Notice2026-18636
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 19a-1
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 14, 2026
Issuing agencies
Securities and Exchange Commission
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 176 (Monday, September 14, 2026)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 176 (Monday, September 14, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58184-58185]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-18636]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
[OMB Control No. 3235-0216]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Extension: Rule 19a-1
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.
Section 19(a) (15 U.S.C. 80a-19(a)) of the Investment Company Act
of 1940 (the ``Act'') (15 U.S.C. 80a) makes it unlawful for any
registered investment company to pay any dividend or similar
distribution from any source other than the company's net income,
unless the payment is accompanied by a written statement to the
company's shareholders which adequately discloses the sources of the
payment. Section 19(a) authorizes the Commission to prescribe the form
of such statement by rule.
Rule 19a-1 (17 CFR 270.19a-1) under the Act, entitled ``Written
Statement to Accompany Dividend Payments by Management Companies,''
sets forth specific requirements for the information that must be
included in statements made pursuant to section 19(a) by or on behalf
of management companies.\1\ The rule requires that the statement
indicate what portions of distribution payments are made from net
income, net profits from the sale of a security or other property
(``capital gains'') and paid-in capital. When any part of the payment
is made from capital gains, rule 19a-1 also requires that the statement
disclose certain other information relating to the appreciation or
depreciation of portfolio securities. If an estimated portion is
subsequently determined to be significantly inaccurate, a correction
must be made on a statement made pursuant to section 19(a) or in the
first report to shareholders following the discovery of the inaccuracy.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Section 4(3) of the Act (15 U.S. C. 80a-4(3)) defines
``management company'' as ``any investment company other than a face
amount certificate company or a unit investment trust.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The purpose of rule 19a-1 is to afford fund shareholders adequate
disclosure of the sources from which distribution payments are made.
The rule is intended to prevent shareholders from confusing income
dividends with distributions made from capital sources. Absent rule
19a-1, shareholders might receive a false impression of fund gains.
Based on a review of filings made with the Commission, the staff
estimates that approximately 14,122 series of registered investment
companies that are management companies may be
[[Page 58185]]
subject to rule 19a-1 each year,\2\ and that each portfolio on average
mails two statements per year to meet the requirements of the rule.\3\
The staff further estimates that the time needed to make the
determinations required by the rule and to prepare the statement
required under the rule is approximately 1 hour per statement. The
total annual burden for all portfolios therefore is estimated to be
approximately 28,244 burden hours.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\2\ This estimate is as of December 2025 and is based on the
Commission staff's review of EDGAR filings through May 06, 2026. The
number of management investment company portfolios that make
distributions for which compliance with rule 19a-1 is required
depends on a wide range of factors and can vary greatly across
years. Therefore, the calculation of estimated burden hours below is
based on the total number of management investment company
portfolios, each of which may be subject to rule 19a-1.
\3\ A few portfolios make monthly distributions from sources
other than net income, so the rule requires them to send out a
statement 12 times a year. Other portfolios never make such
distributions.
\4\ This estimate is based on the following calculation: 14,122
management investment company portfolios x 2 statements per year x 1
hour per statement = 28,244 burden hours.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The staff estimates that approximately one-third of the total
annual burden (9,415 hours) would be incurred by a paralegal with an
average hourly wage rate of approximately $285 per hour,\5\ and
approximately two-thirds of the annual burden (18,829 hours) would be
incurred by an accounting clerk with an average hourly wage rate of
$164 per hour. The staff therefore estimates that the aggregate annual
burden, in dollars, of the hours needed to comply with the paperwork
requirements of the rule is approximately $5,771,231 ((9,415 hours x
$285 = $2,683,275) + (18,829 hours x $164 = $3,087,956)). It is
estimated that there is no cost burden of rule 19a-1 other than these
estimates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ To calculate the occupational hourly rates, the Commission
uses occupational mean hourly wage data from the Occupational
Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics (BLS) for ``Securities, Commodity Contracts, and Other
Financial Investments and Related Activities'' (NAICS 523)]. See
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR
STATISTICS, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/">https://www.bls.gov/oes/</a>; see also Standard Occupational
Classification, U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/soc/">https://www.bls.gov/soc/</a> (describing occupational classification system used
by BLS); EXEC. OFF. OF THE PRESIDENT, OFF. OF MGMT. & BUDGET, NORTH
AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (2022), available at <a href="https://www.census.gov/naics/reference_files_tools/2022_NAICS_Manual.pdf">https://www.census.gov/naics/reference_files_tools/2022_NAICS_Manual.pdf</a>
(describing the industry classification system used by BLS and other
agencies). The mean hourly wage for each occupation is adjusted for
changes in the seasonally adjusted employment cost index for private
wages and salaries between the data reference period and when the
data are released by BLS. See Employment Cost Index, U.S. BUREAU OF
LABOR STATISTICS, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/eci/">https://www.bls.gov/eci/</a>. The adjusted mean hourly
wage is then multiplied by a factor that accounts for nonwage costs
borne by employers, such as bonuses, benefits, and overhead. This
factor is calculated as an average over the 10 most recently
available years of data of the ratio of the Bureau of Economic
Analysis's annual gross output data for NAICS 523 to total annual
wages across all occupations for NAICS 523 in the OEWS data. See
Gross Output by Industry, U.S. BUREAU OF ECONOMIC ANALYSIS, <a href="https://www.bea.gov/data/industries/gross-output-by-industry">https://www.bea.gov/data/industries/gross-output-by-industry</a>; Occupational
Employment and Wage Statistics, U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS,
<a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/">https://www.bls.gov/oes/</a>. The final product is the occupational
hourly rate. See generally UPDATED METHODOLOGY FOR CALCULATING
OCCUPATIONAL HOURLY RATES (Dec. 19, 2025), available at <a href="https://www.sec.gov/files/method-occupational-hourly-rates.pdf">https://www.sec.gov/files/method-occupational-hourly-rates.pdf</a>.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
To comply with state law, many investment companies already must
distinguish the different sources from which a shareholder distribution
is paid and disclose that information to shareholders. Thus, many
investment companies would be required to distinguish the sources of
shareholder dividends whether or not the Commission required them to do
so under rule 19a-1.
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.
Compliance with the collection of information required by rule 19a-1 is
mandatory for management companies that make statements to shareholders
pursuant to section 19(a) of the Act. 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.
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
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#114170617463667e637a437475647265787e7f507265516274723f767e67"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5f0f3e2f3a2d28302d340d3a3b2a3c2b3630311e3c2b1f2c3a3c71383029">[email protected]</span></a> by November 13, 2026.
Dated: September 9, 2026.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-18636 Filed 9-11-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on September 14, 2026.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.