Unexpected Traps for Filing Other-Than-Annual Amendments Using the Revised Form ADV and How to Avoid Them

New SEC rules to amend Part 1A of Form ADV will become effective on October 1, 2017. See “The ‘Why’ Behind the Recent Form ADV Amendments: What Information the SEC Will Require and How the Agency Intends to Use It” (May 4, 2017). Much has been written about how a fund manager should complete the amended Form ADV anew as part of its annual updating amendment, which most advisers will file in March 2018. See “A Roadmap of Potential Landmines for Fund Managers to Avoid When Completing the Revised Form ADV” (May 25, 2017). If an adviser is required to amend its Form ADV after October 1, 2017, but prior to its March 2018 annual update (Other-Than-Annual Amendment), however, it may have to disclose additional information, creating a new and larger project out of what otherwise might have been a simple change to its Form ADV. In a guest article, Steven M. Felsenthal, general counsel and chief compliance officer of Millburn Ridgefield Corporation, discusses two potential traps that may cause an adviser to file an Other-Than-Annual Amendment using the amended form, explores the ramifications of doing so and suggests an approach to avoid providing some of this information earlier than anticipated. This article incorporates insights gleaned from personal conversations the author had with industry participants on how to effectively navigate the nuances of the amended Form ADV for an Other-Than-Annual Amendment. For additional insight from Felsenthal, see “Further CFTC Harmonization of Rules for Hedge Funds: A Welcome and Continuing Trend” (Sep. 18, 2014); and “CFTC and SEC Propose Rules to Further Define the Term ‘Eligible Contract Participant’: Why Should Commodity Pool and Hedge Fund Managers Care?” (Jun. 23, 2011).

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