Notice2026-16198
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Form N-17f-2
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
August 10, 2026
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 152 (Monday, August 10, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 152 (Monday, August 10, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51514-51515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-16198]
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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[OMB Control No. 3235-0360]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension: Form N-17f-2
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 (SEC or ``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the
proposed collection of information described below.
Rule 17f-2 (17 CFR 270.17f-2), entitled ``Custody of Investments by
Registered Management Investment Company,'' was adopted in 1940 under
section 17(f) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-
17(f)) (the ``Act''), and was last amended materially in 1947. Rule
17f-2 establishes safeguards for arrangements in which a registered
management investment company (``fund'') is deemed to maintain custody
of its own assets, such as when the fund maintains its assets in a
facility that provides safekeeping but not custodial services.\1\
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\1\ The rule generally requires all assets to be deposited in
the safekeeping of a ``bank or other company whose functions and
physical facilities are supervised by Federal or State authority.''
The fund's securities must be physically segregated at all times
from the securities of any other person.
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Form N-17f-2 (17 CFR 274.220) is entitled ``Certificate of
Accounting of Securities and Similar Investments in the Custody of
Management Investment Companies.'' Form N-17f-2 is the cover sheet for
the accountant examination certificates prepared under rule 17f-2. Form
N-17f-2 facilitates the filing process for accountant examination
certificates. The form has a purely administrative purpose and does not
require any additional information (beyond that required by rule 17f-2)
to be collected. Form N-17f-2 increases the accessibility of the
examination certificates to both Commission staff and interested
investors by ensuring that the certificates are filed under the proper
SEC file number and correct name of a fund.
The rule includes several recordkeeping or reporting requirements.
The fund's directors must prepare a resolution designating not more
than five fund officers or responsible employees who may have access to
the fund's assets. The designated access persons (two or more of whom
must act jointly when handling fund assets) must prepare a written
notation providing certain information about each deposit or withdrawal
of fund assets, and must transmit the notation to another officer or
director designated by the directors. Independent public accountants
must verify the fund's assets three times each year, and two of those
examinations must be unscheduled.\2\
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\2\ The accountant must transmit to the Commission promptly
after each examination a certificate describing the examination on
Form N-17f-2. The third (scheduled) examination may coincide with
the annual verification required for every fund by section 30(g) of
the Act (15 U.S.C. 80a29(g)).
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We estimate that approximately 194 funds file Form N-17f-2 each
year,\3\ and that it takes approximately 2 hours per response to
prepare and file Form N-17f-2 with the Commission. Commission staff
further estimates that on average each fund files Form N-17f-2
approximately three times a year for a total annual hourly burden per
fund of approximately 6 hours. Thus, the total annual burden for
preparing and filing Form N-17f-2 is approximately 1,160 hours (an
increase from the previously approved 990 hours). Commission staff
estimates that it takes on average 1.25 hours of fund accountants at a
cost of $243 per hour to prepare each Form N-17f-2 and 0.75 hours of
clerical time at a cost of $125 per hour to file the form with the
Commission for a total annual cost per fund of approximately $1,192.50.
Therefore we estimate the total cost of the hour burden for filing Form
N-17f-2's collection of information requirements to be approximately
$231,345.
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\3\ On average, each year approximately 194 funds filed Form N-
17f-2 with the Commission during calendar years 2023-2025.
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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.
Written comments are invited on: (a) whether this proposed
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of
the functions of the SEC, including whether the information will have
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the SEC's estimate of the burden
imposed by the proposed collection of information, including the
validity of the methodology and the assumptions used; (c) ways to
enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be
collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of
[[Page 51515]]
information on respondents, including through the use of automated,
electronic collection techniques or other forms of information
technology.
Please direct your written comments on this 60-Day Collection
Notice to Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data Officer, Securities and
Exchange Commission, c/o Tanya Ruttenberg via email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#c696a7b6a3b4b1a9b4ad94a3a2b3a5b2afa9a887a5b286b5a3a5e8a1a9b0"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="326253425740455d40596057564751465b5d5c735146724157511c555d44">[email protected]</span></a> by October 9, 2026.
Dated: August 5, 2026.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-16198 Filed 8-7-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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