[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 114 (Wednesday, June 14, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 34392-34393]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-9261]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Office of the Secretary


Submission for OMB Review: Comment Request

June 6, 2006.
    The Department of Labor (DOL) has submitted the following public 
information collection request (ICR) to the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. chapter 35). A copy of 
this ICR, with applicable supporting documentation, may be obtained by 
contacting Darrin King on 202-693-4129 (this is not a toll-free number) 
or e-mail: [email protected].
    Comments should be sent to Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for the Employee Benefits Security 
Administration (EBSA), Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 
Washington, DC 20503, 202-395-7316 (this is not a toll-free number), 
within 30 days from the date of this publication in the Federal 
Register.
    The OMB is particularly interested in comments which:
     Evaluate 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;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimize the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration.
    Type of Review: Extension of currently approved collection.
    Title: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Cross-Trades of 
Securities by Index and Model-Driven Funds (PTCE 2002-12).
    OMB Number: 1210-0115.
    Frequency: On occasion and Annually.
    Type of Response: Recordkeeping and Third party disclosure.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit and Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Number of Respondents: 60.
    Number of Annual Responses: 960.
    Estimated Annual Time per Respondent: Approximately 14 hours.
    Total Burden Hours: 855.
    Total Annualized capital/startup costs: $0.
    Total Annual Costs (operating/maintaining systems or purchasing 
services): $0.
    Description: PTE 2002-12 exempts certain transactions that would be 
prohibited under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 
(the Act or ERISA) and the Federal Employees' Retirement System Act 
(FERSA), and provides relief from certain sanctions of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). The exemption permits cross-trades of 
securities among Index and Model-Driven Funds (Funds) managed by 
managers (Managers), and among such Funds and certain large accounts 
(Large Accounts) that engage such Managers to carry out a specific 
portfolio restructuring program or to otherwise act as a ``trading 
adviser'' for such a program. By removing existing barriers to these 
types of transactions, the exemption increases the incidences of cross-
trading, thereby lowering the transaction costs to plans in a number of 
ways from what they would be otherwise.
    In order for the Department to grant an exemption for a transaction 
or class of transactions that would otherwise be prohibited under 
ERISA, the statute requires the Department to make a finding that the 
exemption is administratively feasible, in the interest of the plan and 
its participants and beneficiaries, and protective of the rights of the 
participants and beneficiaries. To ensure that Managers have complied 
with the requirements of the exemption, the Department has included in 
the exemption certain recordkeeping and disclosure obligations that are 
designed to safeguard plan assets by periodically providing information 
to plan fiduciaries, who generally must be independent, about the 
cross-trading program. Initially, where plans are not invested in 
Funds, Managers must furnish information to plan fiduciaries about the 
cross-trading program, provide a statement that the Manager will have a 
potentially conflicting division of loyalties, and obtain written 
authorization from a plan fiduciary for a plan to participate in a 
cross-trading program. For plans that are currently invested in Funds, 
the Manager must provide annual notices to update the plan fiduciary 
and provide the plan with an opportunity to withdraw from the program. 
For Large Accounts, prior to the cross-trade, the Manager must provide 
information about the cross-trading program and obtain written 
authorization from the fiduciary of a Large Account to engage in cross-
trading in connection with a portfolio restructuring program. Following 
completion of the Large Account's restructuring, information must be 
provided by the Manager about all cross-trades executed in connection 
with a portfolio-restructuring program. Finally, the exemption requires 
that Managers maintain for a period of 6 years from the date of each 
cross-trade the records necessary to enable plan fiduciaries and 
certain other persons specified in the exemption (e.g., Department 
representatives or contributing employers), to determine

[[Page 34393]]

whether the conditions of the exemption have been met.

Ira L. Mills,
Departmental Clearance Officer.
 [FR Doc. E6-9261 Filed 6-13-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P