Document ID: SEC-2015-0580-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals
Posted Date: 2015-04-06T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 65 (Monday, April 6, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18449-18450]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07753]

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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 23c-1. (SEC File No. 270-253, OMB Control No. 3235-0260).

    Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 350l-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 23c-1(a) under the Investment Company Act (17 CFR 270.23c-
1(a)) permits a closed-end fund to repurchase its securities for cash 
if, in addition to the other requirements set forth in the rule, the 
following conditions are met: (i) Payment of the purchase price is 
accompanied or preceded by a written confirmation of the purchase 
(``written confirmation''); (ii) the asset coverage per unit of the 
security to be purchased is disclosed to the seller or his agent 
(``asset coverage disclosure''); and (iii) if the security is a stock, 
the fund has, within the preceding six months, informed stockholders of 
its intention to purchase stock (``six month notice''). Commission 
staff estimates that 78 closed-end funds undertake a total of 702 
repurchases annually under Rule 23c-1.\1\ Staff estimates further that, 
with

[[Page 18450]]

respect to each repurchase, each fund spends 2.5 hours to comply with 
the rule's written confirmation, asset coverage disclosure and six 
month notice requirements. Thus, Commission staff estimates the total 
annual respondent reporting burden is 1755 hours.\2\ Commission staff 
further estimates that the cost of the hourly burden per repurchase is 
$295 (one half hour of a compliance attorney's time at $334 per 
hour,\3\ and two hours of clerical time at $64 per hour \4\). The total 
annual cost for all funds is estimated to be $207,090.\5\
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    \1\ The number of closed-end funds that undertake repurchases 
annually under Rule 23c-1 is based on information provided in 
response to Item 9 of Form N-CSR from December 30, 2013 through 
December 30, 2014. Although 112 closed-end funds made disclosures 
regarding ``publicly announced'' repurchase plans in response to 
Item 9, not all repurchases are made pursuant to Rule 23c-1. We 
estimate that approximately 30% of such closed-end funds have not 
made repurchases pursuant to Rule 23c-1. Therefore, our estimate 
does not include all 112 funds that made disclosures of publicly 
announced repurchases under Item 9, but only a subset thereof.
    \2\ This estimate is based on the following calculation: 702 
repurchases x 2.5 hours per repurchase = 1755 hours.
    \3\ The $334/hour figure for a compliance attorney is from 
SIFMA's Management & Professional Earnings in the Securities 
Industry 2013, modified by Commission staff to account for an 1800-
hour work-year and multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, firm 
size, employee benefits and overhead.
    \4\ The $64/hour figure for a compliance clerk is from SIFMA's 
Office Salaries in the Securities Industry 2013, modified by 
Commission staff to account for an 1800-hour work-year and 
multiplied by 2.93 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee 
benefits and overhead.
    \5\ This estimate is based on the following calculation: 702 
repurchases x $295 per repurchase = $207,090.
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    In addition, the fund must file with the Commission a copy of any 
written solicitation to purchase securities given by or on behalf of 
the fund to 10 or more persons. The copy must be filed as an exhibit to 
Form N-CSR (17 CFR 249.331 and 274.128).\6\ The burden associated with 
filing Form N-CSR is addressed in the submission related to that form.
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    \6\ In addition, Item 9 of Form N-CSR requires closed-end funds 
to disclose information similar to the information that was required 
in Form N-23C-1, which was discontinued in 2004.
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    The estimate of average burden hours is made solely for the 
purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act, and is not derived from a 
comprehensive or even a representative survey or study of the costs of 
Commission rules and forms.
    Complying with the collection of information requirements of the 
rule is mandatory. The filings that the rule requires to be made with 
the Commission are available to the public. 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 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) 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. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 
days of this notice.

    Dated: March 31, 2015.
Brent J. Fields,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-07753 Filed 4-3-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P