Category Archives: Investment Advisor

Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010

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Full Text of PFIARA of 2010 (requiring Hedge Fund Registration)

The following is the full text of the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010 which was part of the recently passed Senate financial regulation bill.  The central part of this act eliminates the Section 203(b)(3) exemption for registration for hedge fund managers (see Section 403).  The act also requires hedge fund managers to provide the SEC with certain information about their trading program and investment positions (see Section 404).

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TITLE IV—REGULATION OF ADVISERS TO HEDGE FUNDS AND OTHERS

SEC. 401. SHORT TITLE.

This title may be cited as the ‘‘Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010’’.

SEC. 402. DEFINITIONS.

(a) INVESTMENT ADVISERS ACT OF 1940 DEFINITIONS.—Section 202(a) of the Investment Advisers Act of1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–2(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(29) The term ‘private fund’ means an issuer that would be an investment company, as defined in section 3 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–3), but for section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of that Act.

‘‘(30) The term ‘foreign private adviser’ means any investment adviser who—

‘‘(A) has no place of business in the United States;

‘‘(B) has, in total, fewer than 15 clients who are domiciled in or residents of the United States;  on DSKH9S0YB1PROD with BILLS

‘‘(C) has aggregate assets under management attributable to clients in the United States and investors in the United States in private funds advised by the investment adviser of less than $25,000,000, or such higher amount as the Commission may, by rule, deem appropriate in accordance with the purposes of this title; and

‘‘(D) neither—

‘‘(i) holds itself out generally to the public in the United States as an investment adviser; nor

‘‘(ii) acts as—

‘‘(I) an investment adviser to any investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940; or

‘‘(II) a company that has elected to be a business development company pursuant to section 54 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–53), and has not withdrawn its election.’’.

(b) OTHER DEFINITIONS.—As used in this title, the terms ‘‘investment adviser’’ and ‘‘private fund’’ have the same meanings as in section 202 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended by this title.

SEC. 403. ELIMINATION OF PRIVATE ADVISER EXEMPTION; LIMITED EXEMPTION FOR FOREIGN PRIVATE ADVISERS; LIMITED INTRASTATE EXEMPTION.

Section 203(b) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–3(b)) is amended—

(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, other than an investment adviser who acts as an investment adviser to any private fund,’’ before ‘‘all of whose’’;

(2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:

‘‘(3) any investment adviser that is a foreign private adviser;’’; and

(3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end; (4) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and (5) by adding at the end the following: ‘‘(7) any investment adviser, other than any entity that has elected to be regulated or is regulated as a business development company pursuant to section 54 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a–54), who solely advises— ‘‘(A) small business investment companies that are licensees under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958; ‘‘(B) entities that have received from the Small Business Administration notice to proceed to qualify for a license as a small business investment company under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, which notice or license has not been revoked; or ‘‘(C) applicants that are affiliated with 1 or more licensed small business investment companies described in subparagraph (A) and that have applied for another license under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, which application remains pending.’’.

SEC. 404. COLLECTION OF SYSTEMIC RISK DATA; REPORTS; EXAMINATIONS; DISCLOSURES.

Section 204 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–4) is amended—

(1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following:

‘‘(b) RECORDS AND REPORTS OF PRIVATE FUNDS.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission may require any investment adviser registered under this title—

‘‘(A) to maintain such records of, and file with the Commission such reports regarding, private funds advised by the investment adviser, as necessary and appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors, or for the assessment of systemic risk by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (in this subsection referred to as the ‘Council’); and

‘‘(B) to provide or make available to the Council those reports or records or the information contained therein.

‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF RECORDS.—The records and reports of any private fund to which an investment adviser registered under this title provides investment advice shall be deemed to be the records and reports of the investment adviser.

‘‘(3) REQUIRED INFORMATION.—The records and reports required to be maintained by a private fund and subject to inspection by the Commission under this subsection shall include, for each private fund advised by the investment adviser, a description of—

‘‘(A) the amount of assets under management and use of leverage;

‘‘(B) counterparty credit risk exposure;

‘‘(C) trading and investment positions;

‘‘(D) valuation policies and practices of the fund;

‘‘(E) types of assets held;

‘‘(F) side arrangements or side letters, whereby certain investors in a fund obtain more favorable rights or entitlements than other investors;

‘‘(G) trading practices; and

‘‘(H) such other information as the Commission, in consultation with the Council, determines is necessary and appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors or for the assessment of systemic risk, which may include the establishment of different reporting requirements for different classes of fund advisers, based on the type or size of private fund being advised.

‘‘(4) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS.—An investment adviser registered under this title shall maintain such records of private funds advised by the investment adviser for such period or periods as the Commission, by rule, may prescribe as necessary and appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors, or for the assessment of systemic risk.

‘‘(5) FILING OF RECORDS.—The Commission shall issue rules requiring each investment adviser to a private fund to file reports containing such information as the Commission deems necessary and appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors or for the assessment of systemic risk.

‘‘(6) EXAMINATION OF RECORDS.—

‘‘(A) PERIODIC AND SPECIAL EXAMINATIONS.—The Commission—

‘‘(i) shall conduct periodic inspections of all records of private funds maintained by an investment adviser registered under this title in accordance with a schedule established by the Commission; and

‘‘(ii) may conduct at any time and from time to time such additional, special, and other examinations as the Commission may prescribe as necessary and appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors, or for the assessment of systemic risk.

‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS.—An investment adviser registered under this title shall make available to the Commission 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.

‘‘(7) INFORMATION SHARING.—

‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall make available to the Council copies of all reports, documents, records, and information filed with or provided to the Commission by an investment adviser under this subsection as the Council may consider necessary for the purpose of assessing the systemic risk posed by a private fund.

‘‘(B) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Council shall maintain the confidentiality of information received under this paragraph in all such reports, documents, records, and information, in a manner consistent with the level of confidentiality established by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (8). The Council shall be exempt from section 552 of title 5, United States Code, with respect to any information in any report, document, record, or information made available, to the Council under this subsection.’’.

‘‘(8) COMMISSION CONFIDENTIALITY OF REPORTS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commission may not be compelled to disclose any report or information contained therein required to be filed with the Commission under this subsection, except that nothing in this subsection authorizes the Commission—

‘‘(A) to withhold information from Congress, upon an agreement of confidentiality; or

‘‘(B) prevent the Commission from complying with—

‘‘(i) a request for information from any other Federal department or agency or any self-regulatory organization requesting the report or information for purposes within the scope of its jurisdiction; or

‘‘(ii) an order of a court of the United States in an action brought by the United States or the Commission.

‘‘(9) OTHER RECIPIENTS CONFIDENTIALITY.— Any department, agency, or self-regulatory organization that receives reports or information from the Commission under this subsection shall maintain the confidentiality of such reports, documents, records, and information in a manner consistent with the level of confidentiality established for the Commission under paragraph (8).

‘‘(10) PUBLIC INFORMATION EXCEPTION.—‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Commission, the Council, and any other department, agency, or self-regulatory organization that receives information, reports, documents, records, or information from the Commission under this subsection, shall be exempt from the provisions of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, with respect to any such report, document, record, or information. Any proprietary information of an investment adviser ascertained by the Commission from any report required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to this subsection shall be subject to the same limitations on public disclosure as any facts ascertained during an examination, as provided by section 210(b) of this title.

‘‘(B) PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.—For purposes of this paragraph, proprietary information includes—

‘‘(i) sensitive, non-public information regarding the investment or trading strategies of the investment adviser;

‘‘(ii) analytical or research methodologies;

‘‘(iii) trading data;

‘‘(iv) computer hardware or software containing intellectual property; and

‘‘(v) any additional information that the Commission determines to be proprietary.

‘‘(11) ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Commission shall report annually to Congress on how the Commission has used the data collected pursuant to this subsection to monitor the markets for the protection of investors and the integrity of the markets.’’.

SEC. 405. DISCLOSURE PROVISION ELIMINATED.

Section 210(c) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–10(c)) is amended by inserting before the period at the end the following: ‘‘or for purposes of assessment of potential systemic risk’’.

SEC. 406. CLARIFICATION OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.

Section 211 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–11) is amended—

(1) in subsection (a), by inserting before the period at the end of the first sentence the following:

‘‘, including rules and regulations defining technical, trade, and other terms used in this title, except that the Commission may not define the term ‘client’ for purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 206 to include an investor in a private fund managed by an investment adviser, if such private fund has entered into an advisory contract with such adviser’’; and

(2) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(e) DISCLOSURE RULES ON PRIVATE FUNDS.—The Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall, after consultation with the Council but not later than 12 months after the date of enactment of the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2010, jointly promulgate rules to establish the form and content of the reports required to be filed with the Commission under subsection 204(b) and with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by investment advisers that are registered both under this title and the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1a et seq.).’’.

SEC. 407. EXEMPTION OF VENTURE CAPITAL FUND ADVISERS.

Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–3) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(l) EXEMPTION OF VENTURE CAPITAL FUND ADVISERS.—No investment adviser shall be subject to the registration requirements of this title with respect to the provision of investment advice relating to a venture capital fund. Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall issue final rules to define the term ‘venture capital fund’ for purposes of this subsection.’’.

SEC. 408. EXEMPTION OF AND RECORD KEEPING BY PRIVATE EQUITY FUND ADVISERS.

Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–3) is amended by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(m) EXEMPTION OF AND REPORTING BY PRIVATE EQUITY FUND ADVISERS.—

‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this subsection, no investment adviser shall be subject to the registration or reporting requirements of this title with respect to the provision of investment advice relating to a private equity fund or funds.

‘‘(2) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS AND ACCESS BY COMMISSION.—Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this subsection, the Commission shall issue final rules—

‘‘(A) to require investment advisers described in paragraph (1) to maintain such records and provide to the Commission such annual or other reports as the Commission taking into account fund size, governance, investment strategy, risk, and other factors, as the Commission determines necessary and appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors; and

‘‘(B) to define the term ‘private equity fund’ for purposes of this subsection.’’.

SEC. 409. FAMILY OFFICES.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–2(a)(11)) is amended by striking ‘‘or (G)’’ and inserting the following:

‘‘; (G) any family office, as defined by rule, regulation, or order of the Commission, in accordance with the purposes of this title; or (H)’’.

(b) RULEMAKING.—The rules, regulations, or orders issued by the Commission pursuant to section 202(a)(11)(G) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as added by this section, regarding the definition of the term ‘‘family office’’ shall provide for an exemption that—

(1) is consistent with the previous exemptive policy of the Commission, as reflected in exemptive orders for family offices in effect on the date of enactment of this Act; and

(2) recognizes the range of organizational, management, and employment structures and arrangements employed by family offices.

SEC. 410. STATE AND FEDERAL RESPONSIBILITIES; ASSET THRESHOLD FOR FEDERAL REGISTRATION OF INVESTMENT ADVISERS.

Section 203A(a)(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–3a(a)(1)) is amended —

(1) in subparagraph (A)—

(A) by striking ‘‘$25,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$100,000,000’’; and

(B) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end;

(2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

‘‘(C) is an adviser to a company that has elected to be a business development company pursuant to section 54 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, and has not withdrawn its election.’’.

SEC. 411. CUSTODY OF CLIENT ASSETS.

The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b–1 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

‘‘SEC. 223. CUSTODY OF CLIENT ACCOUNTS.

‘‘An investment adviser registered under this title shall take such steps to safeguard client assets over which such adviser has custody, including, without limitation, verification of such assets by an independent public accountant, as the Commission may, by rule, prescribe.’’.

SEC. 412. ADJUSTING THE ACCREDITED INVESTOR STANDARD FOR INFLATION.

The Commission shall, by rule—

(1) increase the financial threshold for an accredited investor, as set forth in the rules of the Commission under the Securities Act of 1933, by calculating an amount that is greater than the amount in effect on the date of enactment of this Act of $200,000 income for a natural person (or $300,000 for a couple) and $1,000,000 in assets, as the Commission determines is appropriate and in the public interest, in light of price inflation since those figures were determined; and

(2) adjust that threshold not less frequently than once every 5 years, to reflect the percentage increase in the cost of living.

SEC. 413. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON ACCREDITED INVESTORS.

The Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study on the appropriate criteria for determining the financial thresholds or other criteria needed to qualify for accredited investor status and eligibility to invest in private funds, and shall submit a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives on the results of such study not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 414. GAO STUDY ON SELF-REGULATORY ORGANIZATION FOR PRIVATE FUNDS.

The Comptroller General of the United States shall—

(1) conduct a study of the feasibility of forming a self-regulatory organization to oversee private funds; and

(2) submit a report to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives on the results of such study, not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 415. COMMISSION STUDY AND REPORT ON SHORT SELLING.

(a) STUDY.—The Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation of the Commission shall conduct a study, taking into account current scholarship, on the state of short selling on national securities exchanges and in the over-the-counter markets, with particular attention to the impact of recent rule changes and the incidence of—

(1) the failure to deliver shares sold short; or

(2) delivery of shares on the fourth day following the short sale transaction.

(b) REPORT.—The Division of Risk, Strategy, and Financial Innovation shall submit a report, together with any recommendations for market improvements, including consideration of real time reporting of short sale positions, to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Financial Services of the House of Representatives on the results of the study conducted under subsection (a), not later than 2 years after the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 416. TRANSITION PERIOD.

Except as otherwise provided in this title, this title and the amendments made by this title shall become effecttive 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, except 5 that any investment adviser may, at the discretion of the investment adviser, register with the Commission under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 during that 1-year period, subject to the rules of the Commission.

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Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP is a hedge fund law firm which provides comprehensive formation and regulatory support for hedge fund managers.  Bart Mallon, Esq. can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.

California Investment Advisor Annual Compliance Reminder | 2010

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(www.hedgefundlawblog.com)

State registered investment advisory firms usually have annual compliance requirements.  The following discusses the major issues for investment advisors (both hedge fund and separately managed account managers) who are registered in California.  In general, there is (i) an annual updating requirement and (ii) an annual financial filing requirement.

Annual ADV Updating Amendment

Registered investment advisers will need to update Form ADV (including Part II and Schedule F) on an annual basis.  For California registered investment advisers the annual update is due within 90 days after the end of the firm’s fiscal year end (which will normally end on December 31).  In general the advisor should review the entire ADV, Part II and Schedule F to make sure everything is accurate as of the date of filing.  The advisor may want to make this filing itself (usually the chief compliance officer of the firm will complete) or the advisor may want to have its law firm or compliance firm complete the update for them.

Note: in additional to annual update, each advisor will need to make sure that certain information is updated on a continuous basis.  If the information contained in Part I, Items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 11, 13A, 13B, 14A and 14B of Form ADV, Form U-4 or any representation or undertaking contained in any affidavit filed with the state securities division, changes in any respect, or if the information contained in Part I, Items 9 and 10 and all items of Part II of Form ADV changes in any material respect, an amendment shall be filed promptly with the state securities division. Such amendment must be filed in writing no more than ten business days after the registrant has knowledge of the circumstances requiring such notification.

Annual Financial Filing Requirement

California registered advisors will also need to submit annual financial reports to the California Securities Regulation Division.  Such advisors must submit the following to the division:

The above items should be sent directly to the California Securities Regulation Division at:

California Financial Services Division
1515 K Street
Suite 200
Sacramento, CA 95814

Note: in general both hedge fund managers and separately managed account advisors (who directly debit fees from client brokerage accounts) will be deemed to have “custody” of client assets and would need to make sure that, among other requirements, the balance sheet above is audited.  Most advisors, however, will institute certain procedures (including a gatekeeper arrangement) which will allow them to submit unaudited financials.  If you have questions, please contact your lawyer or compliance professional.

Other Compliance Issues

In California, like most of the states, there are a number of items that advisors will need to do a continuous basis.  The most important is probably to properly maintain their books and records.  California has also provided an overview of important issues for California investment advisor and has also provided an overview of the post-effective requirements.

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Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to start an investment advisory business.  Other related hedge fund law articles include:

Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP runs Hedge Fund Law Blog and has written most all of the articles which appear on this website.  Mr. Mallon’s legal practice is devoted to helping emerging and start up hedge fund managers successfully launch a hedge fund. Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP will also help state based Investment Advisors to register with their state securities division.  If you are a hedge fund manager who is looking to start a hedge fund or an investment advisor looking to register, please call Mr. Mallon directly at 415-868-5345.

Proposed Investment Adviser Regulations Overview

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As we discussed in an earlier post, the SEC proposed new rules and amendments to existing rules under the Investment Advisers Act (the “Act”) to implement certain provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act related to hedge fund registration.

In summary, the new rules:

  • clarify eligibility for SEC registration for hedge fund and other asset managers
  • establish reporting requirements for certain “exempt reporting advisers”
  • require greater disclosure by registered IAs and each managed private fund in Form ADV
  • clarify the scope of new exemptions from SEC registration
  • propose amendments to the “pay to play” rules of the Act

This post will provide an overview of these proposals in greater depth.  Please feel free to comment below or contact us with your thoughts on the new rules as we are currently in the process of drafting a comment letter to the SEC about the proposed rules.

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Rule 203A-1 Switching to or from SEC Registration

The new Rule 203A-1 provides state and SEC registered IAs with information on the time requirements for switching registration status.

State-registered switching to SEC-registered: After filing an annual amendment indicating eligibility for SEC registration (and not relying on an exemption from registration under sections 203(l) or 203(m) of the Act discussed below), apply for registration with the SEC within 90 days.

SEC-registered switching to State-registered: After filing an annual amendment indicating you are no longer eligible for SEC registration (and not relying on an exemption from registration under sections 203(l) or 203(m) of the Act discussed below), you must file Form ADV-W to withdraw SEC registration within 180 days of your fiscal year end (unless you are then eligible for SEC registration).  Note: during dual registration, the Act and applicable state laws apply.

For full text and overview please see our post on Rule 203A-1.

Rule 203A-5 IA Registration Transition Rules

IAs registered with the SEC on July 21, 2011 must report their AUM (via amendment to Form ADV) to the SEC by August 20, 2011, or 30 days after the effective date of the amendments, and to report the market value of its AUM determined within 30 days of the filing.  If such IAs are at that time below the threshold for SEC registration, the IA must withdraw from SEC registration by October 19, 2011 (and generally be registered with the state in which the adviser’s maintains its principle office and place of business).

In addition, the SEC is also proposing amendments to Form ADV which will require registered IAs to provide additional information regarding: (i) the private funds they advise, including AUM, the nature of the investors in the fund and the fund’s service providers; (ii) their advisory business, including information about the types of clients they have and potentially significant conflicts of interest; and (iii) additional information about non-advisory activities and financial industry affiliations.

For full text and overview please see our post on Rule 203A-5.

Rule 204-4 Reporting by Exempt Reporting Advisers:

Certain “exempt reporting advisers” exempt from SEC registration pursuant to Sections 203(l) and 203(m) of the Act (discussed below) must file Form ADV (but not Form ADV Part 2) with the SEC, following instructions specifically pertaining to such advisers.  Such advisers must file their initial Form ADV no later than August 20, 2011.

For full text and overview please see our post on Rule 204-4.

Rule 202(a)(30)-1 Foreign Private Adviser Exemption

This new exemption from SEC registration applies to “foreign private advisers.”

A “foreign private adviser” is an investment adviser that:

  • has no place of business in the U.S;
  • has less than $25 million in aggregate assets under management from U.S. clients and private fund investors;
  • has fewer than 15 U.S. clients and private fund investors; and
  • neither holds itself out to U.S. investors as an investment adviser nor acts as an investment adviser to any investment company registered under the Investment Company Act or any company that has elected to be a business development company.

“Foreign private advisers” do not need to comply with the reporting requirements under the new Section 204-4.

For full text and overview please see our post on Rule 202(a)(30)-1.

Rule 203(l)-1 Venture Capital Fund Exemption

This new exemption from SEC registration applies to advisers that solely advise “venture capital funds.”

A “venture capital fund” is a private fund that:

  • represents it is a venture capital fund;
  • invests in only equity securities of a portfolio company and 80% of such securities must have been acquired directly from the portfolio company;
  • has a management company which provides guidance to the portfolio company regarding management and operations of the portfolio company or the fund must control the portfolio company;
  • uses less than 15% leverage which may only be short term; and
  • provides fund investors with no withdrawal rights except in extraordinary circumstances.

The proposed rule also provides a grandfathering provision for certain presently existing venture capital funds.

For full text and overview please see our post on Rule 203(l)-1.

Rule 203(m)-1 Private Fund Adviser Exemption

This new exemption from SEC registration applies to advisers that solely advise private funds and have AUM in the U.S. of less than $150MM.  [HFLB note: the adviser may still be required to register pursuant to state law.]  The adviser must aggregate the value of all assets of the private funds it manages to determine whether it falls below the $150MM threshold.  AUM must be determined quarterly, with valuation based on the fair value of assets at the end of the quarter.  If an adviser’s AUM exceeds $150MM in private fund assets, the adviser must register as an investment adviser with the SEC within one calendar quarter.

For full text and overview please see our post on Rule 203(m)-1.

Rule 206(4)-5 Pay to Play Rules

Under the proposed amendment, an adviser would be permitted to pay a registered municipal advisor, instead of a “regulated person,” to solicit government entities on its behalf if the municipal advisor is subject to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board’s (the “MSRB”) pay-to-play rules.

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As with any proposed rulemaking process, there are a number of ambiguities with respect to the proposals and a number of questions regarding the application of certain rules to the certain situations.  These issues are expected to be identified during the comment process and hopefully the SEC will be able to modify the proposed rules as appropriate when the final rules are promulgated.  One central open issue is the change from SEC to state registration for managers with less than $100MM AUM – it seems pretty clear that most states will not be able to handle an increase in the amount of managers that will be subject to state regulation.

As discussed in the proposals, public comments are due on January 24, 2011.

A full copy of the proposed rules are available here.

Comments received by the SEC on the proposed rules are available for review here.

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Bart Mallon, Esq. runs the hedge fund law blog and provides registration and hedge fund compliance services to managers through Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP.  He can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.

Series 65 and Series 66 Passing Grade Increased

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IA Exams Pass Rates Expected to Plummet

The North American Securities Administrators Association (“NASAA”) recently announced that the two central investment advisor exams (the Series 65 and the Series 66) will become even more difficult.  Starting January 1, 2010 candidates will need to attain a score of 72% in order to pass the Series 65 exam and a 75% in order to pass the Series 66 exam.  NASAA did not make any statements on its website or at its Annual Conference earlier this year about the change or the reason for the change.

I had a chance to talk with Chuck Lowenstein of Kaplan Financial Education about the announcement.  “The exams have been oddities,” said Lowenstein, “everything else in the business requires a 70% to pass and the 65 had been kind of weird at 68.5% and the 66 as well at 71%. With these new numbers, NASAA has entered new territory. I suspect pass rates will plummet, unless they feel that the new exams will be so much easier (never happened in the past) that they need to bump up the minimum.”

Chuck went on to discuss the likely future performance for people taking the exams.  “Based on our students’ performance, this will have a devastating effect on the overall pass rate. A significant percentage of exam takers pass with little room to spare and bumping the requirements by 4 or 5 questions on these exams (the 68.5% on the 65 was 89 correct – 72% is 93.6 questions so they’ll either round up to 94 or down to 93, that has not yet been disclosed) is going to catch many exam takers.”

We do not recommend that exam takers study any differently for the exam, but we urge all potential exam takers make sure they are adequately prepared.  If an applicant does not pass the 65 or 66 on the first try, they will need to wait 30 days to take the exam again which will obviously have an effect on the timing of a hedge fund launch.

For more information please see NASAA’s post on the Series 65 and Series 66 exams.

Thank you to Chuck Lowenstein for bringing this issue to my attention.

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Other related hedge fund law articles:

Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP runs the Hedge Fund Law Blog.  He can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.

CPO Reporting Requirements | Commodity Pool Operator Compliance

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CFTC Regulation 4.22 Overview

CFTC registered commodity pool operators have a number of regulatory and compliance issues to be aware of.  In addition to a having a compliance program which addresses the business and regulatory issues applicable to the manager, one of the more important compliance requirements is found in CFTC Regulation 4.22 which provides the reporting framework with respect to (i) periodic reports to investors and (ii) annual reports to investors and the NFA.  While many hedge fund administration firms provide a monthly or quarterly report/statement, generally those reports/statements do not provide the detailed information that is required for commodity pools.  This article provides an overview of the information required to be included in the periodic and annual statements and will also discuss other aspects of the regulation.

Overview of the Statements

Generally CPOs are required to distribute, within 30 days of end of the required period (see below), an account statement to each investor the fund.  The account statement must included an itemized “statement of operations” and “statement of changes in net assets” which is presented and computed in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

The statement of operations must separately itemize the following:

  • Realized net gain/loss on commodity interest positions
  • Unrealized net gain/loss on commodity interest positions
  • Total net gain/loss on other transactions (including interest and dividends earned), unless the gain/loss from trading are part of a related trading strategy (see 4.22(e)(3))
  • Total management fees during period
  • Total advisory fees during period (including performance fees/allocations)
  • Total brokerage commissions during period
  • Total of other fees for investment transactions
  • Total of other expenses incurred or accrued by the fund during period

Note: most of the above items must be itemized according to 4.22(e)(1) and special allocations should be noted according to 4.22(e)(2).

The statement of changes in net assets must separately itemize the following:

  • Fund NAV at beginning of period
  • Fund NAV at end of period
  • Total contributions to fund during period
  • Total redemptions (voluntary or involuntary) during period
  • Total fund income/loss during period
  • Total value of investor’s interest in the fund at the end of the period

Monthly or Quarterly Commodity Pool Reporting

For funds which have more than $500,000 of assets, the account statements must be sent to investors on a monthly basis.  The account statement is due to the investor within 30 days of the end of the month.  For funds which have less than $500,000 of assets, the account statements must be sent to investors on (at least) a quarterly basis.  The account statement is due to the investor within 30 days of the end of the quarter.  In both cases, a final report for the year does not need to be sent to fund investors if the CPO’s annual report (described below) is sent to pool participants within 45 calendar days after the end of the fiscal year.

Annual Reporting Requirement

The CPO will need to provide, within 90 days after the end of the fund’s fiscal year (or within 90 days of the cessation of trading if the fund closes), an annual report to (i) each investor in the fund and (ii) the NFA.  The annual report must be presented and computed in accordance with GAAP consistently applied and must be audited by an independent public accountant.*

Annual report must include:

  • Fund NAV for the preceding two fiscal years
  • Total value of investor’s interest in the fund at the end of the preceding two fiscal years
  • Statement of Financial Condition for the fund’s fiscal year and preceding fiscal year
  • “statement of operations” and “statement of changes in net assets”
  • Footnotes if required to make statements not misleading (including certain information on underlying funds if the fund invests in other commodity pools)
  • Certain information if there is more than onve ownership class or series.

In the event that the CPO will not be able to file the annual report with the NFA within the 90 day period, the CPO can file an extension under certain circumstances.  It is very important that the CPO provides the annual report on time or files for the exemption.  If a CPO cannot file the report within the time frame required and does not file for the exemption, the NFA will take action against the CPO see CFTC Fines CPOs For Late Annual Reports.

*Note: if the fund is organized offshore then the CPO may be able to prepare and calculate the annual report in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, please generally see 4.22(d)(2).

Statements Required to be Signed by Principals

Both the account statement and the annual report must contain a signed affirmation (usually provided by a principal or associated person of the CPO) that the information contained in the account statement is accurate and complete.

Such information shall include:

  • Name of individual signing
  • Capacity of individual signing
  • Name of the CPO
  • Name of the fund

Other Items

Regulation 4.22 is intricate and there are many specifics for certain fund managers.  Specifically, if a commodity fund invests in other commodity funds there are certain rules which I have not covered in-depth in this overview.

With regard to the fiscal year, most commodity pools will elect to have their fiscal year be the calendar year.  A fund can elect to have the fiscal year end on a different date under certain circumstances, see generally 4.22(g).

With regard to account statements and annual reports, these can be provided to fund investors electronically (either through email or through a password-protected website).  In the event a fund manager wants to provide statements in this way, the manager will need to make sure the commodity pool’s offering documents specifically discusses this possibility.  Additionally, the manager should make sure the fund’s subscription documents include a specific place for the investor to consent to the electronic delivery of the account statement or annual report.

Conclusion

Regulation 4.22 is detailed and, for some groups, complicated.  The NFA has shown a willingness to send a message to firms which do not follow NFA rules or CFTC regulations.  If you are a CPO and have questions with regard to your account statements or annual reports, please feel free to contact us.

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Other related hedge fund law articles include:

Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP runs the Hedge Fund Law Blog as well as the forex registration website.  He can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.

Hedge Funds and Insider Trading after Galleon

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By Bart Mallon, Esq. (www.colefrieman.com)

High Profile Case Highlights Issues for Hedge Fund Managers to Consider

Insider trading is now an operational issue for hedge fund managers.  The high profile insider trading case involving RR and the Galleon hedge fund has put the spotlight directly on hedge funds again and has also sparked a debate of sorts on the subject.  Given the potential severity of penalties for insider trading, it is surprising that we still periodically hear about such cases, but nevertheless it is something that is always going to be there – human nature is not going to change.

As such hedge fund managers need to be prepared to deal with this issue internally (through their compliance procedures) and also will need to be able to communicate how they have addressed this issue to both the regulators and institutional investors.  While managers always need to be vigilant in their enforcement of compliance policies and procedures, during this time of heightened insider trading awareness, managers need to be even more vigilant about protecting themselves.  As the Galleon liquidation too vividly shows, a lapse in operational oversight can and will take down an entire organization.

Insider Trading Overview and Penalties

We have discussed insider trading before, but as a general matter insider trading refers to the practice of trading securities based on material, non-public information.  Whether information is material depends on case law.  In general information will be material if “there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable shareholder would consider it important” in making an investment decision (see TSC Industries, Inc. v. Northway, Inc., 426 U.S. 438, 449 (1976)).  Information is non-public if it has not been disseminated in a manner making it available to investors generally. An insider is generally defined as officers, directors and employees of a company but it can also refer to a company’s business associates in certain circumstances (i.e. attorneys, accountants, consultants, and banks, and the employees of such organizations).  Additionally, persons not considered to be insiders may nevertheless be charged with insider trading if they received tips from insiders – such persons generally are referred to as tippees and the insider is generally referred to as the tipper.  [HFLB note: more information on insider trading generally can be found in the discussion of Regulation FD on the SEC website.]

The penalties for insider trading are potentially harsh – censures, cease and desist orders, fines, suspension and/or revocation of securities licenses are all potential penalties.  Depending on the severity of the insider trading there may be criminal sanctions in addition to the listed civil penalties.  Securities professionals (or other business professionals like an attorney or accountant) may jeopardize their ability to work in their industry if they are caught engaging in insider trading which, for most people, would be a large enough deterrent to engage in such activity.

Addressing Compliance Inside the Firm

Insider trading is usually addressed in the firm’s compliance policies and procedures.  Indeed, Section 204A of the Investment Adviser Act of 1940 requires SEC registered investment advisers to maintainpolicies and procedures to detect against insider trading.

Usually such policies and procedures forbid employees from trading on material non-public information (as well as “tipping” others about material non-public information).  Additionally, employees typically are required to disclose any non-public material information they receive to the chief compliance officer (“CCO”) of the firm.  The employee is generally prohibited from discussing the matter with anyone inside or outside of the firm.  The policies and procedures may require the CCO to take some sort of action on the matter.  There are a number of different ways that the CCO can handle the situation including ordering a prohibition on trading in the security (including in options, rights and warrants on the security).  The CCO may also initiate a review of the personal trading accounts of firm employees.  Usually when the CCO is informed of such information the CCO would contact outside counsel to discuss the next course of action.

Dealing with Regulators

While many large hedge fund managers are registered as investment advisors with the SEC, many still remain unregistered in reliance on the exemption provided by Section 203(b)(3).  With the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act likely to be passed within the next year, managers with a certain amount of AUM (either $100 million or $150 million as it now stands) will be forced to register with the SEC.  Of course, this means that such managers will be subject to examination by the SEC and insider trading will be one of the first issues that a manager will likely deal with in an examination.

As we discussed in an earlier insider trading article, the SEC has unabashedly proclaimed war against insider trading and they will be aggressively pursuing any leads which may implicate managers.

Some compliance professionals believe that the SEC comes in with a view that the manager is guilty until proven innocent.  While I do not necessarily subscribe to this blanket viewpoint, I do believe that managers, as a best practice, should be able to show the SEC the steps they have taken to ensure that compliance with insider trading prohibitions is a top priority of the firm.  The firm and CCO should be prepared to describe their policies and structures that are in place to deal with this issue.

Institutional Standpoint

Potentially more important than how a firm deals with the SEC, is how a firm describes their internal compliance procedures to institutional investors.  The question then becomes, how are institutional investors going to address this risk with regard to the managers they allocate to – what will change?

Right now it appears a bit unclear.  Over the past week I have talked with a number of different groups who are involved hedge fund compliance, hedge fund consulting, and hedge fund due diligence and I seem to get different answers.  Some groups think that institutional investors will be focusing on this issue (as many managers know, one of the important issues for institutional investors is the avoidance of “headline risk”); other groups seem to think that this is an issue that institutional groups are not going to focus on because there are other aspects of a manager’s investment program and operations which deserve more attention.

We tend to agree more with the second opinion, but we still believe that robust insider trading compliance policies and procedures are vital to the long term success of any asset management company.  We also encourage groups to discuss their current procedures with their compliance consultant or hedge fund attorney.

Outsourcing and Technology solutions

Many large managers have implemented compliance programs which have technology solutions designed to track employee trading.  Presumably there will be technology programs developed to address this concern for manager.  Although I do not currently know of any specific outsourced or technology solutions which address this issue, I anticipate discussing this in greater depth in the future – perhaps there is some data warehousing solution.  [HFLB note: please contact us if you would like to discuss such a solution with us.]

Final Thoughts

The Galleon insider trading case could not have happened at a worse time for the hedge fund industry which is trying to put its best face forward as Congress determines its future regulatory fate.  However, increased awareness of this issue will force managers to address it from an operational standpoint which will only help these managers down the road.  While the full effect of this case will not be understood for a while, in the short term it is likely to cost managers in terms of time and cost to review and implement increased operational awareness and procedures.

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Other related hedge fund law articles:

Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP runs the Hedge Fund Law Blog and the Series 79 exam website.  He can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.

Section 204A | Investment Advisers Act of 1940

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Section 204A — Prevention of Misuse of Nonpublic Information

Every investment adviser subject to section 204 shall establish, maintain, and enforce written policies and procedures reasonably designed, taking into consideration the nature of such investment adviser’s business, to prevent the misuse in violation of this Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the rules or regulations thereunder, of material, nonpublic information by such investment adviser or any person associated with such investment adviser. The Commission, as it deems necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors, shall adopt rules or regulations to require specific policies or procedures reasonably designed to prevent misuse in violation of this Act or the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (or the rules or regulations thereunder) of material, nonpublic information.

Public Comments on SEC Proposed “Pay to Play” Rules

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SEC Proposed Pay to Play Rules Draw Many Comments

Earlier this year the SEC proposed so-called “pay to play” rules which would restrict SEC registered investment advisers from managing money from state and local governments under certain circumstances.  According to the SEC press release, “the measures are designed to prevent an adviser from making political contributions or hidden payments to influence their selection by government officials.” The rule would do four major things:

  1. Restricting Political Contributions
  2. Banning Solicitation of Contributions
  3. Banning Third-Party Solicitors
  4. Restricting Indirect Contributions and Solicitations

The comment period, which ran for 60 days, produced some very good points.  As a general matter most groups opposed the proposed rules for some reason or another.  Below I have gathered some of the more interesting or important points which were raised in the comments which are publicly available here.  All of the following quotes are directly from the comments of the submitters which are identified.

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Joan Hinchman – Executive Director, President and CEO, of NSCP (National Society of Compliance Professionals Inc.)

  • The practical result of the ban will be that an adviser will be economically compelled to end its relationship with a governmental entity.
  • The ban will deprive participants and beneficiaries of public funds of well qualified advisers and drive up the cost of investment advisory services due to higher compliance costs.
  • The Rule will affect at a minimum all registered investment advisers that not only advise governmental public pension funds, but also may cover investment companies in which governmental pension funds choose to invest.
  • Advisers lacking capital to hire employees to obtain government clients or the experience and sophistication to do so would be placed at a material competitive disadvantage.

These comments can be found here.

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Jeffrey M. Stern and Robert W. Schwabe – Managing Partners of Forum Capital Securities, LLC

Forum Capital Concurs wholeheartedly with those persons and entities that have commented on the Proposed Rule to date that banning investment advisers from compensating third-party placement agents for securing capital commitments from public pension fund investors would:

  • Unfairly advantage private investment firms large enough to employ an internal marketing and investor relations staff over those firms that cannot afford to employ such a staff internally;
  • Limit the universe of investment opportunities presented to public pension funds for their consideration;
  • Deprive private investment firms of the services of legitimate placement agents that have contributed to the success of many investment advisers already existing and thriving prior to the promulgation of the Proposed Rule, thereby limiting the opportunities of new private investment firms to successfully raise funds, execute their investment strategies and grow into market leading investment firms;
  • Reduce competition within the investment advisory business in general and the various alternative investment asset classes in particular; and
  • Reduce the amount of capital available to companies that rely on private investment firms for their financial support.

These comments can be found here.

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Sue Toigo – Chairman of Fitzgibbon Toigo Associates in Los Angeles California

  • Without placement agents, the ability of emerging asset management firms, the majority of which are minority- and women-owned firms, to gain the business of the large public pension funds becomes virtually impossible.
  • Under the proposed regulation, small emerging companies will find it increasingly challenging to market their investment products to pension funds.

These comments can be found here.

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William J. Zwart – BerchWood Partners, LLC

  • Emerging managers would not be able to effectively access or approach the public entity investment community without the support of the placement agent community.

These comments can be found here.

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R. Dean Kenderdine – Executive Director and Secretary to the Board of Trustees of State Retirement and Pension System of Maryland

  • The strict outright prohibition of investment management firms’ use of placement agents to implement their marketing efforts to public pension funds would result in increased costs to the investment firms and a reduction in viable investment opportunities being presented to public pension funds.
  • Public funds will not be presented with the broadest array of investment opportunities and hinder the competitiveness of the investment management marketplace.
  • Placement agents being prohibited would have an adverse impact on our return potential and increase our cost of operations.

These comments can be found here.

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Fernando Ortiz Vaamonde – Managing Partner of ProA Capital de Inversiones

  • An outright ban on placement firms would unfairly disadvantage small- and mid-size firms, many of which are unlikely to be able to recruit and retain significant in-house fund-raising capabilities.

These comments can be found here.

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Keith Breslauer – Managing Director of Patron Capital Limited

  • With the new rule, Patron would not be able to without great difficulty, expand its investor base to include public pension plans.
  • The effect of the new rule is to harm the fund raising abilities of funds like Patron and materially impact the investing opportunities of public pension plans.

These comments can be found here.

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Brian Fitzgibbon – CEO of Fitzgibbon Toigo & CO., LLC

  • Without placement agent assistance, some of the best fund managers may never get to market.
  • A ban on placement agents is unfair, irrational and harmful to Private Equity. There will always be some corrupt public officials and organizations that want to game the system.

These comments can be found here.

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B. Jack Miller – General Motors Asset Management

  • Many partnerships are too small to have their own marketing staff and rely on third party PA’s to introduce them to investors.

These comments can be found here.

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Jake Elmhirst – Global Co-Head Private Funds Group of UBS Securities, LLC

USB strongly believes that:

  • Registered placement agents play a beneficial role in the capital markets;
  • The proposed ban would be detrimental to both private equity managers and their public pension plan investors;
  • The proposed ban in lA-291O is unnecessary and overbroad, and the Commission can regulate registered broker-dealer placement agents through other means;
  • The placement agent ban in IA-2910 purports to be modeled on MSRB Rule G-38 but is in fact inconsistent with that rule and the policies supporting it; and
  • The Commission should consider alternatives to a ban on all intermediaries, including an exemption for registered broker-dealer placement agents, and increasing regulation of properly registered placement agents.

These comments can be found here.

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Thomas P. DiNapoli – State Comptroller

  • Under the proposed SEC rule, it is not clear if the investment adviser would subsequently be prohibited from earning compensation for advisory services provided to the Fund.
  • It is important that the final rule adopted by the SEC clearly articulate what behavior is prohibited in making contributions or soliciting or coordinating payments to state or local political parties.

These comments can be found here.

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Melinda Gagyor – Fulcrum Financial Inquiry, LLC

The proposed placement agent ban should be eliminated because:

  • It will devastate the placement agent business and cause severe job losses in an already troubled economy;
  • The vast majority of emerging, small and middle-market investn1ent managers will simply not survive or be forced to operate at a huge disadvantage;
  • Pension funds will see a significant reduction in their access to potential investment opportunities; and
  • Pension funds will no longer be able to use placement agents to help them pre-screen potential investment manager candidates

These comments can be found here.

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Ron S. Geffner – Partner of Sadis & Goldberg, LLP

While we strongly support the SEC’s efforts to eliminate corruption in connection with “pay to play” practices, the proposed ban on placement agents’ solicitation of government investors is overreaching and will:

  • Deprive government investors of the benefits provided by placement agents, namely access to a broader range of potential investment opportunities and assistance with due diligence efforts, and
  • Hinder smaller advisory firms in their efforts to attract government investors, as smaller firms generally have less in-house resources and rely more on the use of placement agents in soliciting government investors.

These comments can be found here.

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Fred Gortner – Managing Director of Paladin Realty Partners, LLC

  • Without quality placement agents like Triton Pacific, emerging small and mid-cap investment management firms like ours would be forced to operate at a significant and inequitable disadvantage to larger investment managers that have the financial resources to employ large, experienced teams of investor relations and in-house placement professionals.

These comments can be found here.

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Drew Maxwell

  • Your proposed ban on placement agents will unjustly penalize a huge percentage of emerging, small, minority-owned and middle-market investment managers, as these firms rely extensively on placement agents to help them.

These comments can be found here.

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Joseph M. Velli – Chairman and Chief Executive Office of BNY ConvergEx Group, LLC

  • While we believe that the general ban on third-party solicitors is unnecessary, we are concerned in particular about the vagueness of the rule’s definition of “related person”.
  • We believe it is critical for the SEC to clarify the test for control included in the definition of “related person”.

These comments can be found here.

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Frode Strand-Nielsen – Managing Partner of FSN Capital Partners A.S.

  • It would be highly challenging for us to raise capital from international in institutions unless we had the assistance of a legitimate placement agent.
  • If you take away the role of a placement agent, you will deprive firms like ours of the ability to raise capital in the United States, and you will also seriously impair the pension funds’ capacity to invest with the best private equity firms internationally.

These comments can be found here.

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Mark G. Heesen – President of National Venture Capital Association

  • It is in the interest of the entire venture capital community if firms retain the option of using placement agents for marketing to all potential investors, including public pension funds.

These comments can be found here.

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Richard H. Hurd, Jr. – President of Strategic Capital Partners

  • We know first hand the value that qualified placement agents can provide particularly to emerging, small and mid-cap investment management firms. Without such services, smaller firms have limited access to the institutional market. Likewise, pension fund will be prohibited from participating in the entrepreneurial strategies and success of companies like ours.

These comments can be found here.

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Other related hedge fund law articles:

Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP runs Hedge Fund Law Blog.  If you are a hedge fund manager who is looking to start a hedge fund or if you have questions about your investment advisor compliance program, please contact us or call Mr. Mallon directly at 415-868-5345.

Update on H.R. 3818 | Hedge Fund Registration Bill

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As has been reported by a number of groups the Private Fund Investment Advisors Act of 2009 was approved by the House Financial Services Committee by a vote of 67-1.  The proposed bill underwent a number of significant changes during the committee meeting.  The attached document shows (in redline format) the changes which were made to the bill during the committee meeting.  I compiled this “new” text of H.R. 3818 by making the changes as introduced by various committee members, see markups.

The major changes include:

  • a provision which exempts managers from registration if the managers only provide investment advice to SBICs (introduced by Mrs. Capito and Mr. Paulsen)
  • a provision which exempts managers from registration if the managers have less than $150 million of AUM (introduced by Mr. Peters, Mr. Meeks, and Mr. Garrett)
  • a provision which directs the SEC to take into account certain factors when promulgating regulations which apply to advisers to “mid-sized” private funds (introduced by Mr. Peters, Mr. Meeks, and Mr. Garrett)

Please also see Doug Cornelius’ article on the changes to the bill.

Other related articles:

Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP runs Hedge Fund Law Blog and can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.

H.R. 3818 | Hedge Fund Registration

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Bart Mallon, Esq. (http://www.hedgefundlawblog.com)

Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009 (text of act)

Below is the final text of the hedge fund registration bill as passed by the House Financial Services Commission.

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111th CONGRESS

1st Session

H. R. 3818

To amend the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to require advisers of certain unregistered investment companies to register with and provide information to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

October 15, 2009

Mr. KANJORSKI introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services

A BILL

To amend the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 to require advisers of certain unregistered investment companies to register with and provide information to the Securities and Exchange Commission, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009′.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

Section 202(a) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C. 80b-2(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

`(29) PRIVATE FUND- The term `private fund’ means an investment fund that–

`(A) would be an investment company under section 3(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-3(a)) but for the exception provided from that definition by either section 3(c)(1) or section 3(c)(7) of such Act; and

`(B) either–

`(i) is organized or otherwise created under the laws of the United States or of a State; or

`(ii) has 10 percent or more of its outstanding securities by value owned by United States persons.

`(30) FOREIGN PRIVATE FUND ADVISER- The term `foreign private fund adviser’ means an investment adviser who–

`(A) has no place of business in the United States;

`(B) during the preceding 12 months has had–

`(i) fewer than 15 clients in the United States; and

`(ii) assets under management attributable to clients in the United States of less than $25,000,000, or such higher amount as the Commission may, by rule, deem appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors; and

`(C) neither holds itself out generally to the public in the United States as an investment adviser, nor acts as an investment adviser to any investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, or a company which has elected to be a business development company pursuant to section 54 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-53) and has not withdrawn such election.’.

SEC. 3. ELIMINATION OF PRIVATE ADVISER EXEMPTION; LIMITED EXEMPTION FOR FOREIGN PRIVATE FUND ADVISERS; LIMITED INTRASTATE EXEMPTION.

Section 203(b) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-3(b)) is amended–

(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting `, except an investment adviser who acts as an investment adviser to any private fund,’ after `any investment adviser’;

(2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:

`(3) any investment adviser that is a foreign private fund adviser;’;

(3) in paragraph (5), by striking `or’ at the end; and

(4) in paragraph (6)–

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking `or’;

(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and adding `; or’; and

(C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

`(C) a private fund.’.

SEC. 4. COLLECTION OF SYSTEMIC RISK DATA.

Section 204 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-4) is amended–

(1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new subsection:

`(b) Records and Reports of Private Funds-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Commission is authorized to require any investment adviser registered under this Act to maintain such records of and file with the Commission such reports regarding private funds advised by the investment adviser as are necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors or for the assessment of systemic risk as the Commission determines in consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Commission is authorized to provide or make available to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and to any other entity that the Commission identifies as having systemic risk responsibility, those reports or records or the information contained therein. The records and reports of any private fund, to which any such investment adviser provides investment advice, maintained or filed by an investment adviser registered under this Act, shall be deemed to be the records and reports of the investment adviser.

`(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION- The records and reports required to be maintained or filed with the Commission under this subsection shall include, for each private fund advised by the investment adviser–

`(A) the amount of assets under management;

`(B) the use of leverage (including off-balance sheet leverage);

`(C) counterparty credit risk exposures;

`(D) trading and investment positions;

`(E) trading practices; and

`(F) such other information as the Commission, in consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, determines necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors or for the assessment of systemic risk.

`(3) OPTIONAL INFORMATION- The Commission may require the reporting of such additional information from private fund advisers as the Commission determines necessary. In making such determination, the Commission may set different reporting requirements for different classes of private fund advisers, based on the particular types or sizes of private funds advised by such advisers.

`(4) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS- An investment adviser registered under this Act is required to maintain and keep such records of private funds advised by the investment adviser for such period or periods as the Commission, by rule or regulation, may prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors or for the assessment of systemic risk.

`(5) EXAMINATION OF RECORDS-

`(A) PERIODIC AND SPECIAL EXAMINATIONS- All records of a private fund maintained by an investment adviser registered under this Act shall be subject at any time and from time to time to such periodic, special, and other examinations by the Commission, or any member or representative thereof, as the Commission may prescribe.

`(B) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS- An investment adviser registered under this Act 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.

`(6) INFORMATION SHARING- The Commission shall make available to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and to any other entity that the Commission identifies as having systemic risk responsibility, copies of all reports, documents, records, and information filed with or provided to the Commission by an investment adviser under this subsection as the Board, or such other entity, may consider necessary for the purpose of assessing the systemic risk of a private fund. All such reports, documents, records, and information obtained by the Board, or such other entity, from the Commission under this subsection shall be kept confidential.

`(7) DISCLOSURES OF CERTAIN PRIVATE FUND INFORMATION- An investment adviser registered under this Act shall provide such reports, records, and other documents to investors, prospective investors, counterparties, and creditors, of any private fund advised by the investment adviser as the Commission, by rule or regulation, may prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors or for the assessment of systemic risk.

`(8) CONFIDENTIALITY OF REPORTS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commission shall not be compelled to disclose any report or information contained therein required to be filed with the Commission under this subsection. Nothing in this paragraph shall authorize the Commission to withhold information from the Congress or prevent the Commission from complying with a request for information from any other Federal department or agency or any self-regulatory organization requesting the report or information for purposes within the scope of its jurisdiction, or complying with an order of a court of the United States in an action brought by the United States or the Commission. For purposes of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, this paragraph shall be considered a statute described in subsection (b)(3)(B) of such section.’.

SEC. 5. ELIMINATION OF DISCLOSURE PROVISION.

Section 210 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-10) is amended by striking subsection (c).

SEC. 6. EXEMPTION OF AND REPORTING BY VENTURE CAPITAL FUND ADVISERS.

Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-3) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(l) Exemption of and Reporting by Venture Capital Fund Advisers- The Commission shall identify and define the term `venture capital fund’ and shall provide an adviser to such a fund an exemption from the registration requirements under this section. The Commission shall require such advisers to maintain such records and provide to the Commission such annual or other reports as the Commission determines necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors.’.

SEC. 7. CLARIFICATION OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.

Section 211 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-11) is amended–

(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

`(a) The Commission shall have authority from time to time to make, issue, amend, and rescind such rules and regulations and such orders as are necessary or appropriate to the exercise of the functions and powers conferred upon the Commission elsewhere in this title, including rules and regulations defining technical, trade, and other terms used in this title. For the purposes of its rules and regulations, the Commission may–

`(1) classify persons and matters within its jurisdiction based upon, but not limited to–

`(A) size;

`(B) scope;

`(C) business model;

`(D) compensation scheme; or

`(E) potential to create or increase systemic risk;

`(2) prescribe different requirements for different classes of persons or matters; and

`(3) ascribe different meanings to terms (including the term `client’) used in different sections of this title as the Commission determines necessary to effect the purposes of this title.’; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

`(e) The Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall, after consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, within 6 months after the date of enactment of the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009, jointly promulgate rules to establish the form and content of the reports required to be filed with the Commission under sections 203(i) and 204(b) and with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by investment advisers that are registered both under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-1 et seq.) and the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).’.

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Bart Mallon, Esq. of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP runs hedge fund law blog and has written most all of the articles which appear on this website.  Mr. Mallon’s legal practice is devoted to helping emerging and start up hedge fund managers successfully launch a hedge fund.  Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP helps hedge fund managers to register as investment advisors with the SEC or the state securities divisions.  If you are a hedge fund manager who is looking to start a hedge fund or register as an investment advisor, please contact us or call Mr. Mallon directly at 415-868-5345.