In response to the developing COVID-19 situation, on March 25, 2020 the SEC issued a new order to relax certain conditions contained in a previous order issued March 13, 2020 applicable to Exempt Reporting Advisers (“ERAs”) and Registered Investment Advisers (“RIAs”) who need more time to file annual amendments to Form ADV. This prior order was discussed in our previous post.
The extended filing deadline for Form ADV remains the same as under the prior order (May 14, 2020), however, the conditions have been simplified such that:
- Fund managers are no longer required to provide a description of the reasons why meeting the regular deadline is infeasible.
- Fund managers are no longer required to provide an estimate of when the filing is expected to be made.
Under the new order, to be eligible for Form ADV and brochure delivery extension, ERAs and RIAs need only meet the following conditions:
- Fund managers must be unable to meet the original deadline due to circumstances related to current or potential effects of COVID-19.
- Fund managers must promptly provide the SEC with a notice to the effect that they are relying on the SEC extension, in an email to IARDLive@sec.gov.
- Fund managers must also post the same notice on their website (or provide such notice directly to investors and clients if no website is available).
The exemption period for RIAs filing of Form PF has also been extended. The March 13th order covers such filings due by April 30, 2020; while the March 25th order covers such filings due by June 30, 2020.
To be eligible for the extension for Form PF filings, RIAs are now required to meet the following conditions:
- Fund managers must be unable to timely file Form PF due to circumstances related to current or potential effects of COVID-19.
- Fund managers must promptly provide the SEC with a notice to the effect that they are relying on the SEC extension, in an email to FormPF@sec.gov.
Additional details may be found at: https://www.sec.gov/rules/other/2020/ia-5469.pdf.
The authors
