Fee Rate Advisory #1 for Fiscal Year 2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2004-59

Effective Oct. 1, 2004, or 5 days after the date on which the Commission receives its fiscal year 2005 regular appropriation, whichever date comes later, the Section 6(b) fee rate applicable to the registration of securities, the Section 13(e) fee rate applicable to the repurchase of securities, and the Section 14(g) fee rates applicable to proxy solicitations and statements in corporate control transactions will decrease to $117.70 per million from the current rate of $126.70 per million.

In addition, effective Oct. 1, 2004, or 30 days after the date on which the Commission receives its fiscal year 2005 regular appropriation, whichever date comes later, the Section 31 fee rate applicable to securities transactions on the exchanges and certain over-the-counter markets will increase to $32.90 per million from the current rate of $23.40 per million.

As required by the statute, the Commission consulted with both the Congressional Budget Office and the Office of Management and Budget regarding the annual adjustment. The adjusted fee rates will not affect the amount of funding available to the Commission. A copy of the Commission's order, including the calculation methodology, is available at http://www.sec.gov/rules/other/33-8418.htm.

Pursuant to their rules, self-regulatory organizations collect from their members funds to offset the self-regulatory organizations' Section 31 fee obligations. Additional information on the transition to the new Section 31 fee rate will be available shortly on the Internet web sites of The New York Stock Exchange, Inc. and NASD Inc. at http://www.nyse.com and http://www.nasd.com, respectively. The Office of Interpretation and Guidance in the Commission's Division of Market Regulation is also available for questions on Section 31 fees at (202) 942-0069, or by e-mail at marketreg@sec.gov.

The Commission will issue further notices as appropriate to keep the public informed of developments relating to the effective dates of the fee rates under Section 6(b), Section 13(e), Section 14(g), and Section 31. These notices will be posted at the Commission's Internet web site at http://www.sec.gov.

See Also:  Release No. 33-8418
Last modified: 4/30/2004