whichever is the lesser amount, or any dividend which shall have been forbidden by the Commission pursuant to the provision of the next sentence of this paragraph. At least thirty days before such company shall declare, pay, or distribute any dividend, it shall give the Commission written notice of its intention to declare, pay, or distribute the same; and if at any time it shall appear to the Commission that the declaration, payment or distribution of any dividend for or during any calendar year might impair the financial integrity of such company or its ability to meet its liabilities under its outstanding face-amount certificates, it may by order forbid the declaration, distribution, or payment of any such dividend.

(i) The foregoing provisions of this section shall apply to all face-amount certificates issued prior to the effective date of this subsection; to the collection or acceptance of any payment on such certificates; to the issuance of face-amount certificates to the holders of such certificates pursuant to an obligation expressed or implied in such certificates; to the provisions of such certificates; to the minimum certificate reserves and deposits maintained with respect thereto; and to the assets that the issuer of such certificate was and is required to have with respect to such certificates. With respect to all face-amount certificates issued after the effective date of this subsection, the provisions of this section shall apply except as hereinafter provided.

(1) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subsection (a), the reserves for each certificate of the installment type shall be based on assumed annual, semiannual, quarterly, or monthly reserve payments according to the manner in which gross payments for any certificate year are made by the holder, which reserve payments shall be sufficient in amount, as and when accumulated at a rate not to exceed 32 per centum per annum compounded annually, to provide the minimum maturity or face amount of the certificate when due. Such reserve payments may be graduated according to certificate years so that the reserve payment or payments for the first three certificate years shall amount to at least 80 per centum of the required gross annual payment for such years; the reserve payment or payments for the fourth certificate year shall amount to at least 90 per centum of such year's required gross annual payment; the reserve payment or payments for the fifth certificate year shall amount to at least 93 per centum of such year's gross annual payment; and for the sixth and each subsequent certificate year the reserve payment or payments shall amount to at least 96 per centum of each such year's required gross annual payment: Provided, That such aggregate reserve payments shall amount to at least 93 per centum of the aggregate gross annual payments required to be made by the holder to obtain the maturity of the certificate. The company may at its option take as loading from the gross payment or payments for a certificate year, as and when made by the certificate holder, an amount or amounts equal in the aggregate for such year to not more than the excess, if any, of the gross payment or payments required to be made by the holder for such year, over and above the percentage of the gross annual payment required herein for such year for reserve purposes. Such loading may be taken by the company prior to or after the setting up of the reserve payment or payments for such year and

the reserve payment or payments for such year may be graduated and adjusted to correspond with the amount of the gross payment or payments made by the certificate holder for such year less the loading so taken.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (d), (A) in respect of any certificate of the installment type, during the first certificate year, the holder of the certificate, upon surrender thereof, shall be entitled to a value payable in cash not less than 80 per centum of the amount of the gross payments made on the certificate; and (B) in respect of any certificate of the installment type, at any time after the expiration of the first certificate year and prior to maturity, the holder of the certificate, upon surrender thereof, shall be entitled to a value payable in cash not less than the then amount of the reserve for such certificate required by clauses (1) and (2) of subparagraph (D) of paragraph (2) of subsection (a), less a surrender charge that shall not exceed 2 per centum of the face or maturity amount of the certificate, or 15 per centum of the amount of such reserve, whichever is the lesser, but in no event shall such value be less than 80 per centum of the gross payments made on the certificate. The amount of the surrender value for the end of each certificate year shall be set out in the certificate.

BANKRUPTCY OF FACE-AMOUNT CERTIFICATE COMPANIES

SEC. 29. [Section 29 amended section 67 and section 44 of the Bankruptcy Act, with respect to the bankruptcy of face-amount certificate companies, as defined in section 4(1) of the Investment Company Act of 1940.]

PERIODIC AND OTHER REPORTS; REPORTS OF AFFILIATED PERSONS

SEC. 30. [80a-29] (a) Every registered investment company shall file annually with the Commission such information, documents, and reports as investment companies having securities registered on a national securities exchange are required to file annually pursuant to section 13(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations issued thereunder.

(b) Every registered investment company shall file with the Commission

(1) such information, documents, and reports (other than financial statements), as the Commission may require to keep reasonably current the information and documents contained in the registration statement of such company filed under this title; and

(2) copies of every periodic or interim report or similar communication containing financial statements and transmitted to any class of such company's security holders, such copies to be filed not later than ten days after such transmission. Any information or documents contained in a report or other communication to security holders filed pursuant to paragraph (2) may be incorporated by reference in any report subsequently or concurrently filed pursuant to paragraph (1).

(c)(1) The Commission shall take such action as it deems necessary or appropriate, consistent with the public interest and the

protection of investors, to avoid unnecessary reporting by, and minimize the compliance burdens on, registered investment companies and their affiliated persons in exercising its authority— (A) under subsection (f); and

(B) under subsection (b)(1), if the Commission requires the filing of information, documents, and reports under that subsection on a basis more frequently than semiannually.

(2) Action taken by the Commission under paragraph (1) shall include considering, and requesting public comment on

(A) feasible alternatives that minimize the reporting burdens on registered investment companies; and

(B) the utility of such information, documents, and reports to the Commission in relation to the costs to registered investment companies and their affiliated persons of providing such information, documents, and reports.

(d) The Commission shall issue rules and regulations permitting the filing with the Commission, and with any national securities exchange concerned, of copies of periodic reports, or of extracts therefrom, filed by any registered investment company pursuant to subsections (a) and (b), in lieu of any reports and documents required of such company under section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

(e) Every registered investment company shall transmit to its stockholders, at least semiannually, reports containing such of the following information and financial statements or their equivalent, as of a reasonably current date, as the Commission may prescribe by rules and regulations for the protection of investors, which reports shall not be misleading in any material respect in the light of the reports required to be filed pursuant to subsections (a) and (b):

(1) a balance sheet accompanied by a statement of the aggregate value of investments on the date of such balance sheet; (2) a list showing the amounts and values of securities owned on the date of such balance sheet;

(3) a statement of income, for the period covered by the report, which shall be itemized at least with respect to each category of income and expense representing more than 5 per centum of total income or expense;

(4) a statement of surplus, which shall be itemized at least with respect to each charge or credit to the surplus account which represents more than 5 per centum of the total charges or credits during the period covered by the report;

(5) a statement of the aggregate remuneration paid by the company during the period covered by the report (A) to all directors and to all members of any advisory board for regular compensation; (B) to each director and to each member of an advisory board for special compensation; (C) to all officers; and (D) to each person of whom any officer or director of the company is an affiliated person; and

(6) a statement of the aggregate dollar amounts of purchases and sales of investment securities, other than Government securities, made during the period covered by the report: Provided, That if in the judgment of the Commission any item required under this subsection is inapplicable or inappropriate to any

specified type or types of investment company, the Commission may by rules and regulations permit in lieu thereof the inclusion of such item of a comparable character as it may deem applicable or appropriate to such type or types of investment company.

(f) The Commission may, by rule, require that semiannual reports containing the information set forth in subsection (e) include such other information as the Commission deems necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors.

(g) Financial statements contained in annual reports required pursuant to subsections (a) and (e), if required by the rules and regulations of the Commission, shall be accompanied by a certificate of independent public accountants. The certificate of such independent public accountants shall be based upon an audit_not less in scope or procedures followed than that which independent public accountants would ordinarily make for the purpose of presenting comprehensive and dependable_financial statements, and shall contain such information as the Commission may prescribe, by rules and regulations in the public interest or for the protection of investors, as to the nature and scope of the audit and the findings and opinion of the accountants. Each such report shall state that such independent public accountants have verified securities owned, either by actual examination, or by receipt of a certificate from the custodian, as the Commission may prescribe by rules and regulations.

(h) Every person who is directly or indirectly the beneficial owner of more than 10 per centum of any class of outstanding securities (other than short-term paper) of which a registered closedend company is the issuer or who is an officer, director, member of an advisory board, investment adviser, or affiliated person of an investment adviser of such a company shall in respect of his transactions in any securities of such company (other than short-term paper) be subject to the same duties and liabilities as those imposed by section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 upon certain beneficial owners, directors, and officers in respect of their transactions in certain equity securities.

(i) DISCLOSURE TO CHURCH PLAN PARTICIPANTS.-A person that maintains a church plan that is excluded from the definition of an investment company solely by reason of section 3(c)(14) shall provide disclosure to plan participants, in writing, and not less frequently than annually, and for new participants joining such a plan after May 31, 1996, as soon as is practicable after joining such plan, that

(1) the plan, or any company or account maintained to manage or hold plan assets and interests in such plan, company, or account, are not subject to registration, regulation, or reporting under this title, the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or State securities laws; and

(2) plan participants and beneficiaries therefore will not be afforded the protections of those provisions.

(j) NOTICE TO COMMISSION.-The Commission may issue rules and regulations to require any person that maintains a church plan that is excluded from the definition of an investment company solely by reason of section 3(c)(14) to file a notice with the Commission containing such information and in such form as the

Commission may prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or consistent with the protection of investors.

ACCOUNTS AND RECORDS

SEC. 31. [80a-30] (a) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.-Each registered investment company, and each underwriter, broker, dealer, or investment adviser that is a majority-owned subsidiary of such a company, shall maintain and preserve such records (as defined in section 3(a)(37) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) for such period or periods as the Commission, by rules and regulations, may prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors. Each investment adviser that is not a majority-owned subsidiary of, and each depositor of any registered investment company, and each principal underwriter for any registered investment company other than a closed-end company, shall maintain and preserve for such period or periods as the Commission shall prescribe by rules and regulations, such records as are necessary or appropriate to record such person's transactions with such registered

company.

(2) MINIMIZING COMPLIANCE BURDEN.—In exercising its authority under this subsection, the Commission shall take such steps as it deems necessary or appropriate, consistent with the public interest and for the protection of investors, to avoid unnecessary recordkeeping by, and minimize the compliance burden on, persons required to maintain records under this subsection (hereafter in this section referred to as "subject persons"). Such steps shall include considering, and requesting public comment on

(A) feasible alternatives that minimize the recordkeeping burdens on subject persons;

(B) the necessity of such records in view of the public benefits derived from the independent scrutiny of such records through Commission examination;

(C) the costs associated with maintaining the information that would be required to be reflected in such records; and

(D) the effects that a proposed recordkeeping requirement would have on internal compliance policies and procedures.

(b) EXAMINATIONS OF RECORDS.—

(1) IN GENERAL.-All records required to be maintained and preserved in accordance with subsection (a) shall be subject at any time and from time to time to such reasonable periodic, special, and other examinations by the Commission, or any member or representative thereof, as the Commission may prescribe.

(2) AVAILABILITY.-For purposes of examinations referred to in paragraph (1), any subject person shall make available to the Commission or its representatives any copies or extracts from such records as may be prepared without undue effort, expense, or delay as the Commission or its representatives may reasonably request.