What are Soft Dollars?

In asset management and the securities industry, soft dollars refers to an asset manager’s use of commissions to pay for investment research and brokerage services.

Commissions

Commissions are defined as a markup, markdown, commission equivalent or other fee paid by a managed account to a dealer for executing a transaction where the fee and transaction price are fully and separately disclosed on the confirmation and the transaction is reported under conditions that provide independent and objective verification of the transaction price subject to self-regulatory organization oversight.

Safe Harbor

Section 28(e) of the Exchange Act provides a safe harbor from liability for breach of fiduciary duties when advisers purchase brokerage and research products and services with client commission dollars under specified circumstances. Under section 28(e), an adviser that exercises investment discretion may lawfully pay commissions to a broker at rates higher than those offered by other brokers, as long as the services provided to the adviser by the broker- dealer: (i) are limited to “research” or “brokerage;” (ii) constitute lawful and appropriate assistance to the adviser in the performance of its investment decision-making responsibilities, and (iii) the adviser determines in good faith that the commission payments are reasonable in light of the value of the brokerage and research services received.

Products and Services 

“Research” services generally include the furnishing of advice, analyses, or reports concerning securities, portfolio strategy and the performance of accounts, which means the research must reflect the expression of reasoning or knowledge relating to the statutory subject matter bearing on the investment decision-making of the adviser. The SEC does not believe that products or services with “inherently tangible or physical attributes” meet this test.

  1. Products or services generally falling within the safe harbor include traditional research reports, market data, discussions with research analysts, meetings with corporate executives, software that provides analysis of securities, and publications (other than mass-marketed publications).
  2. Products or services not within the safe harbor include computer hardware, telephone lines, peripherals; salaries, rent, travel, entertainment, and meals; software used for accounting, recordkeeping, client reporting, or other administrative functions; and marketing seminars and other marketing costs.
  3. Where a product or service has uses both inside and outside the safe harbor, the SEC believes that an adviser should make a reasonable allocation of the cost of the product or service according to its use and keep adequate books and records concerning allocations so as to be able to make the required good faith showing.

Disclosure Obligations

Advisers are required to disclose to clients any soft dollar arrangements, regardless of whether the arrangements fall within the section 28(e) safe harbor.  Failure to disclose the receipt of products or services purchased with client commission dollars may constitute a breach of fiduciary duties and/or a violation of specific provisions of the Advisers Act and other federal laws.