Notice2024-20200
Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17f-6
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 9, 2024
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 89 Issue 174 (Monday, September 9, 2024)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 174 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 73150]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2024-20200]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[SEC File No. 270-392, OMB Control No. 3235-0447]
Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 17f-6
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. 3501-3520), the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the ``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the
collection of information summarized below. The Commission plans to
submit this existing collection of information to the Office of
Management and Budget for extension and approval.
Rule 17f-6 (17 CFR 270.17f-6) under the Investment Company Act of
1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a) permits registered investment companies
(``funds'') to maintain assets (i.e., margin) with futures commission
merchants (``FCMs'') in connection with commodity transactions effected
on both domestic and foreign exchanges. Before the rule was adopted,
funds generally were required to maintain these assets in special
accounts with a custodian bank.
The rule requires a written contract that contains certain
provisions designed to ensure important safeguards and other benefits
relating to the custody of fund assets by FCMs. To protect fund assets,
the contract must require that FCMs comply with the segregation or
secured amount requirements of the Commodity Exchange Act (``CEA'') and
the rules under that statute. The contract also must contain a
requirement that FCMs obtain an acknowledgment from any clearing
organization that the fund's assets are held on behalf of the FCM's
customers according to CEA provisions.
Because rule 17f-6 does not impose any ongoing obligations on funds
or FCMs, Commission staff estimates there are only costs related to new
contracts between funds and FCMs. This estimate does not include the
time required by an FCM to comply with the rule's contract requirements
because, to the extent that complying with the contract provisions
could be considered ``collections of information,'' the burden hours
for compliance are already included in other PRA submissions.\1\
Commission staff estimates that approximately 1,164 series of 151 funds
report that futures commission merchants and commodity clearing
organizations provide custodial services to the fund.\2\ Based on these
estimates, the total annual burden hours associated with rule 17f-6 is
27 hours. The estimated total annual burden hours associated with rule
17f-6 have decreased 1 hour, from 28 to 27 hours and external costs
increased from $11,900 to $15,534. These changes in burden hours and
external costs reflect changes in the number of affected entities and
in the external cost associated with the information collection
requirements. These changes reflect revised estimates.
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\1\ The rule requires a contract with the FCM to contain two
provisions requiring the FCM to comply with existing requirements
under the CEA and rules adopted thereunder; thus, to the extent
these provisions could be considered collections of information, the
hours required for compliance would be included in the collection of
information burden hours submitted by the CFTC for its rules.
\2\ This estimate is based on the average number of funds that
reported on Form N-CEN from April 2021-March 2024, in response to
sub-items C.12.6. and D.14.6; money market funds are excluded from
this estimate because exchange-traded futures contracts or commodity
options are not eligible securities for money market funds; the
number of series and funds that reported on Form N-CEN in response
these sub-items were: 1,112 series of 150 funds for the period April
2021-March 2022; 1,180 series of 152 funds for the period April
2022-March 2023; and 1,210 series of 151 funds for the period April
2023-March 2024 (for filings received through June 30, 2024).
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These estimates 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.
Compliance with the collection of information requirements of the
rule is necessary to obtain the benefit of relying on the rule. 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.
Written comments are invited on: (a) whether the proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the Commission, including whether the information
shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the Commission's
estimate of the burden of the collection of information; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected;
and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on
respondents, including through the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology. Consideration will
be given to comments and suggestions submitted by November 8, 2024.
An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required
to respond to, a collection of information under the PRA unless it
displays a currently valid OMB control number.
Please direct your written comments to: Austin Gerig, Director/
Chief Data Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Oluwaseun
Ajayi, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549 or send an email to:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#441416051b09252d28262b3c043721276a232b32"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="015153405e4c60686d636e79417264622f666e77">[email protected]</span></a>.
Dated: September 3, 2024.
Vanessa A. Countryman,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2024-20200 Filed 9-6-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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