All states except New York have long had an individual registration requirement for investment adviser representatives (IARs). But that’s about to change.
Ever since the SEC and other regulatory bodies (i.e., FINRA) identified the possibility of “significant business disruptions” many years ago and mandated that registrants create, maintain, and test a Business Continuity Plan (“BCP”), these plans have rarely been taken very seriously until they are needed.
On March 13, 2020, the SEC announced regulatory relief for investment advisers and investment companies who may be affected by the coronavirus. The SEC is recognizing that limits on travel, reduced personnel and other business disruptions as a result of the coronavirus may cause delays in meeting regulatory filing deadlines and other regulatory obligations.
For many asset managers and investment companies, the topic of compliance tends to focus on federal securities, particularly Rule 206(4)-7 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Advisers Act) and Rule 38a-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the "Company Act"). While these rules and the SEC's guidance related to them are important, state law also plays a vital role in compliance. Delaware case law and other legal principles support the conclusion that chief compliance officers of SEC-registrants also have a fiduciary duty under state law to develop, enact, and maintain a robust compliance program.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Cincinnati, OH (October 1, 2018) - CCO Tech today announces the release of its SEC Filing Manager, the first module of an integrated web-based compliance system for small- and mid-sized registered investment advisers (RIAs). SEC Filing Manager automates the completion of Form ADV, the starting point for regulatory compliance filing for every SEC-registered investment adviser. Additional modules will soon be released to create a comprehensive compliance system.
In May, we discussed eight things that you needed to know about the liquidity rule in this article. At that time, we noted that part of the rule was due to take effect in December 2018 for large fund families or June 2019 for smaller fund families. The parts that were delayed until 2019 included the liquidity classifications (i.e., the buckets) and the highly liquid minimum requirement. More importantly, our third point was that the SEC would have more changes to the liquidity rule in 2018.
At the beginning of June, the SEC announced settlements against 13 private fund advisers[1] for failing to provide the required information in Form PF.[2] Generally, Form PF requires information on private funds managed by investment advisers if the total assets of the private funds are over $150 million. The form, which became effective in 2012, asks for information on a private fund’s assets under management, strategy, performance, investments, and other areas. The form must be updated annually or when there is a material change to the information in the most recent filing. As stated in its orders, the SEC and other regulatory, such as the Financial Stability Oversight Council, use the information in Form PF to watch systemic risk in the private fund industry. Additionally, the SEC uses the form in regulatory exams and investigations. (Emphasis added.) The same is true for Form ADV.