investor

Complaint Forms and the Investor

Question Form will be investors who

want the SEC’s assistance with their

complaints against entities that the SEC

regulates, who want to report companies

or individuals who may be violating the

federal securities laws, or who want to

ask questions or request information

about the statutes and rules the SEC

administers or about specific companies

the SEC regulates.

Investors will use the Investor

Complaint Forms to send complaints to

the SEC about entities that are regulated

by the SEC, about issuers of securities,

and about individuals and companies

whose activities may violate the federal

securities laws. Investors who submit

the Investor Complaint Forms are asked

to provide information on, among other

things, their names, how they can be

contacted, the names of the financial

institutions, companies, or individuals

they are complaining about, the nature

of their complaints, what documents

can be provided, and what legal actions

they have taken. The online version asks

for general information about the

investor’s complaint and then poses

follow-up questions based on previous

answers. Most questions on the Investor

Complaint Forms are asked in a

multiple-choice style that allows the

investor to provide an answer simply by

checking a box. Some questions require

the investor to provide more detailed

full-text responses about the facts of his

complaint.

Investors will use the Investor

Question Form to ask general questions

about the SEC’s programs, rules, and

other matters that are not appropriate

for the Investor Complaint Form.

Investors who submit the Investor

Question Form are asked to provide

their names, how they can be contacted,

and their questions.

The total reporting burden of using

the Investor Complaint Forms or

Investor Question Form is estimated to

23,750 hours. This was calculated by

multiplying the total number of

investors whom the SEC expects to use

the forms times how long it will take to

complete each form (95,000 respondents

× 15 minutes = 23,750 burden hours).

Use of the Investor Complaint and

Question Forms is voluntary. The SEC

will continue to accept questions and

complaints submitted in letters (sent by

mail or fax), e-mail messages, and

telephone calls. However, if an investor

chooses to submit an Investor

Complaint Form or Investor Question

Form through the Internet, the investor

must respond to certain questions about

the nature of the complaint or the form

will not be accepted electronically.

Responses to the Investor Complaint

or Investor Question Forms are subject

to the Freedom of Information Act

(FOIA), which generally allows the SEC

to make information available to the

public upon request. An investor who

submits an Investor Complaint or

Investor Question Form may request

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 210 / Monday, October 30, 2000 / Notices 64727

that his information not be released to

the public by writing a letter asking that

it remain confidential under one of the

exemptions described in FOIA (see 5

U.S.C. 552). The SEC determines

whether the investor’s claim of an

exemption if valid when someone

requests the investor’s information

under FOIA. The SEC often makes it

files available to other governmental

agencies, particularly United States

Attorneys and state prosecutors. There

is a likelihood that information supplied

by investors will be made available to

such agencies where appropriate.

Whether or not the SEC makes its files

available to other governmental agencies

is, in general, all confidential matter

between the SEC and such other

governmental agencies. 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.

General comments regarding the

above information should be directed to

the following persons: (i) Desk Officer

for Securities and Exchange

Commission, Office of Information and

Regulatory Affairs, Office of

Management and Budget, Room 10102,

New Executive Office Building,

Washington, DC 20503; and (ii) Michael

E. Bartell, Associate Executive Director,

Office of Information Technology,

Securities and Exchange Commission,

450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC

20549. Comments must be submitted to

OMB within 30 days of this notice.

Dated: October 20, 2000.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

[FR Doc. 00–27718 Filed 10–27–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010–01–M

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE

COMMISSION

[Release No. IC–24696; File No. 812–12060]

The Wachovia Variable Insurance

Funds, et al.

October 25, 2000.

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange

Commission (‘‘SEC’’ or ‘‘Commission’’).

ACTION: Notice of application for an

Order under section 6(c) of the

Investment Company Act of 1940

(‘‘Act’’) for exemption from the

provisions of sections 9(a), 13(a), 15(a),

and 15(b) of the Act and Rules 6e–

2(b)(15) and 6e–3(T)(b)(15) thereunder.

Applicants: The Wachovia Variable

Insurance Funds (‘‘Trust’’) and

Wachovia Bank, N.A., on behalf of

Wachovia Asset Management

(‘‘Wachovia’’), a business unit of

Wachovia Bank, N.A.

Summary of Application: Applicants

seek an order to permit shares of the

Trust and shares of any other

investment company or series thereof

that is designed to fund insurance

products and for which Wachovia, or

any of its affiliates, may serve in the

future as investment adviser,

administrator, manager, principal

underwriter or sponsor (‘‘Future

Trusts’’, together with Trust, ‘‘Trusts’’)

to be sold to and held by (a) variable

annuity and variable life insurance

separate accounts of both affiliated and

unaffiliated life insurance companies,

(b) qualified pension and retirement

plans outside of the separate account

context, and (c) separate accounts that

are not registered under the Act

pursuant to exemptions from

registration under Section 3(c) of the

Act.

Filing Date: The application was filed

on April 6, 2000, and amended and

restated on September 14, 2000.

Hearing or Notification of Hearing: An

order granting the application will be

issued unless the Commission orders a

hearing. Interested persons may request

a hearing by writing to the Secretary of

the Commission and serving Applicants

with a copy of the request, personally or

by mail. Hearing requests should be

received by the Commission by 5:30

p.m. on November 14, 2000, and should

be accompanied by proof of service on

Applicants in the form of an affidavit or,

for lawyers, a certificate of service.

Hearing requests should state the nature

of the requester’s interest, the reason for

the request, and the issues contested.

Persons who wish to be notified of a

hearing may request notification by

writing to the Secretary of the

Commission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mark Cowan, Senior Counsel, or Keith

Carpenter, Branch Chief, Office of

Insurance Products, Division of

Investment Management, at (202) 942–

0670.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, Securities and

Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street,

NW., Washington, DC 20549–0609.

Applicants, R. Edward Bowling,

Wachovia Bank, N.A., 100 North Main

Street, Winston-Salem, NC 27101.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

following is a summary of the

application. The complete application is

available for a fee from the Public

Reference Branch of the Commission,

450 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, DC

20549 (tel. (202) 942–8090).

Applicants’ Representations

1. The Trust is a Massachusetts

business trust and is registered under

the Act as an open-end management

investment company. The Trust

currently consists of three separately

managed series (‘‘Funds’’). Additional

series could be added to the Trust in the

future. Each Fund has its own

investment objective and policies.

2. Wachovia, a business unit of

Wachovia Bank, N.A., is the investment

adviser for the Trust. As a ‘‘bank’’

within the meaning of section

202(a)(2)(A) of the Investment Advisers

Act of 1940 (‘‘Advisers Act’’), Wachovia

Bank, N.A. is excluded from the

definition of an investment adviser in

section 202(a)(11) of the Advisers Act

and, accordingly, is exempt from the

registration requirements of section 203

of the Act.

3. Upon the granting of the exemptive

relief requested by this application, the

Trust intends to offer its shares

representing interests in each Fund, and

any other series established by the Trust

(‘‘Future Funds’’) (Funds, together with

Future Funds, ‘‘Funds’’ or each a

‘‘Fund’’) to separate accounts of both

affiliated and unaffiliated insurance

companies to serve as the investment

vehicle for variable annuity contracts

and variable life insurance contracts

(‘‘Variable Contracts’’). In addition,

Applicants propose that the Trust offer

and sell shares representing interests in

the Funds directly to qualified pension

and retirement plans (‘‘Qualified Plans’’

or ‘‘Plans’’) outside of the separate

account context. Separate accounts

owning shares of the Funds and their

insurance company depositors are

referred to herein as ‘‘Participating

Separate Accounts’’ and ‘‘Participating

Insurance Companies,’’ respectively.

4. Participating Insurance Companies

will establish their own Participating

Separate Accounts and design their own

Variable Contracts. Each Participating

Insurance Company will enter into a

participation agreement with the Trust

on behalf of its Participating Separate

Account, and will have the legal

obligation of satisfying all applicable

requirements under state and federal

law. The role of the Trust, so far as the

federal securities laws are applicable,

will be limited to that of offering its

shares to separate accounts of various

insurance companies and fulfilling any

conditions the Commission may impose

upon granting the Order requested

herein.

5. The Plans will be pension or

retirement plans intended to qualify

under sections 401(a) and 501(c) of the

Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as