8110 Federal Register / Vol. 81, No. 31 / Wednesday, February 17, 2016 / Notices 

12 17 CFR 200.30–3(a)(57). 

proposed rule change so that it has 

sufficient time to consider the proposed 

rule change, as amended by Partial 

Amendment No.1, comment letters, and 

FINRA’s submission. Accordingly, the 

Commission, pursuant to Exchange Act 

section 19(b)(2), designates April 8, 

2016, as the date by which the 

Commission shall approve or 

disapprove the proposed rule change. 

For the Commission, by the Division of 

Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated 

authority.12

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2016–03127 Filed 2–16–16; 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 FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 

20549–2736. 

Extension: Rule 204A–1, 

SEC File No. 270–536, OMB Control No. 

3235–0596. 

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 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. 

The title for the collection of 

information is ‘‘Rule 204A–1 (17 CFR 

275.204A–1) under the Investment 

Advisers Act of 1940’’ (15 U.S.C. 80b– 

1 et seq.) Rule 204A–1 (the ‘‘Code of 

Ethics Rule’’) requires investment 

advisers registered with the Commission 

to (i) set forth standards of conduct 

expected of advisory personnel 

(including compliance with the federal 

securities laws); (ii) safeguard material 

nonpublic information about client 

transactions; and (iii) require the 

adviser’s ‘‘access persons’’ to report 

their personal securities transactions, 

including transactions in any mutual 

fund managed by the adviser. The Code 

of Ethics Rule requires access persons to 

obtain the adviser’s approval before 

investing in an initial public offering or 

private placement. The Code of Ethics 

Rule also requires prompt reporting, to 

the adviser’s chief compliance officer or 

another person designated in the code of 

ethics, of any violations of the code. 

Finally, the Code of Ethics Rule requires 

the adviser to provide each supervised 

person with a copy of the code and any 

amendments, and require the 

supervised persons to acknowledge, in 

writing, their receipt of these copies. 

The purposes of the information 

collection requirements are to: (i) 

Ensure that advisers maintain codes of 

ethics applicable to their supervised 

persons; (ii) provide advisers with 

information about the personal 

securities transactions of their access 

persons for purposes of monitoring such 

transactions; (iii) provide advisory 

clients with information with which to 

evaluate advisers’ codes of ethics; and 

(iv) assist the Commission’s 

examination staff in assessing the 

adequacy of advisers’ codes of ethics 

and assessing personal trading activity 

by advisers’ supervised persons. 

The respondents to this information 

collection are investment advisers 

registered with the Commission. The 

Commission has estimated that 

compliance with rule 204A–1 imposes a 

burden of approximately 118 hours per 

adviser annually for an estimated total 

annual burden of 1,418,703 hours. 

An agency may not conduct or 

sponsor a collection of information 

unless it displays a currently valid OMB 

control number. No person shall be 

subject to any penalty for failing to 

comply with a collection of information 

subject to the PRA that does not display 

a 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 Pamela Dyson, Director/Chief 

Information Officer, Securities and 

Exchange Commission, C/O Remi 

Pavlik-Simon, 100 F Street NE., 

Washington, DC 20549; or send an email 

to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. 

Dated: February 10, 2016. 

Brent J. Fields, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2016–03111 Filed 2–16–16; 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 FOIA Services, 

100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 

20549–2736. 

Extension: Rule 15a–6, 

SEC File No. 270–0329, OMB Control No. 

3235–0371. 

Notice is hereby given that pursuant 

to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(‘‘PRA’’) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

(‘‘Commission’’) is soliciting comments 

on the existing collection of information 

provided for in Rule 15a–6, (17 CFR 

240.15a–6), under the Securities 

Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 78a et 

seq.). The Commission plans to submit 

this existing collection of information to 

the Office of Management and Budget 

(‘‘OMB’’) for extension and approval. 

Rule 15a–6 provides conditional 

exemptions from the requirement to 

register as a broker-dealer pursuant to 

Section 15 of the Exchange Act (15 

U.S.C. 78o) for foreign broker-dealers 

that engage in certain specified 

activities involving U.S. persons. In 

particular, Rule 15a–6(a)(3) provides an 

exemption from broker-dealer 

registration for foreign broker-dealers 

that solicit and effect transactions with 

or for U.S. institutional investors or 

major U.S. institutional investors 

through a registered broker-dealer, 

provided that the U.S. broker-dealer, 

among other things, obtains certain 

information about, and consents to 

service of process from, the personnel of 

the foreign broker-dealer involved in 

such transactions, and maintains certain 

records in connection therewith. 

These requirements are intended to 

ensure (a) that the registered brokerdealer will receive notice of the identity 

of, and has reviewed the background of, 

foreign personnel who will contact U.S. 

investors, (b) that the foreign brokerdealer and its personnel effectively may 

be served with process in the event 

enforcement action is necessary, and (c) 

that the Commission has ready access to 

information concerning these persons 

and their U.S. securities activities. 

Commission staff estimates that 

approximately 2,000 U.S. registered 


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