

[Federal Register: July 21, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 140)]
[Notices]               
[Page 41484]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21jy06-79]                         

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

 
Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Upon written request, copies available from: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of Filings and Information Services, Washington, DC 
20549-0004.

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. 350l et seq.), the Securities and Exchange 
Commission (``Commission'') is soliciting comments on the collections 
of information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit these 
existing collections of information to the Office of Management and 
Budget (``OMB'') for extension and approval.
    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.
    Written comments are invited on: (a) Whether the collection of 
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of 
the Commission, including whether the information has 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 in writing within 60 days of this 
publication.
    Please direct your written comments to R. Corey Booth Director/
Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, C/O 
Shirley Martinson, 6432 General Green Way, Alexandria, Virginia 22312, 
or send an e-mail to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.

    Dated: June 27, 2006.
Jill M. Peterson,
Assistant Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-11567 Filed 7-20-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8010-01-P
