
[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 149 (Tuesday, August 4, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46375-46376]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18886]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION


Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

Upon Written Request, Copies Available From: Securities and Exchange 
Commission, Office of FOIA Services, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 
20549-2736.

Extension:
    Rule 23c-3 and Form N-23c-3, SEC File No. 270-373, OMB Control 
No. 3235-0422.

    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 (the ``Commission'') has submitted to the Office of 
Management and Budget (``OMB'') a request for extension of the 
previously approved collection of information discussed below.
    Rule 23c-3 (17 CFR 270.23c-3) under the Investment Company Act of 
1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.) permits a registered closed-end 
investment company (``closed-end fund'' or ``fund'') that meets certain 
requirements to repurchase common stock of which it is the issuer from 
shareholders at periodic intervals, pursuant to repurchase offers made 
to all holders of the stock. The rule enables these funds to offer 
their shareholders a limited ability to resell their shares in a manner 
that previously was available only to open-end investment company 
shareholders. To protect shareholders, a closed-end fund that relies on 
rule 23c-3 must send shareholders a notification that contains 
specified information each time the fund makes a repurchase offer (on a 
quarterly, semi-annual, or annual basis, or, for certain funds, on a 
discretionary basis not more often than every two years). The fund also 
must file copies of the shareholder notification with the Commission 
(electronically through the Commission's Electronic Data Gathering, 
Analysis, and Retrieval System (``EDGAR'')) on Form N-23c-3, a filing 
that provides certain information about the fund and the type of offer 
the fund is making.\1\ The fund

[[Page 46376]]

must describe in its annual report to shareholders the fund's policy 
concerning repurchase offers and the results of any repurchase offers 
made during the reporting period. The fund's board of directors must 
adopt written procedures designed to ensure that the fund's investment 
portfolio is sufficiently liquid to meet its repurchase obligations and 
other obligations under the rule. The board periodically must review 
the composition of the fund's portfolio and change the liquidity 
procedures as necessary. The fund also must file copies of 
advertisements and other sales literature with the Commission as if it 
were an open-end investment company subject to section 24 of the 
Investment Company Act (15 U.S.C. 80a-24) and the rules that implement 
section 24. Rule 24b-3 under the Investment Company Act (17 CFR 
270.24b-3), however, exempts the fund from that requirement if the 
materials are filed instead with the Financial Industry Regulatory 
Authority (``FINRA'').
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    \1\ Form N-23c-3, entitled ``Notification of Repurchase Offer 
Pursuant to Rule 23c-3,'' requires the fund to state its 
registration number, its full name and address, the date of the 
accompanying shareholder notification, and the type of offer being 
made (periodic, discretionary, or both).
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    The requirement that the fund send a notification to shareholders 
of each offer is intended to ensure that a fund provides material 
information to shareholders about the terms of each offer. The 
requirement that copies be sent to the Commission is intended to enable 
the Commission to monitor the fund's compliance with the notification 
requirement. The requirement that the shareholder notification be 
attached to Form N-23c-3 is intended to ensure that the fund provides 
basic information necessary for the Commission to process the 
notification and to monitor the fund's use of repurchase offers. The 
requirement that the fund describe its current policy on repurchase 
offers and the results of recent offers in the annual shareholder 
report is intended to provide shareholders current information about 
the fund's repurchase policies and its recent experience. The 
requirement that the board approve and review written procedures 
designed to maintain portfolio liquidity is intended to ensure that the 
fund has enough cash or liquid securities to meet its repurchase 
obligations, and that written procedures are available for review by 
shareholders and examination by the Commission. The requirement that 
the fund file advertisements and sales literature as if it were an 
open-end fund is intended to facilitate the review of these materials 
by the Commission or FINRA to prevent incomplete, inaccurate, or 
misleading disclosure about the special characteristics of a closed-end 
fund that makes periodic repurchase offers.
    Based on staff experience, the Commission staff estimates that 21 
funds make use of rule 23c-3 annually, including six funds that are 
relying upon rule 23c-3 for the first time. The Commission staff 
estimates that on average a fund spends 89 hours annually in complying 
with the requirements of the rule and Form N-23c-3, with funds relying 
upon rule 23c-3 for the first time incurring an additional one-time 
burden of 28 hours. The Commission therefore estimates the total annual 
burden of the rule's and form's paperwork requirements to be 2,037 
hours. In addition to the burden hours, the Commission estimates that 
the average yearly cost to each fund that relies on rule 23c-3 to print 
and mail repurchase offers to shareholders is approximately $29,966.50. 
The Commission estimates total annual cost is therefore approximately 
$629,297.
    Estimates of the average burden hours and costs are made solely for 
the purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act and are not derived from a 
comprehensive or even representative survey or study of the costs of 
Commission rules and forms. Compliance with the collection of 
information requirements of the rule and form is mandatory only for 
those funds that rely on the rule in order to repurchase shares of the 
fund. The information provided to the Commission on Form N-23c-3 will 
not be kept confidential. 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.

    The public may view the background documentation for this 
information collection at the following Web site, www.reginfo.gov. 
Comments should be directed to: (i) Desk Officer for the Securities and 
Exchange Commission, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Office of Management and Budget, Room 10102, New Executive Office 
Building, Washington, DC 20503, or by sending an email to: 
Shagufta_Ahmed@omb.eop.gov; and (ii) Pamela Dyson, Director/Chief 
Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi 
Pavlik-Simon, 100 F Street NE., Washington, DC 20549 or send an email 
to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.

    Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 days of this notice.

    Dated: July 28, 2015.
Robert W. Errett,
Deputy Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2015-18886 Filed 8-3-15; 08:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P


