[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 130 (Friday, July 7, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38677-38678]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-10637]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon written request, copies available from: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, Washington, DC 
20549-0004.

Extension: Rule 27f-1 and Form N-27F-1; SEC File No. 270-487; OMB 
Control No. 3235-0546.

    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'') is soliciting comments on the collections 
of information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit these 
collections of information to the Office of Management and Budget for 
approval.
    Section 27(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``Act'') (15 
U.S.C. 80a-27(f)) provides that ``[w]ith respect to any periodic 
payment plan (other than a plan under which the amount of sales load 
deducted from any payment thereon does not exceed 9 per centum of such 
payment), the custodian bank

[[Page 38678]]

for such plan shall mail to each certificate holder, within sixty days 
after the issuance of the certificate, a statement of charges to be 
deducted from the projected payments on the certificate and a notice of 
his right of withdrawal as specified in this section.'' Section 27(f) 
authorizes the Commission to ``make rules specifying the method, form, 
and contents of the notice required by this subsection.'' Rule 27f-1 
(17 CFR 270.27f-1) under the Act, entitled ``Notice of Right of 
Withdrawal Required to be Mailed to Periodic Payment Plan Certificate 
Holders and Exemption from Section 27(f) for Certain Periodic Payment 
Plan Certificates,'' provides instructions for the delivery of the 
notice required by section 27(f).
    Rule 27f-1(d) prescribes Form N-27F-1 (17 CFR 274.127f-1), which 
sets forth the language that custodian banks for periodic payment plans 
must use in informing certificate holders of their withdrawal right 
pursuant to section 27(f). The instructions to the form provide that 
the notice must be on the sender's letterhead. The Commission does not 
receive a copy of the form N-27F-1 notice.
    The Form N-27F-1 notice informs certificate holders of their rights 
in connection with the certificates they hold. Specifically, it is 
intended to encourage new purchasers of plan certificates to reassess 
the costs and benefits of their investment and to provide them with an 
opportunity to recover their initial investment without penalty. The 
disclosure assists certificate holders in making careful and fully 
informed decisions about whether to invest in periodic payment plan 
certificates.
    The frequency with which each of these issuers or their 
representatives must file Form N-27F-1 notices varies with the number 
of periodic payment plans sold. Commission staff spoke with 
representatives of a number of firms in the industry that currently 
have periodic payment plan accounts. Based upon these conversations, 
the staff estimates that 3 issuers of periodic payment plan 
certificates send out an aggregate of approximately 535 notices per 
year. The staff further estimates that all the issuers that send Form 
N-27F-1 notices use outside contractors to print and distribute the 
notices, and incur no hourly burden. The estimate of annual 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 rule 
27f-1 is mandatory for custodian banks of periodic payment plans for 
which the sales load deducted from any payment exceeds 9 percent of the 
payment.\1\ The information provided pursuant to rule 27f-1 will be 
provided to third parties and, therefore, 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 control number.
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    \1\ The rule also permits the issuer, its principal underwriter, 
its depositor, or its recordkeeping agent to mail the notice if the 
custodian bank has delegated the mailing of the notice to any of 
them or if the issuer has been permitted to operate without a 
custodian bank by Commission order. See 17 CFR 270.27f-1.
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    Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information has practical 
utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's estimate of the burden of 
the collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, 
utility, and clarity of the information collected; and (d) ways to 
minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, 
including through the use of automated collection techniques or other 
forms of information technology. Consideration will be given to 
comments and suggestions submitted in writing within 60 days of this 
publication.
    Please direct your written comments to R. Corey Booth, Director/
Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O 
Shirley Martinson, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312, 
or send an e-mail to: [email protected].

    Dated: June 27, 2006.
J. Lynn Taylor,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. E6-10637 Filed 7-6-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P