E6-14948. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request  

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    Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, Washington, DC 20549.

    Extension:

    Rule 27e-1 and Form N-27E-1; SEC File No. 270-486; OMB Control No. 3235-0545.

    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 (“OMB”) a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information discussed below.

    Section 27(e) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Act”) (15 U.S.C. 80a-27(e)) provides that a registered investment company issuing a periodic payment plan certificate, or any depositor or underwriter for such company, must notify in writing “each certificate holder who has missed three payments or more, within thirty days following the expiration of fifteen months after the issuance of the certificate, or, if any such holder has missed one payment or more after such period of fifteen months but prior to the expiration of eighteen months after the issuance of the certificate, at any time prior to the expiration of such eighteen month period, of his right to surrender his certificate * * * and inform the certificate holder of (A) the value of the holder's account * * *, and (B) the amount to which he is entitled * * *.”

    Section 27(e) authorizes the Commission to “make rules specifying the method, form, and contents of the notice required by this subsection.” Rule 27e-1 (17 CFR 270.27e-1) under the Act, entitled “Requirements for Notice to Be Mailed to Certain Purchasers of Periodic Payment Plan Certificates Sold Subject to Section 27(d) of the Act,” provides instructions for the delivery of the notice required by section 27(e).

    Rule 27e-1(f) prescribes Form N-27E-1 (17 CFR 274.127e-1), which sets forth the language the issuing registered investment company or its depositor or underwriter must use “to inform certificate holders of their right to surrender their certificates pursuant to Section 27(d).” The instructions to the form require that a notice containing the language on the form be sent to certificate holders on the sender's letterhead. The issuer is not required to file with the Commission a copy of the Form N-27E-1 notice.

    The Form N-27E-1 notice to certificate holders who have missed certain payments is intended to encourage certificate holders, in light of the potential for further missed payments, to weigh the anticipated costs and benefits associated with continuing to hold their certificates. The disclosure assists certificate holders in making careful and fully informed decisions about whether to continue investing in periodic payment plan certificates.

    The frequency with which each of these issuers or their representatives must file the Form N-27E-1 notice varies with the number of periodic payment plans sold and the number of certificate holders who miss payments. The staff spoke with representatives of a number of firms in the industry that currently have periodic payment plan accounts. Based upon these conversations, the staff estimates that 3 respondents send out an aggregate of approximately 5054 notices per year through completely automated processes. The staff further estimates that all the issuers that send Form N-27E-1 notices use outside contractors to print and distribute the notice, and incur no hourly burden. The estimate of annual burden hours is made solely for the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act, and is not derived from a comprehensive or even a representative survey or study of the costs of Commission rules and forms.

    Complying with the collection of information requirements of rule 27e-1 is mandatory for issuers of periodic payment plans or their depositors or underwriters in the event holders of plan certificates miss certain payments within eighteen months after issuance. The information provided pursuant to rule 27e-1 will be provided to third parties and, therefore, will not be kept confidential. The Commission is seeking OMB approval, because 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.

    General comments regarding the above information should be directed to the following persons: (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 e-mail to: David_Rostker@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) R. Corey Booth, Director/Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O Shirley Martinson, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312, or by e-mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days after this notice.

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    Dated: September 1, 2006.

    Nancy M. Morris,

    Secretary.

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    [FR Doc. E6-14948 Filed 9-8-06; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 8010-01-P

Document Information

Comments Received:
0 Comments
Published:
09/11/2006
Department:
Securities and Exchange Commission
Entry Type:
Notice
Document Number:
E6-14948
Pages:
53483-53483 (1 pages)
PDF File:
e6-14948.pdf