Special Considerations For Private Fund Advisers Under The Advisers Act

Originally published in theInvestment Adviser Association Newsletter, June 2011

Introduction

As the investment adviser community is well aware, one of the key provisions of last year's Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the "Dodd- Frank Act") is the removal of the so-called private adviser exemption. Because of that change, most investment advisers to private funds will be required to register under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Advisers Act"), if they are not already registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Applying the Advisers Act to private fund managers poses some unique and challenging issues, and there is little guidance on many of these issues. We highlight in this article key challenges unique to registered private fund advisers, including (i) completing Form ADV, (ii) complying with certain substantive provisions of the Advisers Act, and (iii) new compliance requirements arising from the