[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 31 (Thursday, February 14, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10638-10639]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03398]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employee Benefits Security Administration


Proposed Amendment to the Information Collection Requirements of 
Prohibited Transaction Exemption 77-4 for Certain Transactions Between 
Investment Companies and Employee Benefit Plans

AGENCY: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (the Department), in accordance with 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed and continuing collections of information. This 
helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection 
requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps 
the public understand the Department's information collection 
requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. The 
Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) is soliciting comments 
on the proposed amendment to the information collection request (ICR) 
contained in Prohibited Transaction Exemption 77-4 that is described 
below. A copy of the ICR may be obtained by contacting the office 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this notice. ICRs also are available 
at reginfo.gov (http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain).

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office shown in the 
Addresses section on or before April 15, 2013.

ADDRESSES: G. Christopher Cosby, Department of Labor, Employee Benefits 
Security Administration, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Room N-5711, 
Washington, DC 20210, (202) 693-8410, FAX (202) 693-4745 (these are not 
toll-free numbers).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 77-4 provides relief from 
the restrictions of section 406 of the Employee Retirement Income 
Security Act of 1974, as amended (ERISA) and from the sanctions 
resulting from the application of section 4975 of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986, as amended (the Code), for an employee benefit plan's 
purchase or sale of shares of an open-end investment company registered 
under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (mutual fund) when an 
investment advisor for the mutual fund or its affiliate is: (1) A plan 
fiduciary; and (2) not an employer of employees covered by the plan.
    Section II(d) of PTE 77-4 contains certain conditions for the 
exemptive relief and provides, in pertinent part, that:

    A second fiduciary with respect to the plan, who is independent 
of and unrelated to the fiduciary/investment adviser or any 
affiliate thereof, receives a current prospectus issued by the 
investment company, and full and detailed written disclosure of the 
investment advisory and other fees charged to or paid by the plan 
and the investment company, including the nature and extent of any 
differential between the rates of such fees, the reasons why the 
fiduciary/investment adviser may consider such purchases to be 
appropriate for the plan, and whether there are any limitations on 
the fiduciary/investment adviser with respect to which plan assets 
may be invested in shares of the investment company and, if so, the 
nature of such limitations.

    The conditions impose ICRs that are subject to the PRA. This notice 
requests public comment on the Department's proposed revision to the 
ICRs that would provide that delivery of a ``summary prospectus'' may 
be used to satisfy the condition in section II(d) of PTE 77-4 requiring 
the delivery of a mutual fund's prospectus to the second fiduciary if 
the summary prospectus meets the requirements of the Securities and 
Exchange Commission's (SEC)

[[Page 10639]]

revised disclosure provisions for mutual funds including a summary 
prospectus rule that were published in 2009.\1\ Pursuant to the SEC's 
revised disclosure provisions, mutual funds also are required to send 
the full prospectus to the investor upon an investor's request \2\ and 
to provide the full prospectus on-line at a specified Internet site.\3\
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    \1\ See 74 FR 4546 (January 26, 2009). The final rule adopted, 
among other things, parallel amendments to SEC Form N-1A (the 
registration form for mutual funds) and to Rule 498 (which includes 
the content requirements for a summary prospectus).
    \2\ 17 CFR 230.498(f).
    \3\ 17 CFR 230.498.
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    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a valid OMB 
control number. A summary of the current burden estimates for the 
revised ICR follows:
    Agency: Employee Benefits Security Administration, Department of 
Labor.
    Title: Class Exemption 77-4 for Certain Transactions Between 
Investment Companies and Employee Benefit Plans.
    Type of Review: Amendment to a currently approved collection of 
information.
    OMB Number: 1210-0049.
    Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; Not-for-profit 
institutions.
    Respondents: 700.
    Responses: 363,000.
    Estimated Total Burden Hours: 33,600.
    Estimated Total Burden Cost (Operating and Maintenance): $213,000.

II. Focus of Comments

    The Department is particularly interested in comments that:
     Evaluate whether the collections of information are 
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 
collections 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., by 
permitting electronic submissions of responses.
    Comments submitted in response to this notice will be summarized 
and/or included in the ICRs for OMB approval of the extension of the 
information collection; they will also become a matter of public 
record.

    Dated: February 8, 2013.
Joseph S. Piacentini,
Director, Office of Policy and Research, Employee Benefits Security 
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2013-03398 Filed 2-13-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4510-29-P