E8-31354. 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:

Form NP-X; SEC File No. 270-524; OMB Control No. 3235-0582.

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 a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information discussed below.

The title of the collection of information is “Form N-PX (17 CFR 274.129) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.) (“Investment Company Act”), Annual Report of Proxy Voting Record.” Rule 30b1-4 (17 CFR 270.30b1-4) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 requires every registered management investment company, other than a small business investment company (“Fund”), to file Form N-PX not later than August 31 of each year. Funds use Form N-PX to file annual reports with the Commission containing their complete proxy voting record for the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30. Funds also use Form N-PX to inform the Commission that certain of their portfolios do not hold any equity securities and have no proxy record to file.

The Commission requires the dissemination of this information in order to meet the filing and disclosure requirements of the Investment Company Act and to enable Funds to provide investors with the information necessary to evaluate an investment in the Fund. The information filed with the Commission also permits the verification of compliance with securities law requirements and assures the public availability and dissemination of the information. Requiring a Fund to file its annual reports on Form N-PX has the advantages of making each Fund's proxy voting record available within a relatively short period of time after the proxy voting season, and of providing disclosure of all Funds' proxy voting records over a uniform period of time.

There are approximately 3,800 Funds registered with the Commission, representing approximately 9,400 Fund portfolios, which are required to file Form N-PX.^[1] The 9,400 portfolios are comprised of 6,200 portfolios holding equity securities and 3,200 portfolios holding no equity securities. The staff estimates that portfolios holding no equity securities require approximately a 0.17 hour burden per response and those holding equity securities require 14.4 hours per response. The overall estimated annual burden is therefore 89,824 hours ((6,200 responses × 14.4 hours per response for equity holding portfolios) + (3,200 responses × 0.17 hours per response for non-equity holding portfolios)).

Form N-PX does not involve any recordkeeping requirements. Providing the information required by the rule is mandatory and information provided under the rule 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.

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: [e-mail]; 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: [e-mail]. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice.

Dated: December 29, 2008.

Florence E. Harmon,

Acting Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  

The estimate of 3,800 Funds is based on the number of management investment companies currently registered with the Commission. We estimate, based on data from the Investment Company Institute and other sources, that there are approximately 5,700 Fund portfolios that invest primarily in equity securities, 500 “hybrid” or bond portfolios that may hold some equity securities, 2,400 bond Funds that hold no equity securities, and 800 money market Funds, for a total of 9,400 portfolios required to file Form N-PX.