Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request
Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 33 (Wednesday, February 19, 2014)
Federal Register Volume 79, Number 33 (Wednesday, February 19, 2014)
Notices
Pages 9503-9504
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2014-03577
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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 Investor Education and Advocacy, Washington, DC 20549-0213.
Extension:
Rule 482; OMB Control No. 3235-0565, SEC File No. 270-508.
Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) (``Paperwork Reduction Act''), the Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'') has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (``OMB'') a request for extension of the previously approved collection of information discussed below.
Like most issuers of securities, when an investment company (``fund'') \1\ offers its shares to the public, its promotional efforts become subject to the advertising restrictions of the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S.C. 77) (the ``Securities Act''). In recognition of the particular problems faced by funds that continually offer securities and wish to advertise their securities, the Commission has previously adopted advertising safe harbor rules. The most important of these is rule 482 (17 CFR 230.482) under the Securities Act, which, under certain circumstances, permits funds to advertise investment performance data, as well as other information. Rule 482 advertisements are deemed to be
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``prospectuses'' under Section 10(b) of the Securities Act.\2\
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\1\ ``Investment company'' refers to both investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (``Investment Company Act'') (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.) and business development companies.
\2\ 15 U.S.C. 77j(b).
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Rule 482 contains certain requirements regarding the disclosure that funds are required to provide in qualifying advertisements. These requirements are intended to encourage the provision to investors of information that is balanced and informative, particularly in the area of investment performance. For example, a fund is required to include disclosure advising investors to consider the fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses, and other information described in the fund's prospectus, and highlighting the availability of the fund's prospectus and, if applicable, its summary prospectus. In addition, rule 482 advertisements that include performance data of open-end funds or insurance company separate accounts offering variable annuity contracts are required to include certain standardized performance information, information about any sales loads or other nonrecurring fees, and a legend warning that past performance does not guarantee future results. Such funds including performance information in rule 482 advertisements are also required to make available to investors month-end performance figures via Web site disclosure or by a toll-free telephone number, and to disclose the availability of the month-end performance data in the advertisement. The rule also sets forth requirements regarding the prominence of certain disclosures, requirements regarding advertisements that make tax representations, requirements regarding advertisements used prior to the effectiveness of the fund's registration statement, requirements regarding the timeliness of performance data, and certain required disclosures by money market funds.
Rule 482 advertisements must be filed with the Commission or, in the alternative, with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (``FINRA'').\3\ This information collection differs from many other federal information collections that are primarily for the use and benefit of the collecting agency.
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\3\ See rule 24b-3 under the Investment Company Act (17 CFR 270.24b-3), which provides that any sales material, including rule 482 advertisements, shall be deemed filed with the Commission for purposes of Section 24(b) of the Investment Company Act upon filing with FINRA.
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Rule 482 contains requirements that are intended to encourage the provision to investors of information that is balanced and informative, particularly in the area of investment performance. The Commission is concerned that in the absence of such provisions fund investors may be misled by deceptive rule 482 advertisements and may rely on less-than-
adequate information when determining in which funds they should invest money. As a result, the Commission believes it is beneficial for funds to provide investors with balanced information in fund advertisements in order to allow investors to make better-informed decisions.
The Commission estimates that 59,245 responses to rule 482 are filed annually by 3,430 investment companies offering approximately 16,428 portfolios, or approximately 3.6 responses per portfolio annually. The burden associated with rule 482 is presently estimated to be 5.16 hours per response. The annual hourly burden is therefore approximately 305,704 hours.\4\
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\4\ 59,245 responses x 5.16 hours per response = 305,704 hours.
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The estimate of average 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. The provision of information under rule 482 is necessary to obtain the benefits of the safe harbor offered by the rule. The information provided under rule 482 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) Thomas Bayer, Chief Information Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Remi Pavlik-Simon, 100 F St. 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: February 12, 2014.
Kevin M. O'Neill,
Deputy Secretary.
FR Doc. 2014-03577 Filed 2-18-14; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
