[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 132 (Monday, July 13, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Page 33487]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-16387]


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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 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'') has submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget a request for extension of the previously 
approved collection of information discussed below.
    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 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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    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.
    Please direct general comments regarding the above information to 
the following persons: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive 
Office Building, Washington, DC 20503 or send an e-mail to Shagufta 
Ahmed at [email protected]; and (ii) 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]. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 
30 days of this notice.

    Dated: July 6, 2009.
Elizabeth M. Murphy,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E9-16387 Filed 7-10-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8010-01-P