SEC Redefines Internet Investment Adviser Landscape with Bold Changes!

Key Points:

• SEC redefines internet investment adviser rules, mandating operational interactive websites for client services.
• Amendments aim to enhance investor protection and align regulations with contemporary digital practices.
• Compliance deadlines set for advisers to amend Form ADV and withdraw SEC registration if necessary.

SEC redefines internet investment adviser amendments to the rule governing internet investment advisers’ registration, known as the “internet adviser exemption.”

These changes aim to enhance investor protection and align regulatory requirements with contemporary digital practices.

Under the amendments, internet investment advisers must maintain an operational interactive website, exclusively providing digital advisory services to multiple clients continuously. The de minimis exception, which previously allowed limited non-website advice, is eliminated. Additionally, adjustments to Form ADV are required to reflect these alterations.

SEC’s Modernization Efforts in Digital Investment Landscape!

SEC Chair Gary Gensler emphasized the necessity of updating regulations to accommodate the digital landscape, stating that the revisions reflect the essence of providing internet-based services in 2024. He highlighted that modernizing the rule enhances investor safeguarding and streamlines the Commission’s oversight of registered investment advisers.

The amendments will take effect 90 days post-publication in the Federal Register. Advisers relying on the internet adviser exemption must comply by amending their Form ADV by March 31, 2025, affirming eligibility for SEC registration under the exemption. This deadline coincides with most advisers’ annual updating amendments submission after the December 31, 2024, fiscal year end.

Advisers ineligible for the amended exemption must register with one or more states and withdraw their SEC registration by filing Form ADV-W by June 29, 2025, if they lack alternative grounds for Commission registration.