

[Federal Register: December 21, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 245)]
[Proposed Rules]               
[Page 76618]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr21de06-12]                         

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Proposed Rules
                                                Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________

This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.

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[[Page 76618]]



SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

17 CFR Part 270

[Release No. IC-27600; File No. S7-03-04]
RIN 3235-AJ05

 
Investment Company Governance

AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission.

ACTION: Request for additional comment.

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SUMMARY: The Commission is reopening the comment period on its June 
2006 request for comment regarding amendments to investment company 
(``fund'') governance provisions. The purpose of the additional comment 
period is to permit public comment on two papers prepared by the Office 
of Economic Analysis on this topic that will be made public by 
including them in the comment file. The comments the Commission 
receives will be used to inform our further consideration of the 
matter.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before 60 days after publication 
of the second of the two staff economic papers in the public comment 
file. When the second of the two staff economic papers in the public 
comment file is published, the Commission will publish a document 
announcing the comment deadline.

ADDRESSES: To help us process and review your comments more 
efficiently, comments should be sent by one method only.

Electronic Comments

     Use the Commission's Internet comment form (http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed.shtml.
); or     Send an e-mail to rule-comments@sec.gov. Please include 

File Number S7-03-04 on the subject line; or
     Use the Federal eRulemaking Portal (http://www.regulations.gov
). Follow the instructions for submitting comments.


Paper Comments

     Send paper comments in triplicate to Nancy M. Morris, 
Secretary, Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., 
Washington, DC 20549.

All submissions should refer to File Number S7-03-04. The Commission 
will post all comments on the Commission's Internet Web site (http://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed.shtml
). Comments are also available for 

public inspection and copying in the Commission's Public Reference 
Room, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 20549. All comments received 
will be posted without change; we do not edit personal identifying 
information from submissions. You should submit only information that 
you wish to make available publicly.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jonathan Sokobin, Deputy Chief 
Economist, Office of Economic Analysis, (202) 551-6600 or Vincent 
Meehan, Staff Attorney, or Penelope Saltzman, Branch Chief, Office of 
Regulatory Policy, (202) 551-6792, Division of Investment Management, 
Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, NE., Washington, DC 
20549.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In June 2006, the Commission requested 
additional comment \1\ regarding amendments to fund governance 
provisions of rules under the Investment Company Act.\2\ We received 
many comments in response to our request, some of which provided 
information on the costs of the provisions. Few, however, directly 
addressed in a meaningful way the economic implications of the 
provisions. Before considering further rulemaking on this matter, the 
Commission wishes to develop a more comprehensive record and a more 
thorough understanding of the economic consequences of the provisions.
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    \1\ Investment Company Governance, Investment Company Act 
Release No. 27395 (June 13, 2006) [71 FR 35366 (June 19, 2006)].
    \2\ 15 U.S.C. 80a.
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    To that end, the Commission invites comment on any aspect of the 
two staff economic papers that will be published shortly after the 
issuance of this release. Specifically, our staff economists have 
reviewed existing relevant economic literature related to conflicts of 
interest that advisers have with regard to mutual funds they advise, as 
well as literature related to mutual fund governance, independent 
chairmen, and board independence. Our staff economists also have 
performed an analysis of the statistical properties of mutual fund 
returns and potential limitations inherent in any empirical analysis 
designed to identify a relationship between those returns and fund 
governance. We will include their papers in the public comment file, 
and we request comment on them. In addition, in order to facilitate our 
assessment of the economic implications of the fund governance 
provisions and any alternative approaches available to us, we also seek 
comment on any other extant analyses, and we request that commenters 
provide us their best assessment of these.

    Dated: December 15, 2006.

    By the Commission.
Nancy M. Morris,
Secretary.
 [FR Doc. E6-21903 Filed 12-20-06; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
