Saturday, November 7, 2009

Are you an adviser or not?

There is a subtle difference between the following two questions:

  1. Is the firm an investment adviser?
  2. Does the investment adviser have to register?

The first question is talking about an "exclusion," while the second is talking about an "exemption." In other words, some entities simply don't meet the definition of "investment adviser." An accounting firm that encourages clients to make IRA contributions is not an investment adviser. Neither is a bank or savings & loan. Whatever the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 or various state securities laws have to say about investment advisers, it does not apply to the accountants in our example, a bank, or an S & L. Why not?

They are not investment advisers.

On the other hand, an adviser in Rhode Island might have a couple of financial planning clients move to Massachusetts--if so, the Rhode Island investment adviser is excused/exempt from registration requirements in Massachusetts. As long as he isn't soliciting new business in Massachusetts, and as long as he has no more than 5 of these clients there, he is exempt from registration requirements.

But he is an investment adviser. And that's important to note because if you're not an investment adviser, then the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 has nothing to say to you. But, if you are an investment adviser who simply doesn't have to register--exempt--then, some parts of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 still apply to you. At the risk of going overboard, let's look at the difference. Section 205 of the Act requires the contract between advisers and clients to contain at least 3 main items. But, it clearly doesn't apply to advisers who are exempt from registration requirements:

No investment adviser, unless exempt from registration pursuant to section 203(b), shall make use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce, directly or indirectly, to enter into, extend, or renew any investment advisory contract, or in any way to perform any investment advisory contract entered into, extended, or renewed on or after the effective date of this title, if such contract--
provides for compensation to the investment adviser on the basis of a share of capital gains upon or capital appreciation of the funds or any portion of the funds of the client;
fails to provide, in substance, that no assignment of such contract shall be made by the investment adviser without the consent of the other party to the contract; or
fails to provide, in substance, that the investment adviser, if a partnership, will notify the other party to the contract of any change in the membership of such partnership within a reasonable time after such change.

On the other hand Section 206, the anti-fraud statute, applies to anyone who meets the definition of investment adviser, even those who are exempt from registration requirements:

It shall be unlawful for any investment adviser, by use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce, directly or indirectly--
to employ any device, scheme, or artifice to defraud any client or prospective client;
to engage in any transaction, practice, or course of business which operates as a fraud or deceit upon any client or prospective client;
acting as principal for his own account, knowingly to sell any security to or purchase any security from a client, or acting as broker for a person other than such client, knowingly to effect any sale or purchase of any security for the account of such client, without disclosing to such client in writing before the completion of such transaction the capacity in which he is acting and obtaining the consent of the client to such transaction.

So, if you're not an investment adviser, even Section 206's anti-fraud statute is outside of your world. But, while an adviser with an exemption would not have to comply with Section 205's requirement for client contracts, they're still an investment adviser, so they're still stubject to Section 206's anti-fraud statute. They don't have to comply with most of the Act of 1940, but if they're an investment adviser, they had better not do anything deceptive or misleading, even if they are excused from registration.

On the test and in the real world, it is difficult to know for sure if you meet the definition of "investment adviser." The State of Ohio has an excellent flow chart that helps people decide this crucial question. Take a look at it--very helpful stuff:

http://www.com.ohio.gov/secu/docs/Investment%20Adviser%20Flowchart.pdf

4 comments:

  1. confused about exemptions of:

    < 15 clients
    < 5 cleints

    can you explain?

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  2. The 15 is for an exemption from SEC registration. If you don't hold yourself out generally to the public (solicit clients) and have fewer than 15 clients, the SEC won't make you register. The number 5 is for state-registered advisers. If they have a few clients move to a new state, the adviser can still work with them without registering in the client's new state of residence . . . as long as they're not soliciting new clients in those other states and as long as they have no place of business there.

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  3. thanks mr. walker...passed my 65 today. got a 77% and had 35 questions 'marked for review'. and changed 4 answers, it wouldnt have made a difference in passing, but just thought i would throw that out.

    ironically it was the worst score i received from all my registrations (7,55,24,9,10). kinda sticky and found myself stuck between 2 qnswers on about 20 question.

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  4. Great job--it's a tough test. NASAA keeps everything secretive; if I ask them for any guidance, they basically refuse to comment because it might help somebody know what the heck the answer is to one of their ridiculous questions. Why they get to ask questions for which no one can know the answer for sure, I've no idea.

    ReplyDelete