RIAs registered with multiple states get more time for help

RIA firms that must switch from Securities and Exchange Commission to state oversight this year have another month to sign up for a coordinated-review program offered by state regulators. The North American Securities Administrators Association Inc. last week said that advisers have until April 30 to enroll. The program is for registered investment adviser firms that must register with anywhere from four to 14 states. Under the program, a lead manager acts as a facilitator in coordinating state reviews of applications. NASAA spokesman Bob Webster said that he doesn't know the number of participants to date, but he said that use of the program had been “ramping up” ahead of the March 30 deadline for notifying the SEC about eligibility for remaining a federally registered adviser.

LAST-MINUTE SWITCH

“We thought we could push [the review program deadline] out another month and let [advisers] take advantage” of it, he said. “We figured that advisers at the last minute will be figuring out that they need to switch,” said Melanie Lubin, Maryland's securities commissioner, who was involved in designing the program. To participate in the coordinated-review program, financial advisers must submit a form found on NASAA's Switch Resource Center website, as well as required documents. The service is free of charge. The program won't necessarily help advisers registering in California, where a backlog has caused delays in getting approvals, said Dave Campbell, a compliance consultant in Palo Alto who hasn't used the program for his RIA clients. Compliance experts said that final authority to approve applications remains with the states. NASAA also last week added to its resource center a listing of states and their various registration requirements for advisers. The new section is called “State Investment Adviser Registration Information.” [email protected]