2023-08879. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Extension: Form N-3

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 (the “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 for the collection of information is “Form N–3 (17 CFR 239.17a and 274.11b) under the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77) and under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a), Registration Statement of Separate Accounts Organized as Management Investment Companies.” Form N–3 is the form used by separate accounts offering variable annuity contracts which are organized as management investment companies to register under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Investment Company Act”) and/or to register their securities under the Securities Act of 1933 (“Securities Act”). Form N–3 is also the form used to file a registration statement under the Securities Act (and any amendments thereto) for variable annuity contracts funded by separate accounts which would be required to be registered under the Investment Company Act as management investment companies except for the exclusion provided by Section 3(c)(11) of the Investment Company Act (15 U.S.C. 80a–3(c)(11)). Section 5 of the Securities Act (15 U.S.C. 77e) requires the filing of a registration statement prior to the offer of securities to the public and that the statement be effective before any securities are sold, and Section 8 of the Investment Company Act (15 U.S.C. 80a–8) requires a separate account to register as an investment company.

Form N–3 also permits separate accounts offering variable annuity contracts which are organized as investment companies to provide investors with a prospectus and a statement of additional information covering essential information about the separate account when it makes an initial or additional offering of its securities. Section 5(b) of the Securities Act requires that investors be provided with a prospectus containing the information required in a registration statement prior to the sale or at the time of confirmation or delivery of the securities. The form also may be used by the Commission in its regulatory review, inspection, and policy-making roles.

Commission staff estimates that there will be 1 initial registration statement over the next three years and 6 insurer separate accounts that file post-effective amendments on Form N–3 per year, with an average of 3 investment options per post-effective amendment. The Commission further estimates that the hour burden for preparing and filing a post-effective amendment on Form N–3 is 157.55 hours per portfolio. The total annual hour burden for preparing and filing post-effective amendments is 2,836 hours (6 post-effective amendments × 3 investment options per post-effective amendment × 157.55 hours per portfolio). The estimated annual hour burden for preparing and filing initial registration statements is 309 hours. The total annual hour burden for Form N–3, therefore, is estimated to be 3,145 hours (2,836 hours + 309 hours). Respondents may rely on outside counsel or auditors in connection with the preparation and filing of Form N–3. Commission staff estimates that the annual cost burden associated with preparing and filing Form N–3 is $139,696.

The information collection requirements imposed by Form N–3 are mandatory. Responses to the collection of information 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.

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 30, 2023 to (i) [e-mail] 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: [e-mail].

Dated: April 24, 2023.

Sherry R. Haywood,

Assistant Secretary.