82 FR 20922 - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 85 (May 4, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 85 (Thursday, May 4, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20922-20923]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08971]


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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[SEC File No. 270-513, OMB Control No. 3235-0571]


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 206(4)-6

    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 
(``Commission'') has submitted to the Office of Management and Budget 
(``OMB'') a request for extension of the previously approved collection 
of information discussed below.
    The title for the collection of information is ``Rule 206(4)-6'' 
under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-1 et seq.) 
(``Advisers Act'') and the collection has been approved under OMB 
Control No. 3235-0571. The Commission adopted rule 206(4)-6 (17 CFR 
275.206(4)-6), the proxy voting rule, to address an investment 
adviser's fiduciary obligation to clients who have given the adviser 
authority to vote their securities. Under the rule, an investment 
adviser that exercises voting authority over client securities is 
required to: (i) Adopt and implement policies and procedures that are 
reasonably designed to ensure that the adviser votes securities in the 
best interest of clients, including procedures to address any material 
conflict that may arise between the interest of the adviser and the 
client; (ii) disclose to clients how they may obtain information on how 
the adviser has voted with respect to their securities; and (iii) 
describe to clients the adviser's proxy voting policies and procedures 
and, on request, furnish a copy of the policies and procedures to the 
requesting client. The rule is designed to assure that advisers that 
vote proxies for their clients vote those proxies in their clients' 
best interest and provide

[[Page 20923]]

clients with information about how their proxies were voted.
    Rule 206(4)-6 contains ``collection of information'' requirements 
within the meaning of the Paperwork Reduction Act. 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. The collection is mandatory and responses to the disclosure 
requirement are not kept confidential.
    The respondents are investment advisers registered with the 
Commission that vote proxies with respect to clients' securities. 
Advisory clients of these investment advisers use the information 
required by the rule to assess investment advisers' proxy voting 
policies and procedures and to monitor the advisers' performance of 
their proxy voting activities. The information required by Advisers Act 
rule 204-2, a recordkeeping rule, also is used by the Commission staff 
in its examination and oversight program. Without the information 
collected under the rules, advisory clients would not have information 
they need to assess the adviser's services and monitor the adviser's 
handling of their accounts, and the Commission would be less efficient 
and effective in its programs.
    The estimated number of investment advisers subject to the 
collection of information requirements under the rule is 10,942. It is 
estimated that each of these advisers is required to spend on average 
10 hours annually documenting its proxy voting procedures under the 
requirements of the rule, for a total burden of 109,420 hours. We 
further estimate that on average, approximately 292 clients of each 
adviser would request copies of the underlying policies and procedures. 
We estimate that it would take these advisers 0.1 hours per client to 
deliver copies of the policies and procedures, for a total burden of 
319,506 hours. Accordingly, we estimate that rule 206(4)-6 results in 
an annual aggregate burden of collection for SEC-registered investment 
advisers of a total of 428,926 hours.
    Records related to an adviser's proxy voting policies and 
procedures and proxy voting history are separately required under the 
Advisers Act recordkeeping rule 204-2 (17 CFR 275.204-2). The standard 
retention period required for books and records under rule 204-2 is 
five years, in an easily accessible place, the first two years in an 
appropriate office of the investment adviser. OMB has previously 
approved the collection with this retention period.
    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: 
[email protected]; 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: [email protected]. Comments must be submitted to OMB within 30 
days of this notice.

    Dated: April 28, 2017.
Eduardo Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2017-08971 Filed 5-3-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 8011-01-P