128 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 1 / Monday, January 3, 2022 / Notices 

1The 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. 

2This estimate is based on the number of funds 

that reported on Form N–CEN from July 31, 2020– 

July 31, 2021, in response to sub-items C.12.6. and 

D.14.6. Money market funds are excluded from this 

estimate because they are not eligible securities. 

$20,000 for the services of outside 

attorneys to retrieve, review, and submit 

the information associated with the 

submission of the one request for which 

a request for a joint interpretation 

pursuant to Rule 3a68–2 was not 

previously made (1 request × 50 hours/ 

request × $400). For the nine requests 

for which a request for a joint 

interpretation pursuant to Rule 3a68–2 

was previously made, the SEC estimates 

the total costs associated with preparing 

and submitting a party’s request 

pursuant to Rule 3a68–4(c) would be 

$6,000 less per request because, as 

discussed above, some of the 

information required to be submitted 

pursuant to Rule 3a68–4(c) already 

would have been submitted pursuant to 

Rule 3a68–2. The SEC estimates this 

would result in an aggregate cost each 

year of $126,000 for the services of 

outside attorneys (9 requests × 35 hours/ 

request × $400). 

Written comments are invited on: (a) 

Whether the proposed collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the SEC, 

including whether the information shall 

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of 

the SEC’s estimates of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information; (c) 

ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

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. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor, and a person is not required to 

respond to, a collection of information 

under the PRA unless it displays a 

currently valid OMB control number. 

Please direct your written comments 

to: David Bottom, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o John 

Pezzullo, 100 F Street NE, Washington, 

DC 20549, or send an email to: PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: December 28, 2021. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–28427 Filed 12–30–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[OMB Control No. 3235–0447, SEC File No. 

270–392] 

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 no costs related to existing 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 1,302 

series of 155 funds which report that 

futures commission merchants and 

commodity clearing organizations 

provide custodial services to the fund.2

Commission staff, however, estimates 

that any burden of the rule would be 

borne by funds and FCMs entering into 

new contracts pursuant to the rule as set 

forth in Table 1 below: 

TABLE 1—BURDEN OF INFORMATION COLLECTION FOR COMPLYING WITH RULE 17f–6 

Estimated responses Estimated hours burden Estimated cost burdens 

New contracts with 

FCMs Annually.

130 series ................... 130 series × 0.1 hours = 13 hours ................. 13 hours × $425 (attorney) 4 = $5,525. 

15 funds 1 ................... 15 funds × 1 hour = 15 hours ......................... 15 hours × $425 (attorney) 4 = $6,375. 

13 hours + 15 hours = 28 hours 3 ................... $5,525 + $6,375 = $11,900. 

Totals .................... 130 series and 15 

funds annually 2.

28 hours annually ........................................... $11,900 annually. 

1These estimates are based on the assumption that 10% of series and funds that currently effect commodities transactions enter into new 

FCM contracts each year. This assumption encompasses series and fund that enter into FCM contracts for the first time, as well as fund complexes and fund that change the FCM with whom they maintain margin accounts for commodities transactions. 2 Commission staff estimates that approximately 155 funds, representing 1,302 separate fund series, currently effect commodities transactions 

and could deposit margin with FCMs in connection with those transactions pursuant to rule 17f–6. Staff further estimates that of this number, 15 

funds and 130 series enter into new contracts with FCMs each year. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 1 / Monday, January 3, 2022 / Notices 129 

3Based on conversations with fund representatives, Commission staff understands that funds typically enter into contracts with FCMs on behalf of series that engage in commodities transactions. Series covered by the contract are typically listed in an attachment, which may be 

amended to encompass new series. Commission staff estimates that the burden for a fund to enter into a contract with an FCM that contains the 

contract requirements of rule 17f–6 is one hour, and further estimates that the burden to add a series to an existing contract between a fund and 

an FCM is 6 minutes. 4The $425 per hour figure for an attorney is from SIFMA’s Management & Professional Earnings in the Securities Industry 2013, updated for 

2021 modified by Commission staff to account for an 1,800-hour work-year and multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee 

benefits and overhead. 

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 the background 

documentation for this information 

collection at the following website, 

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 email to: 

Lindsay.M.Abate@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) 

David Bottom, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o John R. 

Pezzullo, 100 F Street NE, Washington, 

DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. Written comments 

and recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. 

Dated: December 28, 2021. 

J. Matthew DeLesDernier, 

Assistant Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2021–28423 Filed 12–30–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8011–01–P 

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE 

COMMISSION 

[OMB Control No. 3235–0169, SEC File No. 

270–172] 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request; Extension: Form 

N–5 

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, 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 extension of the 

previously approved collection of 

information discussed below. 

Form N–5 (17 CFR 239.24 and 274.5) 

is the form used by small business 

investment companies (‘‘SBICs’’) to 

register their securities under the 

Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et 

seq.) (‘‘Securities Act’’) and the 

Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 

U.S.C. 80a–1 et seq.) (‘‘Investment 

Company Act’’). Form N–5 is the 

registration statement form adopted by 

the Commission for use by an SBIC that 

has been licensed as such under the 

Small Business Investment Act of 1958 

or which has received the preliminary 

approval of the Small Business 

Administration (‘‘SBA’’) and has been 

notified by the SBA that the company 

may submit a license application Form 

N–5 is an integrated registration form 

and may be used as the registration 

statement under both the Securities Act 

and the Investment Company Act. The 

purpose of Form N–5 is to meet the 

filing and disclosure requirements of 

both the Securities Act and Investment 

Company Act, and to provide investors 

with information sufficient to evaluate 

an investment in an SBIC. The 

information that is required to be filed 

with the Commission permits 

verification of compliance with 

securities law requirements and assures 

the public availability and 

dissemination of the information. 

The Commission did not receive any 

filings on Form N–5 in the last three 

years (and in the three years before that, 

received only one Form N–5 filing). 

Nevertheless, for purposes of this PRA, 

we conservatively estimate that at least 

one Form N–5 will be filed in the next 

three years, which translates to about 

0.333 filings on Form N–5 per year. The 

currently approved internal burden of 

Form N–5 is 352 hours per response. We 

continue to believe this estimate for 

Form N–5’s internal hour burden is 

appropriate. Therefore, the number of 

currently approved aggregate burden 

hours, when calculated using the 

current estimate for number of filings, is 

about 117 internal hours per year. 

The currently approved external cost 

burden of Form N–5 is $10,100 per 

filing. The requested external cost 

burden for filing one Form N–5 would 

be $12,524 per year. This estimated 

burden is based on the estimated wage 

rate of $496/hour, for 25.25 hours, for 

outside legal services to complete the 

form and provide the required 

hyperlinks. 

Estimates of average burden hours 

and costs 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. 

Compliance with the collection of 

information requirements of Form N–5 

is mandatory. Responses to the 

collection of information 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 website, 

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 email to: 

Lindsay.M.Abate@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) 

David Bottom, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, c/o John R. 

Pezzullo 100 F Street NE, Washington, 

DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_

Mailbox@sec.gov. Written comments 

and recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/ 

PRAMain. Find this particular 

information collection by selecting 

‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open 

for Public Comments’’ or by using the 

search function. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES