The SEC told Congress Friday that it is using the information it has gleaned from Form PF in its examinations and enforcement efforts regarding private fund advisors, including hedge funds, and plans to "enhance" how it uses the data.
Section 404 of the Dodd-Frank Act directed the SEC to establish reporting requirements for investment advisors to private funds and for assessment of systemic risk by the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC). The SEC complied by adopting Form PF in 2011; the form must be completed by RIAs that manage $150 million or more in assets attributable to private funds.
As of May 7, 2014, the SEC's Division of Investment Management told Congress, it had gathered data on 21,542 private funds submitted by 2,661 advisors to hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital and real estate funds and securitized asset funds with a total of $8.87 trillion in regulatory assets under management (RAUM).
The advisors who filed were in different categories by amount of assets they advised in 7,790 hedge funds; 7,004 private equity funds; 3,680 "other" private fund types; 1,397 real estate funds; 1,209 securitized asset funds; and 393 venture capital funds.
Most advisors are required to file Form PF once a year, and report only basic information regarding the private funds they advise. However, the report notes that large private fund advisors must provide more detailed information, with the "content and frequency" of the more detailed reporting depending on the type of private funds the large advisor manages.
For example, advisors with at least $1.5 billion in hedge fund RAUM must file Form PF quarterly and provide aggregate information on their hedge funds' exposures, geographical concentration and turnover by asset class (but not position-level information). In addition, for each Qualifying Hedge Fund (i.e., $500 million or more in net assets), advisors provide additional information.
Source: SEC
