Investment Adviser Registration Process

Summary

This practice note discusses the registration process for investment advisers. Whether an investment adviser is subject to state or federal registration and regulation depends primarily upon the amount of assets that it has under management. Larger advisers are generally regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while smaller advisers are generally regulated by state securities regulators. The primary exception to the rule exists in the context of advisers whose principal office and place of business is not located in a state within the U.S. that regulates investment advisers. The requirements for determining who must register with the SEC (as opposed to the states), and how such registration is done, stem from the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (Advisers Act).