[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 101 (Thursday, May 24, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28764-28765]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-13159]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Upon Written Request, Copy Available From: Securities and 
Exchange Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, 450 
Fifth Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20549.

Extension:
    Form N-5, SEC File No. 270-172, OMB Control No. 3235-0169
    Form N-8A, SEC File No. 270-135, OMB Control No. 3235-0175
    Form N-8B-2, SEC File No. 270-186, OMB Control No. 3235-0186

    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 (``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the collections 
of information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit these 
existing collections of information to the Office of Management and 
Budget for extension and approval.

Form N-5--Registration Statement of Small Business Investment 
Companies Under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Investment 
Company Act of 1940

    Form N-5 is the integrated registration statement form adopted by 
the Commission for use by a small business investment company which has 
been licensed as such under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 
and has been notified by the Small Business Administration that the 
company may submit a license application, to register its securities 
under the Securities Act of 1933 [15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.] (``Securities 
Act''), and to register as an investment company under section 8 of the 
Investment Company Act of 1940 [15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.] (``Investment 
Company Act''). The purpose of registration under the Securities Act is 
to ensure that investors are provided with material information 
concerning securities offered for public sale that will permit 
investors to make informed decisions regarding such securities. The 
Commission staff reviews the registration statements for the adequacy 
and accuracy of the disclosure contained therein. Without Form N-5, the 
Commission would be unable to carry out the requirements of the 
Securities Act and the Investment Company Act for registration of small 
business investment companies. The respondents to the collection of 
information are small business investment companies seeking to register 
under the Investment Company Act and to register their securities for 
sale to the public under the Securities Act. The estimated number of 
respondents is two and the proposed frequency of response is annually. 
The estimate of the total annual reporting burden of the collection of 
information is approximately 352 hours per respondent, for a total of 
704 hours.

Form N-8A--Notification of Registration of Investment Companies

    Form N-8A is the form that investment companies file to notify the 
Commission of the existence of active investment companies. After an 
investment company has filed its notification of registration under 
section 8(a) of the Investment Company Act, the company is then subject 
to the provisions which govern certain aspects of its organization and 
activities, such as the composition of its board of directors and the 
issuance of senior securities. Form N-8A requires an investment company 
to provide its name, state of organization, form of organization, 
classification, if it is a management company, the name and address of 
each investment adviser of the investment company, the current value of 
its total assets and certain other information readily available to the 
investment company. If the investment company is filing simultaneously 
its notification of registration and registration statement, Form N-8A 
requires only that the registrant file the cover page (giving its name, 
address and agent for service of process) and sign the form in order to 
effect registration.
    The Commission uses the information provided in the notification on 
Form N-8A to determine the existence of active investment companies and 
to enable the Commission to administer the provisions of the Investment 
Company Act with respect to those companies. Each year approximately 
263 investment companies file a notification on Form N-8A. The 
Commission estimates that preparing Form N-8A requires an investment 
company to spend approximately one hour so that the total burden of 
preparing Form N-8A for all affected investment companies is 263 hours.

Form N-8B-2--Registration Statement of Unit Investment Trusts That 
Are Currently Issuing Securities

    Form N-8B-2 is the form used by unit investment trusts (``UITs'') 
that are currently issuing securities, including UITs that are issuers 
of periodic payment plan certificates and UITs of which a management 
investment company is the sponsor or depositor, to comply with the 
filing and disclosure requirements imposed by section 8(b) of the 
Investment Company Act. Form N-8B-2 requires disclosure about the 
organization of a UIT, its securities, the trustee, the personnel and 
affiliated persons of the depositor, the distribution and redemption of 
securities, and financial statements. The Commission uses the 
information provided in the collection of information to determine 
compliance with section 8(b) of the Investment Company Act.
    Based on the Commission's industry statistics, the Commission 
estimates that there would be approximately 24 initial filings on Form 
N-8B-2 and 11 post-

[[Page 28765]]

effective amendment filings to the form. The Commission estimates that 
each registrant filing an initial Form N-8B-2 would spend 44 hours in 
preparing and filing the form and that the total hour burden for all 
initial Form N-8B-2 filings would be 1,056 hours. Also, the Commission 
estimates that each UIT filing a post-effective amendment to Form N-8B-
2 would spend 16 hours in preparing and filing the amendment and that 
the total hour burden for all post-effective amendments to the form 
would be 176 hours. By combining the total hour burdens estimated for 
initial Form N-8B-2 filings and post-effective amendments filings to 
the form, the Commission estimates that the total annual burden hours 
for all registrants on Form N-8B-2 would be 1,232.
    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 a representative survey or study of the costs of 
Commission rules and forms.
    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 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 Fifth Street, NW., Washington, 
D.C. 20549.

    Dated: May 17, 2001.
Jonathan G. Katz,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 01-13159 Filed 5-23-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-M