Document ID: SEC-2018-0628-0001
Agency: sec
Document Type: Notice
Title: Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposals, Submissions, and Approvals
Posted Date: 2018-04-23T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 78 (Monday, April 23, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17697-17698]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08402]

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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 91 closed-end funds undertake a total of 364 
repurchases annually under rule 23c-1.\1\ Staff estimates further that, 
with 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 910

[[Page 17698]]

hours.\2\ Commission staff further estimates that the cost of the 
hourly burden per repurchase is $305 (one half hour of a compliance 
attorney's time at $345 per hour,\3\ and two hours of clerical time at 
$66 per hour \4\). The total annual cost for all funds is estimated to 
be $111,020.\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 January 1, 2017 through 
December 31, 2017. Although 136 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 136 funds that made disclosures of publicly 
announced repurchases under Item 9, but only a subset thereof (91 
funds). We also estimate that each of the 91 funds undertook an 
average of 4 repurchases annually (91 funds x 4 repurchases = 364 
repurchases annually).
    \2\ This estimate is based on the following calculation: 364 
repurchases x 2.5 hours per repurchase = 910 hours.
    \3\ The $345/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 (includes a CPI inflation 
adjustment from the 2013 estimate).
    \4\ The $66/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 (includes a CPI inflation adjustment from the 
2013 estimate).
    \5\ This estimate is based on the following calculation: 364 
repurchases x $305 per repurchase = $111,020.
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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 249.331and 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 website, 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: 
[email protected]; 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: [email protected]. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 
days of this notice.

    Dated: April 18, 2018.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-08402 Filed 4-20-18; 8:45 am]
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