Generally, investment advisers—defined by the SEC as those who are in the business of providing investment advice for compensation—must register with either federal or state securities authorities, depending on the amount of assets under management.
- “Small advisers” (with under $25 million in assets) may register only with state securities authorities.
- “Large advisers” (with over $110 million in assets) and certain “mid-sized advisers” (with $25 to $110 million in assets) must register with the SEC unless they fall under the “Private Fund Adviser Exemption” or “Venture Capital Adviser Exemption” to registration.
However, there are some instances where advisers are exempt from registration and have some modified compliance requirements.
- The Private Fund Adviser Exemption is available to advisers based in the United States that solely manage private funds and have less than $150 million in assets under management.
- The Venture Capital Adviser Exemption is available to investment advisers that solely advise venture capital funds