[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 9 (Thursday, January 13, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2190-2191]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-00582]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-224, OMB Control No. 3235-0217]


Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17e-1

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE,
    Washington, DC 20549-2736

    Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (``Paperwork Reduction Act''), 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 (``OMB'') for extension and 
approval.
    Rule 17e-1 (17 CFR 270.17e-1) under the Investment Company Act of 
1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.) (the ``Investment Company Act'') deems a 
remuneration as ``not exceeding the usual and customary broker's 
commission'' for purposes of Section 17(e)(2)(A) of the Investment 
Company Act (15 U.S.C. 80a-17(e)(2)(A)) if, among other things, a 
registered investment company's (``fund's'') board of directors has 
adopted procedures reasonably designed to provide that the remuneration 
to an affiliated broker is reasonable and fair compared to that 
received by other brokers in connection with comparable transactions 
involving similar securities being purchased or sold on a securities 
exchange during a comparable period of time and the board makes and 
approves such changes as it deems necessary. In addition, each quarter, 
the board must determine that all transactions effected under the rule 
during the preceding quarter complied with the established procedures 
(``review requirement''). Rule 17e-1 also requires the fund to (i) 
maintain permanently a written copy of the procedures adopted by the 
board for complying with the requirements of the rule; and (ii) 
maintain for a period of six years, the first two in an easily 
accessible place, a written record of each transaction subject to the 
rule, setting forth the amount and source of the commission, fee, or 
other remuneration received; the identity of the broker; the terms of 
the transaction; and the materials used to determine that the 
transactions were effected in compliance with the procedures adopted by 
the board (``recordkeeping requirement''). The review and recordkeeping 
requirements under rule 17e-1 enable the Commission to ensure that 
affiliated brokers receive compensation that does not exceed the usual 
and customary broker's commission. Without the recordkeeping 
requirement, Commission inspectors would have difficulty ascertaining 
whether funds were complying with rule 17e-1.
    Based upon an analysis of fund filings on Form N-CEN, approximately 
1,640 funds report reliance on rule 17e-1. Based on staff experience 
and conversations with fund representatives, we estimate that the 
burden of compliance with rule 17e-1 is approximately 50 hours per fund 
per year. This time is spent, for example, reviewing the applicable 
transactions and maintaining records. Accordingly, we calculate the 
total estimated annual internal burden of complying with the review and 
recordkeeping requirements of rule 17e-1 to be approximately 82,000 
hours.\1\ We further estimate that, of these:
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    \1\ 1,604 funds x 50 hours per fund = 82,000 hours.
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     60 percent (49,200 hours) are spent by senior accountants, 
at an estimated hourly wage of $221,\2\ for a total of approximately 
$10,873,200 per year; \3\
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    \2\ The Commission's estimates concerning the allocation of 
burden hours and the relevant wage rates are based on consultations 
with industry representatives and on salary information for the 
securities industry compiled by the Securities Industry and 
Financial Markets Association. The estimated wage figures are also 
based on published rates for senior accountants and in-house 
attorneys, modified to account for an 1800-hour work-year and 
multiplied by 5.35 to account for bonuses, firm size, employee 
benefits, and overhead, yielding effective hourly rates of $221 and 
$425, respectively. See Securities Industry and Financial Markets 
Association, Report on Management & Professional Earnings in the 
Securities Industry 2013.
    \3\ 49,200 hours x $221 per hour = $10,873,200.
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     30 percent (24,600 hours) are spent by in-house attorneys 
at an estimated

[[Page 2191]]

hourly wage of $425, for a total of approximately $10,455,000 per year; 
\4\ and
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    \4\ 24,600 hours x $425 per hour = $10,455,000.
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     10 percent (8,200) are spent by the funds' board of 
directors at an hourly cost of $4,770, for a total of approximately 
$39,114,000 per year.\5\
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    \5\ 8,200 hours x $4,770 per hour = $39,114,000. The estimate 
for the cost of board time as a whole is derived from estimates made 
by the staff regarding typical board size and compensation that is 
based on information received from fund representatives and publicly 
available sources.
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    Based on these estimated wage rates, the total cost to the industry 
of the hour burden for complying with the review and recordkeeping 
requirements of rule 17e-1 is approximately $60,442,200.\6\ The 
Commission staff estimates that there is no cost burden associated with 
the information collection requirement of rule 17e-1 other than this 
cost.
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    \6\ $10,873,200 + $10,455,000 + $39,114,000 = $60,442,200.
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    Estimates of average burden hours are made solely for the purposes 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act and are not derived from a comprehensive 
or even a representative survey or study of the costs of Commission 
rules and forms. The collection of information under rule 17e-1 is 
mandatory. The information provided under rule 17e-1 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 OMB control number.
    Written comments are invited on: (a) 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; (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 David Bottom, Director/Chief 
Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O John R. 
Pezzullo, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549; or send an email to: 
[email protected].

    Dated: January 10, 2022.
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2022-00582 Filed 1-12-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P