BBD recently attended the Investment Adviser Association Compliance Conference, which was held last month in Washington, DC.  Among the hot topics covered were developments related to GIPS^® Performance Verification and the SEC's Custody Rule.

Through our interaction with various clients, it has become clear there is much uncertainty with respect to the identification and treatment of organization and offering costs as they relate to a newly established open-ended mutual fund. In hopes of providing clarification on this matter, we have illustrated the accounting treatment of both types of costs in several different scenarios through which they may apply.

It has been more than two years since the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted amendments to Rule 206(4)-2 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Custody Rule”). While the initial response to the amendments from advisors and broker-dealers was mixed (See our previous post Initial Response to the Revised Custody Rule), it is imperative for advisors to ensure they are in compliance. On March 4, 2013, the SEC issued a Risk Alert and Investor Bulletin regarding the Adviser Custody Rule. The alert was issued in response to recent SEC examinations conducted as part of a National Examination Program that uncovered custody-related issues in around one-third of the advisors examined.

Jim Kaiser, a partner in BBD's Investment Management Group, recently recorded a Webinar with Kristin McCann, Compliance Officer for Gemini Fund Services, LLC, discussing the use of a third-party pricing vendor and why we all need to become more of a valuation expert. Jim and Kristin offer valuable insight in the Webinar to both fund management and fund boards.

Money Market Funds currently comprise approximately $2.7 trillion in assets and are one of the most highly regulated forms of investment companies. Now the SEC is proposing reforms aimed at diminishing the perceived risk of investing in Money Market Funds. But these reforms may disrupt the business of investment advisors – both those advising Money Market Funds and those investing their assets in Money Market Funds.

Last year, the Securities and Exchange Commission ( "SEC") implemented amendments to Rule 2a-7 compliance procedures for money market funds. The amendments are meant to provide better protection for money market fund investors.

Effective March 12, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted amendments to Rule 206(4)-2 of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 (the “Custody Rule”). These amendments are designed to provide additional safeguards when a registered advisor is deemed to have custody of client funds or securities by requiring the advisor to undergo an annual surprise examination by an independent public accountant who is subject to regular inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. The annual surprise examination procedures are designed to verify that client funds and securities, of which an investment advisor has custody, are held by a qualified custodian and either in a separate account for each client or under the advisor’s name as agent or trustee for the client.