Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 18f-3

Issuing agencies

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 189 (Thursday, October 1, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 189 (Thursday, October 1, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62579-62580]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-20148]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[OMB Control No. 3235-0441]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; 
Comment Request; Extension: Rule 18f-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 (``SEC'' or ``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the 
proposed collection of information summarized below. Rule 18f-3 (17 CFR 
270.18f-3) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et 
seq.) exempts from sections 18(f)(1) and 18(f)(i), a fund that issues 
multiple classes of shares representing interests in the same portfolio 
of securities (a ``multiple class fund'') if the fund satisfies the 
conditions of the rule. In general, each class must differ in its 
arrangement for shareholder services or distribution or both, must pay 
the related expenses of that different arrangement, and must satisfy 
certain voting rights provisions.
    The rule includes one requirement for the collection of 
information. A multiple class fund must prepare, and fund directors 
must approve, a written plan setting forth the separate arrangement and 
expense allocation of each class, and any related conversion features 
or exchange privileges (``rule 18f-3 plan''). Approval of the plan must 
occur before the fund issues any shares of multiple classes and 
whenever the fund materially amends the plan. In approving the plan, 
the fund board, including a majority of the independent directors, must 
determine that the plan is in the best interests of each class and the 
fund as a whole.
    The requirement that the fund prepare, and directors approve, a 
written rule 18f-3 plan is intended to ensure that the fund compiles 
information relevant to the fairness of the separate arrangement and 
expense allocation for each class, and that directors review and 
approve the information. Without a blueprint that highlights material 
differences among classes, directors might not perceive potential 
conflicts of interests when they determine whether the plan is in the 
best interests of each class and the fund. In addition, the plan may be 
useful to Commission staff in reviewing the fund's compliance with the 
rule.
    The following estimates of average burden hours are made solely for 
purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 \1\ and are not derived 
from a comprehensive or even representative survey or study of the cost 
of Commission rules and forms. Compliance with the information 
collection requirements of rule 18f-3 is necessary to obtain the 
benefit of the rule's exemption. Responses to the collection of 
information requirements will not be kept confidential.
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    \1\ 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

[[Page 62580]]



                                        Table 1--Rule 18f-3 PRA Estimates
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                                  Internal annual                  Wage rate \1\              Internal time
                                   burden.                                                     costs
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                                            Estimates for Rule 18f-3
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Prepare and approve a written     6 hours \3\.......
 18f-3 plan \2\.
Average number of responses       0.5 responses \3\.
 annually per registrant.
Total number of hours per         3 hours \3\.......  $744 (in-house      $12,186 (fund       $1,333,248 (in-
 registrant per year \4\.                              attorney).          board of            house attorney),
                                                                           directors) \6\.     $10,918,656
                                                                                               (board of
                                                                                               directors).\7\
Total number of registrants.....  896 \4\...........
                                 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Total annual hour burden....  2,688 hours \5\...  ..................  ..................  $12,251,904.\8\
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Notes:
1. To calculate the occupational hourly rates used in this release, 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> industry; Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS, <a href="https://www.bls.gov/oes/">https://www.bls.gov/oes/</a> oes/. 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>.
2. The Commission estimates that each registrant prepares and approves a rule 18f-3 plan every two years when
  issuing a new fund or fund class or amending a plan (or that 448 of all 896 registrants prepare and approve a
  plan each year).
3. This estimate assumes that each response will take 6 hours, requiring 3 hours per registrant per year (0.5
  responses per registrant x 6 hours per response = 3 hours per registrant).
4. The Commission estimates that there are approximately 6,221 multiple class funds offered by 896 registrants.
5. 896 registrants x 3 hours = 2,688 hours.
6. To estimate the $12,186 hourly rate for a fund board of directors, Commission staff used an occupational
  hourly rate of $1,354 for Chief Executives to estimate the hourly rate for a single director and assumed an
  average of 9 directors per board.
7. This estimate assumes that two-thirds (1,792) of the internal hours are spent by in-house attorneys to
  prepare the plan (1,792 hours x $744 estimated hourly rate = $1,333,248 per year) and that one-third (896) are
  spent by the fund's board of directors to approve the plan (896 hours x $12,186 per hour = $10,918,656).
8. $1,333,248 + $10,918,656 = $12,251,904.

    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#81d1e0f1e4f3f6eef3ead3e4e5f4e2f5e8eeefc0e2f5c1f2e4e2afe6eef7"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6d3d0c1d081f1a021f063f0809180e190402032c0e192d1e080e430a021b">[email&#160;protected]</span></a> by November 30, 2026.

    Dated: September 29, 2026.
Sherry R. Haywood,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2026-20148 Filed 9-30-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


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