For an investment adviser to qualify for an exemption from state registration, they have to either meet an exemption under the Investment Act of 1940, be a federal covered adviser, or be registered with the SEC. The Dodd-Frank Act has created 3 thresholds for investment advisers based of their assets under management (“AUM”) as well as some more general exclusions, all of which provide advisers the ability to register with the SEC.
Previously on the MasterCompliance blog, we covered When Do You Have to Register as an Investment Advisor and Exclusions from the Definition Investment Advisor. This Blog will discuss when a person does meet the definition of an investment advisor under the Investment Act of 1940, but is exempt from registration.
As you may remember from our earlier blogs on registered investment advisers (RIAs), whether a firm should be registered as an investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or with a state is typically determined by the amount of regulatory assets the firm has that receive continuous and regular supervision or management (collectively known as a firm’s “regulatory assets under management” or “regulatory AUM”); with some exceptions, firms that have over $100 million of regulatory AUM must register with the SEC, while smaller advisers must register with state securities authorities instead. But, what if a new investment adviser doesn’t currently have over $100 million of regulatory AUM, but expects to soon? Is the firm required to wait until it has over $100 million of regulatory AUM to register with the SEC?
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently announced revisions to the ADV Part 1. These changes will affect most Registered Investment Advisers (RIAs) when they complete their annual amendment; however, RIAs may be prompted to address additional questions if a firm submits an amendment on or after October 1st.