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.), the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC” or “Commission”) is soliciting comments on the proposed collection of information.

Several sections of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“Act” or “Investment Company Act”) ^[1] give the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) the authority to issue orders granting exemptions from the Act's provisions. The section that grants broadest authority is section 6(c), which provides the Commission with authority to conditionally or unconditionally exempt persons, securities or transactions from any provision of the Investment Company Act, or the rules or regulations thereunder, if and to the extent that such exemption is necessary or appropriate in the public interest and consistent with the protection of investors and the purposes fairly intended by the policy and provisions of the Act.^[2] Congress enacted section 6(c) to give the Commission the flexibility to address unforeseen or changed circumstances in the investment company industry. Rule 0-2 under the Investment Company Act,^[3] entitled “General Requirements of Papers and Applications,” prescribes general instructions for filing an application seeking exemptive relief with the Commission.

Rule 0-2(c)(1) requires that every application for an order for which a form is not specifically prescribed and which is executed by a corporation, partnership or other company and filed with the Commission contain a statement of the applicable provisions of the articles of incorporation, bylaws or similar documents, relating to the right of the person signing and filing such application to take such action on behalf of the applicant, and a statement that all such requirements have been complied with and that the person signing and filing the application is fully authorized to do so. If such authorization is dependent on resolutions of stockholders, directors, or other bodies, such resolutions must be attached as an exhibit to or quoted in the application. Any amendment to the application must contain a similar statement as to the applicability of the original statement of authorization. When any application or amendment is signed by an agent or attorney, rule 0-2(c)(1) requires that the power of attorney evidencing his authority to sign shall state the basis for the agent's authority and shall be filed with the Commission. Every application subject to rule 0-2 must be verified by the person executing the application by executing an instrument in substantially the form specified in the rule. Each application subject to rule 0-2 must state the reasons why the applicant is deemed to be entitled to the action requested, the name and address of each applicant, and the name and address of any person to whom any questions regarding the application should be directed. Electronic filing of all applications for orders under the Investment Company Act is mandatory. Each application subject to rule 0-2 is a one-time request and the rule itself does not impose any ongoing obligations or burdens on the part of an applicant. Compliance with rule 0-2 is required to obtain or retain benefits.

We estimate that approximately 139 registrants use rule 0-2 to make exemptive applications.^[4] Based on conversations with fund representatives and the Commission's experience with the use of rule 0-2, we estimate that the reporting burden of compliance with rule 0-2 is approximately 20 hours per respondent. This time is spent, for example, preparing the application to submit to the Commission. Accordingly, we calculate the total estimated annual internal burden of complying with rule 0-2 to be approximately 2,780 hours. We estimate the annual external costs to be $10,341,600. 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 this proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the SEC, including whether the information will have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the SEC's estimate of the burden imposed by the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and the assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of the information on respondents, including through the use of automated, electronic collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

Please direct your written comments on this 60-Day Collection Notice to Austin Gerig, Director/Chief Data Officer, Securities and Exchange Commission, c/o Tanya Ruttenberg via email to PaperworkReductionAct@sec.gov by August 3, 2026. There will be a second opportunity to comment on this SEC request following the Federal Register publishing a 30-Day Submission Notice.