On May 20, the Securities Exchange Commission proposed changes to rules affecting the reporting and disclosure obligations of registered investment companies and advisers.

Investment Company Proposals: The SEC proposal, if adopted, would require registered investment companies to file, among other things (1) a new monthly reporting on Form N-PORT related to the pricing of securities, repurchase agreements, counterparty exposure, securities lending, derivative contract terms and fund risk measurement; and (2) an annual report on a new Form N-CEN replacing the current form N-SAR, which would include census-type information. Investment company financial statements would also be required to contain prominent information about use of derivatives. Under the new rule, such reporting would need to be presented in a structured data format to allow for easier analysis by the SEC. In addition, the new rules, if adopted, would permit investment companies to provide reports to shareholders by making them accessible on a website.

Investment Adviser Proposals: The SEC is proposing amendments to the investment adviser registration and reporting form (Form ADV), which would require investment advisers to provide additional information on, among other things, separately managed accounts, their use of social media and their branch office operations so that investors and the SEC can better understand the risk profile of individual advisers.

Additional information and a copy of the proposals is available here.

The proposals will be published on the SEC website and in the Federal Register. The comment period for the proposed rules will be 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.