The Securities and Exchange Commission continues to field questions from advisors about how to comply with the significant changes to Form ADV that kick in on Oct. 1.
In a just-released information update, the agency's Division of Investment Management clarified its view that if a firm filing a Form ADV does not have enough data to provide a complete response to a new or amended question in Item 5 or Section 5 of Schedule D after Oct. 1 until the filer's next annual amendment, the staff would not recommend enforcement action if the filer responds "0" as a placeholder to submit the ADV (with a note in the Miscellaneous section of Schedule D to identify that a placeholder value of "0" was entered), according to Monique Botkin, associate general counsel for the Investment Adviser Association in Washington.
"There has been confusion about amendments after Oct. 1, 2017, to certain items on the form that only require annual updates," Botkin told ThinkAdvisor Wednesday. "This guidance provides more clarity on what filers can and should do."
As Frontline Compliance noted in a Wednesday alert, starting Oct. 1, the online system (IARD) for Form ADV filings will be modified to account for the changes to Form ADV as required by Advisers Act Release No. 4509, issued on Aug. 25, 2016.
That's when former SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White announced that the agency adopted final amendments requiring advisors to disclose more information on Forms ADV about their use of separately managed accounts, branch office operations and social media.
