[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 88 (Friday, May 8, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 21729]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-10690]



[[Page 21729]]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon written request, copies available from: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 
20549-0213.

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 (the ``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the 
collection of information summarized below. The Commission plans to 
submit this existing collection of information to the Office of 
Management and Budget for extension and 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 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.'' \1\ The certificate holder then has forty-
five days from the mailing of the notice to surrender his or her 
certificate and receive ``in payment thereof, in cash, the sum of (1) 
the value of his account, and (2) an amount, from the underwriter or 
depositor, equal to the difference between the gross payments made and 
the net amount invested.''
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    \1\ As discussed below, the Military Personnel Financial 
Services Protection Act banned the issuance or sale of new periodic 
payment plans, effective October 2006.
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    Section 27(f) authorizes the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``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.
    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.\2\ 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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    \2\ The rule also permits the issuer, its principal underwriter, 
its depositor, or its record-keeping 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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    Effective October 27, 2006, the Military Personnel Financial 
Services Protection Act banned the issuance or sale of new periodic 
payment plans. Accordingly, the staff estimates that there is no 
information collection burden associated with rule 27f-1 and Form N-
27F-1. For administrative purposes, however, we are requesting approval 
for an information collection burden of one hour per year. This 
estimate of burden hours is not derived from a comprehensive or 
necessarily even representative study of the cost of the Commission's 
rules and forms
    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 Charles Boucher, Director/
CIO, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O Shirley Martinson, 6432 
General Green Way, Alexandria, VA 22312; or send an e-mail to: [email protected].

    Dated: April 30, 2009.
Florence E. Harmon,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-10690 Filed 5-7-09; 8:45 am]
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