Document ID: SEC-2014-1427-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals
Posted Date: 2014-08-25T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 164 (Monday, August 25, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50710-50711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20087]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Submission for OMB Review; 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 18f-3; OMB Control No. 3235-0441, SEC File No. 270-385.

    Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (``Paperwork Reduction Act''), 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.
    Rule 18f-3 (17 CFR 270.18f-3) under the Investment Company Act of 
1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.) exempts from section 18(f)(1) a fund 
that issues multiple classes of shares representing interests in the 
same portfolio of securities (a ``multiple class fund'') if the fund 
satisfies the conditions of the rule. In general, each class must 
differ in its arrangement for shareholder services or distribution or 
both, and must pay the related expenses of that different arrangement. 
The rule includes one requirement for the collection of information. A 
multiple class fund must prepare, and fund directors must approve, a 
written plan setting forth the separate arrangement and expense 
allocation of each class, and any related conversion features or 
exchange privileges (``rule 18f-3 plan''). Approval of the plan must 
occur before the fund issues any shares of multiple classes and 
whenever the fund materially amends the plan. In approving the plan, 
the fund board, including a majority of the independent directors, must 
determine that the plan is in the best interests of each class and the 
fund as a whole.
    The requirement that the fund prepare and directors approve a 
written rule 18f-3 plan is intended to ensure that the fund compiles 
information relevant to the fairness of the separate arrangement and 
expense allocation for each class, and that directors review and 
approve the information. Without a blueprint

[[Page 50711]]

that highlights material differences among classes, directors might not 
perceive potential conflicts of interests when they determine whether 
the plan is in the best interests of each class and the fund. In 
addition, the plan may be useful to Commission staff in reviewing the 
fund's compliance with the rule.
    Based on an analysis of fund filings, the Commission estimates that 
there are approximately 5,831 multiple class funds offered by 969 
registrants. The Commission estimates that each of the 969 registrants 
will make an average of 0.5 responses annually to prepare and approve a 
written 18f-3 plan.\1\ The Commission estimates each response will take 
6 hours, requiring a total of 3 hours per registrant per year.\2\ Thus 
the total annual hour burden associated with these requirements of the 
rule is approximately 2,907 hours.\3\
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    \1\ The Commission estimates that each registrant prepares and 
approves a rule 18f-3 plan every two years when issuing a new fund 
or new class or amending a plan (or that 484.5 of all 969 
registrants prepare and approve a plan each year).
    \2\ 0.5 responses per registrant x 6 hours per response = 3 
hours per registrant.
    \3\ 3 hours per registrant per year x 969 registrants = 2,907 
hours per year.
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    Estimates of the 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. The collection of information under rule 
18f-3 is mandatory. The information provided under rule 18f-3 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 Web site: 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: Shagufta_Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Thomas Bayer, 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. 
Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice.

    Dated: August 19, 2014.
Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-20087 Filed 8-22-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P