[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 77 (Friday, April 21, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24644-24645]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-08420]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-808, OMB Control No. 3235-0762]


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request: Extension: Rule 151-1

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 (``PRA'') (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'') has submitted to the Office of Management 
and Budget (``OMB'') a request for approval of extension of the 
previously approved collection of information provided for in Rule 151-
1 (17 CFR 240.151-1), under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 
U.S.C. 78a et seq.).
    Rule 151-1 established a standard of conduct for broker-dealers and 
natural persons who are associated persons of a broker-dealer 
(together, ``broker-dealers'') when making a recommendation of any 
securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities to a 
retail customer (``Regulation Best Interest''). Regulation Best 
Interest requires broker-dealers, when making a recommendation of any 
securities transaction or investment strategy involving securities to a 
retail customer, to act in the best interest of the retail customer at 
the time the recommendation is made, without placing the financial or 
other interest of the broker-dealer or natural person who is an 
associated person making the recommendation ahead of the interest of 
the retail customer.
    The information that must be collected pursuant to Regulation Best 
Interest is intended to: (1) improve

[[Page 24645]]

disclosure about the scope and terms of the broker-dealer's 
relationship with the retail customer, which would foster retail 
customers' understanding of their relationship with a broker-dealer; 
(2) enhance the quality of recommendations provided by establishing an 
express best interest obligation under the federal securities laws; (3) 
enhance the disclosure of a broker-dealer's conflicts of interest; and 
(4) establish obligations that require mitigation, and not just 
disclosure, of conflicts of interest arising from financial incentives 
associated with broker-dealer recommendations. The information will 
therefore help establish a framework that protects investors and 
promotes efficiency, competition, and capital formation.
    There are approximately 2,683 respondents that must comply with 
Rule 151-1. The aggregate annual burden for all respondents is 
estimated to be 2,568,434 hours, or 957 hours per respondent (2,568,434 
hours/2,683 respondents). Under Rule 151-1, respondents will also incur 
cost burdens. The aggregate annual cost burden for all respondents is 
estimated to be $12,085,860, or $4,505 per respondent ($12,085,860/
2,681 respondents).
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to, a collection of information under the PRA unless it 
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
    The public may view background documentation for this information 
collection at the following website: www.reginfo.gov. Find this 
particular information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day 
Review--Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. 
Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information 
collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of this notice 
by May 22, 2023 to (i) [email protected] and 
(ii) David Bottom, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and 
Exchange Commission, c/o John Pezzullo, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 
20549, or by sending an email to: [email protected].

    Dated: April 17, 2023.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-08420 Filed 4-20-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P