On February 8th, the SEC announced that, in conjunction with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), it has adopted amendments to Form PF that are designed to modernize reporting requirements for all filers and large hedge fund advisers. Form PF is the confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds. This includes those also registered with the CFTC as a commodity pool operator (CPO) or commodity trading adviser (CTA). The adopted revisions are intended to provide further insight into private funds’ operations and strategies, reduce reporting errors, and assist in identifying trends (those that could improve data quality and comparability).
The adopted amendments to Form PF modify the current rulemaking by:
- modifying the way advisers report complex structures by requiring advisers to report separately each component fund in complex fund structures (including master-feeder arrangements and parallel fund structures)
- amending a rule under the Investment Advisers Act to revise instructions for requesting a temporary hardship exemption
- eliminating aggregate reporting for large hedge fund advisers by removing the current aggregate reporting requirement
- enhancing the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s ability to monitor systemic risk
- enhancing reporting regarding hedge funds by removing redundant questions and requiring more detailed information about hedge fund investment strategies, counterparty exposures, and trading and clearing mechanisms
- enhancing reporting on basic information about advisers and the private funds they advise by requiring advisers to report additional information about themselves and their private funds
- enhancing reporting by large hedge fund advisers on qualifying hedge funds (hedge funds that have a net asset value of at least $500 million)
The rule amendments will go into effect one year after publication in the Federal Register. The compliance date for the amendments is the same as the effective date.
Sources:
SEC Adopts Amendments to Enhance Private Fund Reporting (sec.gov)
Final Rule (sec.gov)
