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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 224 (Wednesday, November 20, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 91825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27117]

[[Page 91825]]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-392, OMB Control No. 3235-0447]

Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17f-6

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 
20549-2736

    Notice is hereby given that, under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501-3520), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 
``Commission'') has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget a 
request for extension of the previously approved collection of 
information discussed below.
    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. Before the rule was adopted, 
funds generally were required to maintain such 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.
    Because rule 17f-6 does not impose any ongoing obligations on funds 
or FCMs, Commission staff estimates there are only costs related to new 
contracts between funds and FCMs. This 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.\1\ 
Commission staff estimates that approximately 1,164 series of 151 funds 
which report that futures commission merchants and commodity clearing 
organizations provide custodial services to the fund.\2\ Based on these 
estimates, the total annual burden hours associated with rule 17f-6 is 
27 hours. The estimated total annual burden hours associated with rule 
17f-6 have decreased 1 hour, from 28 to 27 hours and external costs 
increased from $11,900 to $15,534. These changes in burden hours and 
external costs reflect changes in the number of affected entities and 
in the external cost associated with the information collection 
requirements. These changes reflect revised estimates.
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    \1\ The rule requires a contract with the FCM to contain two 
provisions requiring the FCM to comply with existing requirements 
under the CEA and rules adopted thereunder; 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 CFTC for its rules.
    \2\ This estimate is based on the average number of funds that 
reported on Form N-CEN from April 2021-March 2024, in response to 
sub-items C.12.6. and D.14.6; money market funds are excluded from 
this estimate because exchange-traded futures contracts or commodity 
options are not eligible securities for money market funds; the 
number of series and funds that reported on Form N-CEN in response 
these sub-items were: 1,112 series of 150 funds for the period April 
2021-March 2022; 1,180 series of 152 funds for the period April 
2022-March 2023; and 1,210 series of 151 funds for the period April 
2023-March 2024 (for filings received through June 30, 2024).
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    These estimates are made solely for the purposes of the Paperwork 
Reduction Act, and are not derived from a comprehensive or even a 
representative survey or study of the costs of Commission rules and 
forms.
    The collections of information requirements of the rule are 
necessary to obtain the benefit of relying on the rule. 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 background documentation for this information 
collection at the following website: www.reginfo.gov. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. 
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
by December 20, 2024 to (i) www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain or 
[email protected], and (ii) Austin Gerig, 
Director/Chief Data Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o 
Tanya Ruttenberg, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549, or by sending 
an email to: [email protected].

    Dated: November 15, 2024.
Vanessa A. Countryman,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-27117 Filed 11-19-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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