Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Extension: Rule 30e-2

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.) (“Paperwork Reduction Act”), the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) is soliciting comments on the collection of information summarized below. The Commission plans to submit this existing collection of information to the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”) for extension and approval.

Rule 30e-2 (17 CFR 270.30e-2) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.) (“Investment Company Act”) requires registered unit investment trusts (“UITs”) that invest substantially all of their assets in shares of a management investment company (“fund”) to send their unitholders annual and semiannual reports containing financial information on the underlying company. Specifically, rule 30e-2 requires that the report contain all the applicable information and financial statements or their equivalent, required by rule 30e-1 under the Investment Company Act (17 CFR 270.30e-1) to be included in reports of the underlying fund for the same fiscal period. Rule 30e-1 requires that the underlying fund's report contain, among other things, the information that is required to be included in such reports by the fund's registration statement form under the Investment Company Act. The purpose of this requirement is to apprise current shareholders of the operational and financial condition of the UIT. Absent the requirement to disclose all material information in reports, investors would be unable to obtain accurate information upon which to base investment decisions and consumer confidence in the securities industry might be adversely affected. Requiring the submission of these reports to the Commission permits us to verify compliance with securities law requirements.

Rule 30e-2, however, permits, under certain conditions, delivery of a single shareholder report to investors who share an address (“householding”). Specifically, rule 30e-2 permits householding of annual and semi-annual reports by UITs to satisfy the delivery requirements of rule 30e-2 if, in addition to the other conditions set forth in the rule, the UIT has obtained from each applicable investor written or implied consent to the householding of shareholder reports at such address. The rule requires UITs that wish to household shareholder reports with implied consent to send a notice to each applicable investor stating that the investors in the household will receive one report in the future unless the investors provide contrary instructions. In addition, at least once a year, UITs relying on the rule for householding must explain to investors who have provided written or implied consent how they can revoke their consent. The purpose of the notice and annual explanation requirements associated with the householding provisions of the rule is to ensure that investors who wish to receive individual copies of shareholder reports are able to do so.

The Commission estimates that the annual burden associated with rule 30e-2 is 15 hours per respondent. The Commission estimates that there are currently approximately 660 UITs that file 1342 reports per year. Therefore, the Commission estimates that the total hour burden is approximately 10,065 hours. In addition to the burden hours, the Commission estimates that the annual cost of contracting for outside services associated with rule 30e-2 is $6,667 per respondent, for a total cost of approximately $4,495,700.

Estimates of average burden hours 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. The collection of information under rule 30e-2 is mandatory. The information provided under rule 30e-2 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.

Written comments are invited on: (a) whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the Commission, including whether the information shall have 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 by January 3, 2025.

An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information under the PRA unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

Please direct your written comments to: Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Tanya Ruttenberg, 100 F Street NE, Washington, DC 20549 or send an email to: PRA_Mailbox@sec.gov.

[FR Doc. 2024-25547 Filed 11-1-24; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 8011-01-P