On June 1, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced settlements with 13 registered investment advisers who repeatedly failed to annually file or update reports on Form PF. Form PF is a confidential reporting form required for private fund investment advisers managing $150 million or more of assets. The SEC began requiring that applicable registered investment advisers file an annual Form PF in 2012 under Rule 204(b)-1 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Form PF requests, among other things, information about private funds’: asset values, investment strategies, performance, and use of borrowed money and derivatives. The SEC uses Form PF data to monitor industry trends, inform rulemaking, identify compliance risks, and target examinations and enforcement investigations. The SEC also shares Form PF data with the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), which assists FSOC in evaluating systemic risks potentially caused by hedge funds and other private funds.

The settlement orders found that the 13 investment advisers were delinquent in their filings over multi-year periods. Without admitting or denying the SEC findings, the investment advisers each agreed to be censured, cease and desist and pay a civil penalty of $75,000. The investment advisers also remediated their failures by making the necessary filings during the course of the investigation.

The SEC press release, as well as links to the orders, are available here.