FinCEN Adopts Final AML Program Rule For Investment Advisers

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) adopted a final rule (the Final Rule) on August 28 that will treat certain investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers as financial institutions for purposes of the Bank Secrecy Act (the BSA). FinCEN first proposed subjecting investment advisers to anti-money laundering related requirements under the BSA in 2003, and the Final Rule is the culmination of more than two decades of rulemaking activity on this subject.

Key highlights of the Final Rule include the following:

• The Final Rule becomes effective on January 1, 2026, and investment advisers subject to the rule will be required to implement an anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) compliance program that meets the requirements of the Final Rule by that date.