2014-23574. 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:

Rule 498, SEC File No. 270-574, OMB Control No. 3235-0648.

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”) has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information discussed below.

Rule 498 (17 CFR 230.498) under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77a et seq.) (“Securities Act”) permits open-end management investment companies (“funds”) to satisfy their prospectus delivery obligations under the Securities Act by sending or giving key information directly to investors in the form of a summary prospectus (“Summary Prospectus”) and providing the statutory prospectus on a Web site. Upon an investor's request, funds are also required to send the statutory prospectus to the investor. In addition, under rule 498, a fund that relies on the rule to meet its statutory prospectus delivery obligations must make available, free of charge, the fund's current Summary Prospectus, statutory prospectus, statement of additional information, and most recent annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders at the Web site address specified in the required Summary Prospectus legend.^[1] A Summary Prospectus that complies with rule 498 is deemed to be a prospectus that is authorized under Section 10(b) of the Securities Act and Section 24(g) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.).

The purpose of rule 498 is to enable a fund to provide investors with a Summary Prospectus containing key information necessary to evaluate an investment in the fund. Unlike many other federal information collections, which are primarily for the use and benefit of the collecting agency, this information collection is primarily for the use and benefit of investors. 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.

Based on an analysis of fund filings, the Commission estimates that approximately 9,082 portfolios are using a Summary Prospectus. The Commission estimates that the annual hourly burden per portfolio associated with the compilation of the information required on the cover page or the beginning of the Summary Prospectus is 0.5 hours, and estimates that the annual hourly burden per portfolio to comply with the Web site posting requirement is approximately 1 hour, requiring a total of 1.5 hours per portfolio per year.^[2] Thus the total annual hour burden associated with these requirements of the rule is approximately 13,623.^[3] The Commission estimates that the annual cost burden is approximately $15,900 per portfolio, for a total annual cost burden of approximately $144,403,800.^[4]

Estimates of the 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. Under rule 498, use of the Summary Prospectus is voluntary, but the rule's requirements regarding provision of the statutory prospectus upon investor request are mandatory for funds that elect to send or give a Summary Prospectus in reliance upon rule 498. The information provided under rule 498 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.

The public may view the background documentation for this information collection at the following Web site: www.reginfo.gov. Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an email to: [e-mail]; and (ii) Thomas Bayer, Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549 or send an email to: [e-mail]. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice.

Dated: September 29, 2014.

Kevin M. O'Neill,

Deputy Secretary.

Footnotes

1.  17 CFR 270.498(e)(1).

2.  0.5 hours per portfolio + 1 hour per portfolio = 1.5 hours per portfolio. The Commission believes that funds that have opted to use the Summary Prospectus have already incurred the estimated one-time hour burden to initially comply with rule 498, and therefore the estimated burden hours to initially comply with rule 498 and the associated costs are not included in these estimates.

3.  1.5 hours per portfolio × 9,082 portfolios = 13,623 hours.

4.  $15,900 per portfolio × 9,082 portfolios = $144,403,800.