Document ID: SEC-2014-0174-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals
Posted Date: 2014-01-30T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 20 (Thursday, January 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4985-4986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-01816]

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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 Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 
20549-0213.

Extension:
    Rule 206(4)-6; OMB Control No. 3235-0571, SEC File No. 270-513.

    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'') has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(``OMB'') a request for extension of the previously approved collection 
of information discussed below.
    The title for the collection of information is ``Rule 206(4)-6'' 
under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-1 et seq.) 
(``Advisers Act'') and the collection has been approved under OMB 
Control No. 3235-0571. The Commission adopted rule 206(4)-6 (17 CFR 
275.206(4)-6), the proxy voting rule, to address an investment 
adviser's fiduciary obligation to clients who have given the adviser 
authority to vote their securities. Under the rule, an investment 
adviser that exercises voting authority over client securities is 
required to: (i) Adopt and implement policies and procedures that are 
reasonably designed to ensure that the adviser votes securities in the 
best interest of clients, including procedures to address any material 
conflict that may arise between the interest of the adviser and the 
client; (ii) disclose to clients how they may obtain information on how 
the adviser has voted with respect to their securities; and (iii) 
describe to clients the adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures 
and, on request, furnish a copy of the policies and procedures to the 
requesting client. The rule is designed to assure that advisers that 
vote proxies for their clients vote those proxies in their clients' 
best interest and provide clients with information about how their 
proxies were voted.
    Rule 206(4)-6 contains ``collection of information'' requirements 
within the meaning of the Paperwork Reduction Act. 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 collection is mandatory and responses to the disclosure 
requirement are not kept confidential.
    The respondents are investment advisers registered with the 
Commission that vote proxies with respect to clients' securities. 
Advisory clients of these investment advisers use the information 
required by the rule to assess investment advisers' proxy voting 
policies and procedures and to monitor the advisers' performance of 
their proxy voting activities. The information required by Rule 206(4)-
6 also is used by the Commission staff in its examination and oversight 
program. Without the information collected under the rule, advisory 
clients would not have information they need to assess the adviser's 
services and monitor the adviser's handling of their accounts, and the 
Commission would be less efficient and effective in its programs.
    The estimated number of investment advisers subject to the 
collection of information requirements under the rule is 9,650. It is 
estimated that each of these advisers is required to spend on average 
10 hours annually documenting its proxy voting procedures under the 
requirements of the rule, for a total burden of 96,500 hours. We 
further estimate that on average, approximately 139 clients of each 
adviser would request copies of the underlying policies and procedures. 
We estimate that it would take these advisers 0.1 hours per client to 
deliver copies of the policies and procedures, for a total burden of 
134,135 hours. Accordingly, we estimate that rule 206(4)-6 results in 
an annual aggregate burden of collection for SEC-registered investment 
advisers of a total of 230,635 hours.
    Records related to an adviser's proxy voting policies and 
procedures and proxy voting history are separately required under the 
Advisers Act recordkeeping rule 204-2 (17 CFR 275.204-2). The standard 
retention period required for books and records

[[Page 4986]]

under rule 204-2 is five years, in an easily accessible place, the 
first two years in an appropriate office of the investment adviser. OMB 
has previously approved the collection with this retention period.
    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: January 24, 2014.
Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2014-01816 Filed 1-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P