Important Information for Advisers Filing Certain Form ADV Amendments

The U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Investment Management recently published an Information Update to provide clarification regarding filing certain Form ADV Part 1A amendments .

On August 25, 2016, the Commission adopted amendments to Form ADV that have a compliance date of October 1, 2017. This significantly expands areas of disclosure. In May 2017, we published this Legal Risk Management Tip highlighting details relating to aspects of a private fund adviser’s business which will need to be disclosed on the new Form ADV.

There are two sections of the Form ADV which have the industry buzzing: Item 5 and the new Schedule D section. There could be situations where an other-than-annual amendment is required, but the filer does not have adequate data to complete a response (such as during the period from October 1, 2017 to the filer’s next annual amendment to the form). In these types of situations, the staff is providing a solution: if the filer responds “0” as a placeholder in order to submit its Form ADV, and completes the Miscellaneous section of Schedule D to note that a “0” placeholder was used, the SEC would not recommend or take an action against that filer.

It is important to seek guidance from professionals if you do not understand how to complete the new Form ADV. Due to the voluminous amounts of changes, in particular for separately managed account advisors, it is important to start the process of data gathering now. If you have questions related to the changes in Form ADV or need guidance on how to prepare for the new Form ADV, please contact us at (619) 298-2880, or email info@jackolg.com. Thank you.

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