Last week there was a last minute extension of the compliance date to changes to Form PF. That seemed relatively straightforward. The detailed data and parsing of the data and reporting of the data is a lot for the large hedge funds and other private funds that have to do quarterly reporting. It’s a lot for the annual reporting for everyone else. As expected there was push-back from trade groups to give private fund managers additional time to test systems and reporting. The grant of a further extension was not a surprise.
The big surprise was the public statements of the SEC commissioners on the extension.
The original compliance date for the Form PF amendments was March 12, 2025. On January 29, 2025, the Commission extended the compliance date to June 12, 2025. Form PF; Reporting Requirements for All Filers and Large Hedge Fund Advisers; Extension of Compliance Date, Release No. IA-6838 (Jan. 29, 2025) 90 FR 9007 (Feb. 5, 2025) (codified at 17 C.F.R. pt. 279), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2025-02-05/pdf/2025-02138.pdf
Chair Atkins included this in his statement: “I have directed the staff to undertake a comprehensive review of Form PF. I have serious concerns whether the government’s use of this data justifies the massive burdens it imposes. We should work hard to keep our information requests to a minimum, requesting only what is needed and no more.”
He was joined with similar statements by Commissioners Uyeda and Peirce. Commissioner Crenshaw was the hold out and emphasized the need to analyze risks.
It seems unlikely that Form PF will be completely killed. It does seem that there may be a dramatic reduction in the required information to be reported.
Sources:
- Further Extension of Form PF Amendments Compliance Date
- Final Rule for Extension
- Chair Atkins Statement at Open Meeting on Further Extension of the Form PF Compliance Date
- Commissioner Crenshaw: Extensions on Extensions: Statement on Further Extension of the Form PF Compliance Date
- Commissioner Uyeda: Statement on the Extension of the Compliance Date for the Amendments to Form PF
- Commissioner Peirce: Problem Form: Statement on Further Extension of Compliance Date for Form PF