[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 148 (Thursday, August 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51390-51391]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16542]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-513, OMB Control No. 3235-0571]


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 
206(4)-6

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.) the Securities and Exchange Commission 
(``Commission'') has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(``OMB'') a request for extension of the previously approved collection 
of information discussed below.
    The title for the collection of information is ``Rule 206(4)-6'' 
under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-1 et seq.) 
(``Advisers Act'') and the collection has been approved under OMB 
Control No. 3235-0571. The Commission adopted rule 206(4)-6 (17 CFR 
275.206(4)-6), the proxy voting rule, to address an investment 
adviser's fiduciary obligation to clients who have given the adviser 
authority to vote their securities. Under the rule, an investment 
adviser that exercises voting authority over client securities is 
required to: (i) adopt and implement policies and procedures that are 
reasonably designed to ensure that the adviser votes securities in the 
best interest of clients, including procedures to address any material 
conflict that may arise between the interest of the adviser and the 
client; (ii) disclose to clients how they may obtain information on how 
the adviser has voted with respect to their securities; and (iii) 
describe to clients the adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures 
and, on request, furnish a copy of the policies and procedures to the 
requesting client. The rule is designed to assure that advisers that 
vote proxies for their clients vote those proxies in their clients' 
best interest and provide clients with information about how their 
proxies were voted.
    Rule 206(4)-6 contains ``collection of information'' requirements 
within the meaning of the Paperwork Reduction Act. 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. The collection is mandatory and responses to the disclosure 
requirement are not kept confidential.
    The respondents are investment advisers registered with the 
Commission that vote proxies with respect to clients' securities. 
Advisory clients of these investment advisers use the information 
required by the rule to assess investment advisers' proxy voting 
policies and procedures and to monitor the advisers' performance of 
their proxy voting activities. The information required by Advisers Act 
rule 204-2, a recordkeeping rule, also is used by the Commission staff 
in its examination and oversight program. Without the information 
collected under the rules, advisory clients would not have information 
they need to assess the adviser's services and monitor the adviser's 
handling of their accounts, and the Commission would be less efficient 
and effective in its programs.
    The estimated number of investment advisers subject to the 
collection of information requirements under the rule is 14,003. It is 
estimated that each of these advisers is required to spend on average 
10 hours annually documenting its proxy voting procedures under the 
requirements of the rule, for a total burden of 140,030 hours. We 
further estimate that on average, approximately 350 clients of each 
adviser would

[[Page 51391]]

request copies of the underlying policies and procedures. We estimate 
that it would take these advisers 0.1 hours per client to deliver 
copies of the policies and procedures, for a total burden of 490,105 
hours. Accordingly, we estimate that rule 206(4)-6 results in an annual 
aggregate burden of collection for SEC-registered investment advisers 
of a total of 630,135 hours.
    Records related to an adviser's proxy voting policies and 
procedures and proxy voting history are separately required under the 
Advisers Act recordkeeping rule 204-2 (17 CFR 275.204-2). The standard 
retention period required for books and records under rule 204-2 is 
five years, in an easily accessible place, the first two years in an 
appropriate office of the investment adviser. OMB has previously 
approved the collection with this retention period.
    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 September 5, 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: July 31, 2023.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2023-16542 Filed 8-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P