2019-28045. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Certain Transactions Between Investment Companies and Employee Benefit Plans (PTE 1977-4)

ACTION:

Notice of availability; request for comments.

SUMMARY:

The Department of Labor (DOL) is submitting the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) sponsored information collection request (ICR) titled, “Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Certain Transactions Between Investment Companies and Employee Benefit Plans (PTE 1977-4),” to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval for continued use, without change, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). Public comments on the ICR are invited.

DATES:

The OMB will consider all written comments that agency receives on or before January 29, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

A copy of this ICR with applicable supporting documentation; including a description of the likely respondents, proposed frequency of response, and estimated total burden may be obtained free of charge from the RegInfo.gov website at http://www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAViewICR?​ref_​nbr=​201909-1210-005 (this link will only become active on the day following publication of this notice) or by contacting Frederick Licari by telephone at 202-693-8073, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email at [e-mail].

Submit comments about this request by mail to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attn: OMB Desk Officer for DOL-EBSA, Office of Management and Budget, Room 10235, 725 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20503; by Fax: [phone] (this is not a toll-free number); or by email: [e-mail]. Commenters are encouraged, but not required, to send a courtesy copy of any comments by mail or courier to the U.S. Department of Labor-OASAM, Office of the Chief Information Officer, Attn: Departmental Information Compliance Management Program, Room N1301, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210; or by email: [e-mail].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Frederick Licari by telephone at 202-693-8073, TTY 202-693-8064, (these are not toll-free numbers) or by email at [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This ICR seeks to extend PRA authority for the Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Certain Transactions Between Investment Companies and Employee Benefit Plans (PTE 1977-4) information collection. Prohibited Transaction Exemption (PTE) 77-4 provides relief from the restrictions of section 406 of ERISA and from the sanctions resulting from the application of section 4975 of the Code, for an employee benefit plan's purchase or sale of shares of an openend investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (mutual fund) when an investment advisor for the mutual fund or its affiliate is: (1) A plan fiduciary; and (2) not an employer of employees covered by the plan. Section II(d) of PTE 77-4 contains certain conditions for the exemptive relief and provides, in pertinent part, that: A second fiduciary with respect to the plan, who is independent of and unrelated to the fiduciary/investment adviser or any affiliate thereof, receives a current prospectus issued by the investment company, and full and detailed written disclosure of the investment advisory and other fees charged to or paid by the plan and the investment company, including the nature and extent of any differential between the rates of such fees, the reasons why the fiduciary/investment adviser may consider such purchases to be appropriate for the plan, and whether there are any limitations on the fiduciary/investment adviser with respect to which plan assets may be invested in shares of the investment company and, if so, the nature of such limitations. Delivery of a “summary prospectus” may be used to satisfy the condition in section II(d) of PTE 77-4 requiring the delivery of a mutual fund's prospectus to the second fiduciary if the summary prospectus meets the requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) revised disclosure provisions for mutual funds including a summary prospectus rule that were published in 2009. Pursuant to the SEC's revised disclosure provisions, mutual funds also are required to send the full prospectus to the investor upon an investor's request and to provide the full prospectus on-line at a specified internet site.

This information collection is subject to the PRA. A Federal agency generally cannot conduct or sponsor a collection of information, and the public is generally not required to respond to an information collection, unless the OMB under the PRA approves it and displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. In addition, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, no person shall generally be subject to penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information that does not display a valid Control Number. See 5 CFR 1320.5(a) and 1320.6. The DOL obtains OMB approval for this information collection under Control Number 1210-0049.

OMB authorization for an ICR cannot be for more than three (3) years without renewal, and the current approval for this collection is scheduled to expire on December 31, 2019. The DOL seeks to extend PRA authorization for this information collection for three (3) more years, without any change to existing requirements. The DOL notes that existing information collection requirements submitted to the OMB receive a month-to-month extension while they undergo review. For additional substantive information about this ICR, see the related notice published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2019 (84 FR 11573).

Interested parties are encouraged to send comments to the OMB, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the address shown in the ADDRESSES section within thirty-(30) days of publication of this notice in the Federal Register. In order to help ensure appropriate consideration, comments should mention OMB Control Number 1210-0049. The OMB is particularly interested in comments that:

• Evaluate 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:
• Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used.
• Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and
• Minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., permitting electronic submission of responses.

Agency: DOL-EBSA.

Title of Collection: Prohibited Transaction Class Exemption for Certain Transactions Between Investment Companies and Employee Benefit Plans (PTE 1977-4).

OMB Control Number: 1210-0049.

Affected Public: Private Sector: Not-for-profit institutions; Businesses or other for-profits.

Total Estimated Number of Respondents: 846.

Total Estimated Number of Responses: 279,653.

Total Estimated Annual Time Burden: 23,728 hours.

Total Estimated Annual Other Costs Burden: $117,954.

Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3507(a)(1)(D).

Dated: December 20, 2019.

Frederick Licari,

Departmental Clearance Officer.