Category: Private Investment Funds

Dodd’s Solo View on Private Investment Funds

Senator Dodd

Senator Dodd did not forget about private investment funds. Tucked into page 366 of his 1366 page Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010 is the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act.

This is largely the same language in the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009 contained in Dodd’s draft Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2009. He circulated that draft back in November to start negotiations with Republicans.

Venture Capital Fund Advisers

There is an exemption from registration for the “provision of investment advice relating to a venture capital fund.” The bill gives the SEC the responsibility for defining a “venture capital fund.”

Private Equity Fund Advisers

Unlike the bill passed by the House, Dodd proposes an exemption from registration or reporting requirements with respect to advice given to private equity funds. The SEC is tasked with defining the term “private equity fund.”  Unlike venture capital funds, private equity funds will be subject to SEC record-keeping requirements to the extent the SEC determines it is “necessary and appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors.”

State versus Federal Registration of Investment Advisers

Section 410 of the bill raises the federal registration level to $100 million from $25 million. So investment advisers and funds of less than $100 million will be subject to state regulators instead of federal regulators. David Tittsworth, executive director of the Investment Adviser Association, said the change would shift about 4,200 of the 11,000 money managers now registered at the SEC to state regulation.

Accredited Investors

The Dodd bill would change the threshold for “accredited investor.” Currently, the threshold is $200,000 income for a natural person (or $300,000 for a couple) or $1,000,000 in assets. The SEC would have the power to increase those levels  as “appropriate and in the public interest, in light of price inflation since those figures were determined.”

The Comptroller General is also directed to study the financial thresholds for investor eligibility in private funds.

Regulation D Offerings

Separately in the bill, Senator Dodd is proposing to tinker with exemption from registration under Rule 506. Section 926 of his bill, gives the SEC the power to designate certain Rule 506 offerings to not be “covered securities.”  That would get the states more involved in the review and regulation of private offerings, including private fund offerings.

Now What?

This bill still has a long way to go in the Senate. Most reports indicate that private funds are not one of the hotly contested issues in the bill. Assuming the Senate passes the bill, they will need to negotiate the differences between the House and Senate. Assuming it passes, it looks like a big chunk of work would be dropped onto the SEC to define the fund types.

Sources:

New York City Enacts New Rules for Its Pension Fund Investments

New York City Comptroller John C. Liu announced sweeping changes in the way New York City pension funds make investment decisions. Following the lead of New York state and several other states, New York City is changing how it deals with gifts, campaign contributions and placement agents.

Ban on Campaign Contributions

  • Comptroller Liu declines any campaign contributions from investment managers and their agents doing business with, or seeking to do business with, the New York City pension systems.

Requirements for Fund Managers

  • Zero-tolerance gift prohibition – fund managers must certify that they have not given any gifts to any employees of the Comptroller’s Office, nor to any employees or trustees of the New York City pension systems;
  • Minimizing contact – fund managers must disclose all contact with employees of the Comptroller’s Office regarding new investments as well as all contact with pension trustees and other individuals involved in the investment decision-making process;
  • Disclosure of placement agents – fund managers must disclose all fees and terms relating to any firm retained to provide marketing or placement services, and that any such fees are fully paid by the fund manager;
  • Agreement for recourse – fund managers must agree that the pension system(s) may terminate or rescind a contract or commitment for investment and recoup all management and performance fees for violation of these requirements.

Restrictions on Placement Agents

  • Expand current ban on private equity placement agents to include placement agents and third-party marketers for all types of funds, where such agents and marketers are exclusively providing “finder” or introduction services;
  • Ease current ban on private equity placement agents to allow use of placement agents who provide legitimate value-added services such as due diligence and similar professional services on behalf of prospective investors;
  • Require such agents and marketers to demonstrate the ability to raise capital outside NYC by establishing that they raised $500 million in at least two of the past three years from entities other than the NYC pension systems;
  • Require full description of value-added services provided as well as resumes of key professionals and employees who contact individuals involved in decision-making process regarding a proposed investment;
  • Require registration with either the Securities and Exchange Commission or the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

New York City is separating itself from New York State by not completely banning the use of placement agents. Unfortunately, the Comptroller has not publish a copy of these new rules on his website.

Disclosure: My company has historically used placement agents as part of its fundraising.

Sources:

Image is by Julius Schorzman under Creative Commons in Wikimedia: Boroughs Labels New York City Map.

California Proposes Having Placement Agents Register

Placement agents would have to register as lobbyists under legislation proposed by Assemblyman Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina). The legislation would define placement agents as lobbyists in accordance with the state’s Political Reform Act. Placement agents would have to register as lobbyists before pitching investment ideas to public pension plans in California.

It seems like the big California pension funds want access for pitches from small investment firms without their own marketing staff. So they are not following the lead of New York with its outright ban on placement agents.

The bill is sponsored by State Controller John Chiang, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), and Treasurer Bill Lockyer.

The bill is straightforward, defining a placement agent as:

“any person or entity hired, engaged, or retained by, or acting on behalf of, an external manager, or on behalf of another placement agent, as a finder, solicitor, marketer, consultant, broker, or other intermediary to raise money or investment from, or to obtain access to, a public retirement system in California, directly or indirectly, including, without limitation, through an investment vehicle.”

There is an exemption for employees of external managers who spends at least one-third of their time managing the assets of their employer.

As a “placement agent” you are required to report quarterly on fees, compensation and gifts under the Political Reform Act (Government Code §81000-81016).

Sources:

House Passes Far-Reaching Bill Tightening Financial Rules

I'm just a bill from Schoolhouse Rock

Today, the House passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 4173 ), a week after it was introduced.

It looks it is a mashup of other bills that were being tossed around in the House to regulate the financial industry. According to Carl Husle of the New York Times, “After three days of floor debate, the House voted 223 to 202 to approve the measure. It creates a new agency to oversee consumer lending, establishes new rules for transactions that contributed to the meltdown, and seeks to reduce the threat that one or two huge companies on the verge of collapse could bring down the economy.”

Most likely, this bill will go up against the Dodd bill (in whatever form it ends up) in Congressional committee.

I looked at Title V of Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009and found the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act tucked neatly inside. It looks like it kept the all the Amendments to the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act as it was passed by the House Financial Services Committee.

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TITLE V–CAPITAL MARKETS

Subtitle A–Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act

SEC. 5001. SHORT TITLE.

This subtitle may be cited as the ‘Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009’.

SEC. 5002. DEFINITIONS.

Section 202(a) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-2(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

‘(29) PRIVATE FUND- The term ‘private fund’ means an issuer that would be an investment company under section 3(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-3(a)) but for the exception provided from that definition by either section 3(c)(1) or section 3(c)(7) of such Act.

‘(30) FOREIGN PRIVATE FUND ADVISER- The term ‘foreign private fund adviser’ means an investment adviser who–

‘(A) has no place of business in the United States;

‘(B) during the preceding 12 months has had–

‘(i) fewer than 15 clients in the United States; and

‘(ii) assets under management attributable to clients in the United States of less than $25,000,000, or such higher amount as the Commission may, by rule, deem appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors; and

‘(C) neither holds itself out generally to the public in the United States as an investment adviser, nor acts as an investment adviser to any investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, or a company which has elected to be a business development company pursuant to section 54 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80a-53) and has not withdrawn such election.’.

SEC. 5003. ELIMINATION OF PRIVATE ADVISER EXEMPTION; LIMITED EXEMPTION FOR FOREIGN PRIVATE FUND ADVISERS; LIMITED INTRASTATE EXEMPTION.

Section 203(b) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-3(b)) is amended–

(1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘, except an investment adviser who acts as an investment adviser to any private fund,’ after ‘any investment adviser’;

(2) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:

‘(3) any investment adviser that is a foreign private fund adviser;’;

(3) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘or’ at the end;

(4) in paragraph (6)–

(A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘or’;

(B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end and adding ‘; or’; and

(C) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:

‘(C) a private fund; or’; and

(5) by adding at the end the following:

‘(7) any investment adviser who solely advises–

‘(A) small business investment companies licensed under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958;

‘(B) entities that have received from the Small Business Administration notice to proceed to qualify for a license, which notice or license has not been revoked; or

‘(C) applicants, related to one or more licensed small business investment companies covered in subparagraph (A), that have applied for another license, which application remains pending.’.

SEC. 5004. COLLECTION OF SYSTEMIC RISK DATA.

Section 204 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-4) is amended–

(1) by redesignating subsections (b) and (c) as subsections (c) and (d), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new subsection:

‘(b) Records and Reports of Private Funds-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- The Commission is authorized to require any investment adviser registered under this Act to maintain such records of and file with the Commission such reports regarding private funds advised by the investment adviser as are necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors or for the assessment of systemic risk as the Commission determines in consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The Commission is authorized to provide or make available to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and to any other entity that the Commission identifies as having systemic risk responsibility, those reports or records or the information contained therein. The records and reports of any private fund, to which any such investment adviser provides investment advice, maintained or filed by an investment adviser registered under this Act, shall be deemed to be the records and reports of the investment adviser.

‘(2) REQUIRED INFORMATION- The records and reports required to be maintained or filed with the Commission under this subsection shall include, for each private fund advised by the investment adviser–

‘(A) the amount of assets under management;

‘(B) the use of leverage (including off-balance sheet leverage);

‘(C) counterparty credit risk exposures;

‘(D) trading and investment positions;

‘(E) trading practices; and

‘(F) such other information as the Commission, in consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, determines necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors or for the assessment of systemic risk.

‘(3) OPTIONAL INFORMATION- The Commission may require the reporting of such additional information from private fund advisers as the Commission determines necessary. In making such determination, the Commission, taking into account the public interest and potential to contribute to systemic risk, may set different reporting requirements for different classes of private fund advisers, based on the particular types or sizes of private funds advised by such advisers.

‘(4) MAINTENANCE OF RECORDS- An investment adviser registered under this Act is required to maintain and keep such records of private funds advised by the investment adviser for such period or periods as the Commission, by rule or regulation, may prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors or for the assessment of systemic risk.

‘(5) EXAMINATION OF RECORDS-

‘(A) PERIODIC AND SPECIAL EXAMINATIONS- All records of a private fund maintained by an investment adviser registered under this Act shall be subject at any time and from time to time to such periodic, special, and other examinations by the Commission, or any member or representative thereof, as the Commission may prescribe.

‘(B) AVAILABILITY OF RECORDS- An investment adviser registered under this Act shall make available to the Commission or its representatives any copies or extracts from such records as may be prepared without undue effort, expense, or delay as the Commission or its representatives may reasonably request.

‘(6) INFORMATION SHARING- The Commission shall make available to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and to any other entity that the Commission identifies as having systemic risk responsibility, copies of all reports, documents, records, and information filed with or provided to the Commission by an investment adviser under this subsection as the Board, or such other entity, may consider necessary for the purpose of assessing the systemic risk of a private fund. All such reports, documents, records, and information obtained by the Board, or such other entity, from the Commission under this subsection shall be kept confidential in a manner consistent with confidentiality established by the Commission pursuant to paragraph (8).

‘(7) DISCLOSURES OF CERTAIN PRIVATE FUND INFORMATION- An investment adviser registered under this Act shall provide such reports, records, and other documents to investors, prospective investors, counterparties, and creditors, of any private fund advised by the investment adviser as the Commission, by rule or regulation, may prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest and for the protection of investors or for the assessment of systemic risk.

‘(8) CONFIDENTIALITY OF REPORTS- Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Commission shall not be compelled to disclose any report or information contained therein required to be filed with the Commission under this subsection. Nothing in this paragraph shall authorize the Commission to withhold information from the Congress or prevent the Commission from complying with a request for information from any other Federal department or agency or any self-regulatory organization requesting the report or information for purposes within the scope of its jurisdiction, or complying with an order of a court of the United States in an action brought by the United States or the Commission. For purposes of section 552 of title 5, United States Code, this paragraph shall be considered a statute described in subsection (b)(3)(B) of such section.’.

SEC. 5005. ELIMINATION OF DISCLOSURE PROVISION.

Section 210 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-10) is amended by striking subsection (c).

SEC. 5006. EXEMPTION OF AND REPORTING BY VENTURE CAPITAL FUND ADVISERS.

Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-3) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

‘(l) Exemption of and Reporting by Venture Capital Fund Advisers- The Commission shall identify and define the term ‘venture capital fund’ and shall provide an adviser to such a fund an exemption from the registration requirements under this section (excluding any such fund whose adviser is exempt from registration pursuant to paragraph (7) of subsection (b)). The Commission shall require such advisers to maintain such records and provide to the Commission such annual or other reports as the Commission determines necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors.’.

SEC. 5007. EXEMPTION OF AND REPORTING BY CERTAIN PRIVATE FUND ADVISERS.

Section 203 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-3), as amended by section 5006, is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsections:

‘(m) Exemption of and Reporting by Certain Private Fund Advisers-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- The Commission shall provide an exemption from the registration requirements under this section to any investment adviser of private funds, if each of such private funds has assets under management in the United States of less than $150,000,000.

‘(2) REPORTING- The Commission shall require investment advisers exempted by reason of this subsection to maintain such records and provide to the Commission such annual or other reports as the Commission determines necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors.

‘(n) Registration and Examination of Mid-sized Private Fund Advisers- In prescribing regulations to carry out the requirements of this section with respect to investment advisers acting as investment advisers to mid-sized private funds, the Commission shall take into account the size, governance, and investment strategy of such funds to determine whether they pose systemic risk, and shall provide for registration and examination procedures with respect to the investment advisers of such funds which reflect the level of systemic risk posed by such funds.’.

SEC. 5008. CLARIFICATION OF RULEMAKING AUTHORITY.

Section 211 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-11) is amended–

(1) by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

‘(a) The Commission shall have authority from time to time to make, issue, amend, and rescind such rules and regulations and such orders as are necessary or appropriate to the exercise of the functions and powers conferred upon the Commission elsewhere in this title, including rules and regulations defining technical, trade, and other terms used in this title. For the purposes of its rules and regulations, the Commission may–

‘(1) classify persons and matters within its jurisdiction based upon, but not limited to–

‘(A) size;

‘(B) scope;

‘(C) business model;

‘(D) compensation scheme; or

‘(E) potential to create or increase systemic risk;

‘(2) prescribe different requirements for different classes of persons or matters; and

‘(3) ascribe different meanings to terms (including the term ‘client’, except the Commission shall not ascribe a meaning to the term ‘client’ that would include an investor in a private fund managed by an investment adviser, where such private fund has entered into an advisory contract with such adviser) used in different sections of this title as the Commission determines necessary to effect the purposes of this title.’; and

(2) by adding at the end the following new subsection:

‘(e) The Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission shall, after consultation with the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, within 12 months after the date of enactment of the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009, jointly promulgate rules to establish the form and content of the reports required to be filed with the Commission under sections 203(l) and 204(b) and with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission by investment advisers that are registered both under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-1 et seq.) and the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.).’.

SEC. 5009. GAO STUDY.

(a) Study Required- The Comptroller General of the United States shall carry out a study to assess the annual costs on industry members and their investors due to the registration requirements and ongoing reporting requirements under this subtitle and the amendments made by this subtitle.

(b) Report to the Congress- Not later than the end of the 2-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this title, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to the Congress containing the findings and determinations made by the Comptroller General in carrying out the study required under subsection (a).

SEC. 5010. EFFECTIVE DATE; TRANSITION PERIOD.

(a) Effective Date- This subtitle, and the amendments made by this subtitle, shall take effect with respect to investment advisers after the end of the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this title.

(b) Transition Period- The Securities and Exchange Commission shall prescribe rules and regulations to permit an investment adviser who will be required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission by reason of this subtitle with the option of registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission before the date described under subsection (a).

SEC. 5011. QUALIFIED CLIENT STANDARD.

Section 205(e) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. 80b-5(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘With respect to any factor used by the Commission in making a determination under this subsection, if the Commission uses a dollar amount test in connection with such factor, such as a net asset threshold, the Commission shall, not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009, and every 5 years thereafter, adjust for the effects of inflation on such test. Any such adjustment that is not a multiple of $1,000 shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $1,000.’.

Carried Interest Tax Legislation Suddenly Appears and Moves Forward

Tucked into the Tax Extenders Act of 2009 (H.R. 4213), is a provision targeted at partnership interests held by partners providing services.

This proposal seems to be the same proposal offered by Congressman Sandy Levin from the 12th District of Michigan in H.R. 1935 which has been sitting in Committee [See prior post: Carried Interest Tax Legislation.

H.R. 4213 flew through the legislative process of the House of Representatives. It was introduced on December 7, 2009 and passed by the House on December 9, mostly along party lines. The Carried Interest Tax is one of several dozen changes to the tax code included in the bill.

The text of the relevant section of the bill:

TITLE VI–OTHER REVENUE PROVISIONS

Subtitle A–Partnership Interests Held by Partners Providing Services

SEC. 601. PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS TRANSFERRED IN CONNECTION WITH PERFORMANCE OF SERVICES.

(a) Modification to Election To Include Partnership Interest in Gross Income in Year of Transfer- Subsection (c) of section 83 is amended by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5) and by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new paragraph:

‘(4) PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS- Except as provided by the Secretary, in the case of any transfer of an interest in a partnership in connection with the provision of services to (or for the benefit of) such partnership–

‘(A) the fair market value of such interest shall be treated for purposes of this section as being equal to the amount of the distribution which the partner would receive if the partnership sold (at the time of the transfer) all of its assets at fair market value and distributed the proceeds of such sale (reduced by the liabilities of the partnership) to its partners in liquidation of the partnership, and

‘(B) the person receiving such interest shall be treated as having made the election under subsection (b)(1) unless such person makes an election under this paragraph to have such subsection not apply.’.

(b) Conforming Amendment- Paragraph (2) of section 83(b) is amended by inserting ‘or subsection (c)(4)(B)’ after ‘paragraph (1)’.

(c) Effective Date- The amendments made by this section shall apply to interests in partnerships transferred after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 602. INCOME OF PARTNERS FOR PERFORMING INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES TREATED AS ORDINARY INCOME RECEIVED FOR PERFORMANCE OF SERVICES.

(a) In General- Part I of subchapter K of chapter 1 is amended by adding at the end the following new section:

‘SEC. 710. SPECIAL RULES FOR PARTNERS PROVIDING INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES TO PARTNERSHIP.

‘(a) Treatment of Distributive Share of Partnership Items- For purposes of this title, in the case of an investment services partnership interest–

‘(1) IN GENERAL- Notwithstanding section 702(b)–

‘(A) any net income with respect to such interest for any partnership taxable year shall be treated as ordinary income, and

‘(B) any net loss with respect to such interest for such year, to the extent not disallowed under paragraph (2) for such year, shall be treated as an ordinary loss.

All items of income, gain, deduction, and loss which are taken into account in computing net income or net loss shall be treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss (as the case may be).

‘(2) TREATMENT OF LOSSES-

‘(A) LIMITATION- Any net loss with respect to such interest shall be allowed for any partnership taxable year only to the extent that such loss does not exceed the excess (if any) of–

‘(i) the aggregate net income with respect to such interest for all prior partnership taxable years, over

‘(ii) the aggregate net loss with respect to such interest not disallowed under this subparagraph for all prior partnership taxable years.

‘(B) CARRYFORWARD- Any net loss for any partnership taxable year which is not allowed by reason of subparagraph (A) shall be treated as an item of loss with respect to such partnership interest for the succeeding partnership taxable year.

‘(C) BASIS ADJUSTMENT- No adjustment to the basis of a partnership interest shall be made on account of any net loss which is not allowed by reason of subparagraph (A).

‘(D) PRIOR PARTNERSHIP YEARS- Any reference in this paragraph to prior partnership taxable years shall only include prior partnership taxable years to which this section applies.

‘(3) NET INCOME AND LOSS- For purposes of this section–

‘(A) NET INCOME- The term ‘net income’ means, with respect to any investment services partnership interest for any partnership taxable year, the excess (if any) of–

‘(i) all items of income and gain taken into account by the holder of such interest under section 702 with respect to such interest for such year, over

‘(ii) all items of deduction and loss so taken into account.

‘(B) NET LOSS- The term ‘net loss’ means, with respect to such interest for such year, the excess (if any) of the amount described in subparagraph (A)(ii) over the amount described in subparagraph (A)(i).

‘(b) Dispositions of Partnership Interests-

‘(1) GAIN- Any gain on the disposition of an investment services partnership interest shall be treated as ordinary income and shall be recognized notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle.

‘(2) LOSS- Any loss on the disposition of an investment services partnership interest shall be treated as an ordinary loss to the extent of the excess (if any) of–

‘(A) the aggregate net income with respect to such interest for all partnership taxable years, over

‘(B) the aggregate net loss with respect to such interest allowed under subsection (a)(2) for all partnership taxable years.

‘(3) DISPOSITION OF PORTION OF INTEREST- In the case of any disposition of an investment services partnership interest, the amount of net loss which otherwise would have (but for subsection (a)(2)(C)) applied to reduce the basis of such interest shall be disregarded for purposes of this section for all succeeding partnership taxable years.

‘(4) DISTRIBUTIONS OF PARTNERSHIP PROPERTY- In the case of any distribution of property by a partnership with respect to any investment services partnership interest held by a partner–

‘(A) the excess (if any) of–

‘(i) the fair market value of such property at the time of such distribution, over

‘(ii) the adjusted basis of such property in the hands of the partnership,

shall be taken into account as an increase in such partner’s distributive share of the taxable income of the partnership (except to the extent such excess is otherwise taken into account in determining the taxable income of the partnership),

‘(B) such property shall be treated for purposes of subpart B of part II as money distributed to such partner in an amount equal to such fair market value, and

‘(C) the basis of such property in the hands of such partner shall be such fair market value.

Subsection (b) of section 734 shall be applied without regard to the preceding sentence.

‘(5) APPLICATION OF SECTION 751- In applying section 751(a), an investment services partnership interest shall be treated as an inventory item.

‘(c) Investment Services Partnership Interest- For purposes of this section–

‘(1) IN GENERAL- The term ‘investment services partnership interest’ means any interest in a partnership which is held (directly or indirectly) by any person if it was reasonably expected (at the time that such person acquired such interest) that such person (or any person related to such person) would provide (directly or indirectly) a substantial quantity of any of the following services with respect to assets held (directly or indirectly) by the partnership:

‘(A) Advising as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling any specified asset.

‘(B) Managing, acquiring, or disposing of any specified asset.

‘(C) Arranging financing with respect to acquiring specified assets.

‘(D) Any activity in support of any service described in subparagraphs (A) through (C).

For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘specified asset’ means securities (as defined in section 475(c)(2) without regard to the last sentence thereof), real estate held for rental or investment, interests in partnerships, commodities (as defined in section 475(e)(2)), or options or derivative contracts with respect to any of the foregoing.

‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR CERTAIN CAPITAL INTERESTS-

‘(A) IN GENERAL- In the case of any portion of an investment services partnership interest which is a qualified capital interest, all items of income, gain, loss, and deduction which are allocated to such qualified capital interest shall not be taken into account under subsection (a) if–

‘(i) allocations of items are made by the partnership to such qualified capital interest in the same manner as such allocations are made to other qualified capital interests held by partners who do not provide any services described in paragraph (1) and who are not related to the partner holding the qualified capital interest, and

‘(ii) the allocations made to such other interests are significant compared to the allocations made to such qualified capital interest.

‘(B) SPECIAL RULE FOR NO OR INSIGNIFICANT ALLOCATIONS TO NONSERVICE PROVIDERS- To the extent provided by the Secretary in regulations or other guidance, in any case in which the requirements of subparagraph (A)(ii) are not satisfied, items of income, gain, loss, and deduction shall not be taken into account under subsection (a) to the extent that such items are properly allocable under such regulations or other guidance to qualified capital interests.

‘(C) SPECIAL RULE FOR DISPOSITIONS- In the case of any investment services partnership interest any portion of which is a qualified capital interest, subsection (b) shall not apply to so much of any gain or loss as bears the same proportion to the entire amount of such gain or loss as–

‘(i) the distributive share of gain or loss that would have been allocable to the qualified capital interest under subparagraph (A) if the partnership sold all of its assets immediately before the disposition, bears to

‘(ii) the distributive share of gain or loss that would have been so allocable to the investment services partnership interest of which such qualified capital interest is a part.

‘(D) QUALIFIED CAPITAL INTEREST- For purposes of this paragraph, the term ‘qualified capital interest’ means so much of a partner’s interest in the capital of the partnership as is attributable to–

‘(i) the fair market value of any money or other property contributed to the partnership in exchange for such interest (determined without regard to section 752(a)) ,

‘(ii) any amounts which have been included in gross income under section 83 with respect to the transfer of such interest, and

‘(iii) the excess (if any) of–

‘(I) any items of income and gain taken into account under section 702 with respect to such interest for taxable years to which this section applies, over

‘(II) any items of deduction and loss so taken into account.

The qualified capital interest shall be reduced by distributions from the partnership with respect to such interest for taxable years to which this section applies and by the excess (if any) of the amount described in clause (iii)(II) over the amount described in clause (iii)(I).

‘(E) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN LOANS-

‘(i) PROCEEDS OF PARTNERSHIP LOANS NOT TREATED AS QUALIFIED CAPITAL INTEREST OF SERVICE PROVIDING PARTNERS- For purposes of this paragraph, an investment services partnership interest shall not be treated as a qualified capital interest to the extent that such interest is acquired in connection with the proceeds of any loan or other advance made or guaranteed, directly or indirectly, by any other partner or the partnership (or any person related to any such other partner or the partnership).

‘(ii) REDUCTION IN ALLOCATIONS TO QUALIFIED CAPITAL INTERESTS FOR LOANS FROM NONSERVICE PROVIDING PARTNERS TO THE PARTNERSHIP- For purposes of this paragraph, any loan or other advance to the partnership made or guaranteed, directly or indirectly, by a partner not providing services described in paragraph (1) to the partnership (or any person related to such partner) shall be taken into account in determining the qualified capital interests of the partners in the partnership.

‘(3) RELATED PERSONS- A person shall be treated as related to another person if the relationship between such persons would result in a disallowance of losses under section 267 or 707(b).

‘(d) Other Income and Gain in Connection With Investment Management Services-

‘(1) IN GENERAL- If–

‘(A) a person performs (directly or indirectly) investment management services for any entity,

‘(B) such person holds (directly or indirectly) a disqualified interest with respect to such entity, and

‘(C) the value of such interest (or payments thereunder) is substantially related to the amount of income or gain (whether or not realized) from the assets with respect to which the investment management services are performed,

any income or gain with respect to such interest shall be treated as ordinary income. Rules similar to the rules of subsection (c)(2) shall apply for purposes of this subsection.

‘(2) DEFINITIONS- For purposes of this subsection–

‘(A) DISQUALIFIED INTEREST-

‘(i) IN GENERAL- The term ‘disqualified interest’ means, with respect to any entity–

‘(I) any interest in such entity other than indebtedness,

‘(II) convertible or contingent debt of such entity,

‘(III) any option or other right to acquire property described in subclause (I) or (II), and

‘(IV) any derivative instrument entered into (directly or indirectly) with such entity or any investor in such entity.

‘(ii) EXCEPTIONS- Such term shall not include–

‘(I) a partnership interest,

‘(II) except as provided by the Secretary, any interest in a taxable corporation, and

‘(III) except as provided by the Secretary, stock in an S corporation.

‘(B) TAXABLE CORPORATION- The term ‘taxable corporation’ means–

‘(i) a domestic C corporation, or

‘(ii) a foreign corporation substantially all of the income of which is–

‘(I) effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business in the United States, or

‘(II) subject to a comprehensive foreign income tax (as defined in section 457A(d)(2)).

‘(C) INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES- The term ‘investment management services’ means a substantial quantity of any of the services described in subsection (c)(1).

‘(e) Regulations- The Secretary shall prescribe such regulations or other guidance as is necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this section, including regulations or other guidance to–

‘(1) provide modifications to the application of this section (including treating related persons as not related to one another) to the extent such modification is consistent with the purposes of this section,

‘(2) prevent the avoidance of the purposes of this section, and

‘(3) coordinate this section with the other provisions of this title.

‘(f) Cross Reference- For 40 percent penalty on certain underpayments due to the avoidance of this section, see section 6662.’.

(b) Income From Investment Services Partnership Interests Not Treated as Qualifying Income of Publicly Traded Partnerships- Subsection (d) of section 7704 is amended by adding at the end the following new paragraph:

‘(6) INCOME FROM INVESTMENT SERVICES PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS NOT QUALIFIED-

‘(A) IN GENERAL- Items of income and gain shall not be treated as qualifying income if such items are treated as ordinary income by reason of the application of section 710 (relating to special rules for partners providing investment management services to partnership).

‘(B) SPECIAL RULES FOR CERTAIN PARTNERSHIPS-

‘(i) CERTAIN PARTNERSHIPS OWNED BY REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS- Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in the case of a partnership which meets each of the following requirements:

‘(I) Such partnership is treated as publicly traded under this section solely by reason of interests in such partnership being convertible into interests in a real estate investment trust which is publicly traded.

‘(II) 50 percent or more of the capital and profits interests of such partnership are owned, directly or indirectly, at all times during the taxable year by such real estate investment trust (determined with the application of section 267(c)).

‘(III) Such partnership meets the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) of section 856(c).

‘(ii) CERTAIN PARTNERSHIPS OWNING OTHER PUBLICLY TRADED PARTNERSHIPS- Subparagraph (A) shall not apply in the case of a partnership which meets each of the following requirements:

‘(I) Substantially all of the assets of such partnership consist of interests in one or more publicly traded partnerships (determined without regard to subsection (b)(2)).

‘(II) Substantially all of the income of such partnership is ordinary income or section 1231 gain (as defined in section 1231(a)(3)).

‘(C) TRANSITIONAL RULE- In the case of a partnership which is a publicly traded partnership on the date of the enactment of this paragraph, subparagraph (A) shall not apply to any taxable year of the partnership beginning before the date which is 10 years after the date of the enactment of this paragraph.’.

(c) Imposition of Penalty on Underpayments-

(1) IN GENERAL- Subsection (b) of section 6662, as amended by section 512, is amended by inserting after paragraph (6) the following new paragraph:

‘(7) The application of subsection (d) of section 710 or the regulations prescribed under section 710(e) to prevent the avoidance of the purposes of section 710.’.

(2) AMOUNT OF PENALTY-

(A) IN GENERAL- Section 6662, as amended by section 512, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:

‘(j) Increase in Penalty in Case of Property Transferred for Investment Management Services- In the case of any portion of an underpayment to which this section applies by reason of subsection (b)(7), subsection (a) shall be applied with respect to such portion by substituting ‘40 percent’ for ‘20 percent’.’.

(B) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS- Subparagraph (B) of section 6662A(e)(2) is amended–

(i) by striking ‘section 6662(h)’ and inserting ‘subsection (h) or (i) of section 6662’, and

(ii) by striking ‘GROSS VALUATION MISSTATEMENT PENALTY’ in the heading and inserting ‘CERTAIN INCREASED UNDERPAYMENT PENALTIES’.

(3) SPECIAL RULES FOR APPLICATION OF REASONABLE CAUSE EXCEPTION- Subsection (c) of section 6664 is amended–

(A) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as paragraphs (3) and (4), respectively,

(B) by striking ‘paragraph (2)’ in paragraph (4), as so redesignated, and inserting ‘paragraph (3)’, and

(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) the following new paragraph:

‘(2) SPECIAL RULE FOR UNDERPAYMENTS ATTRIBUTABLE TO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES-

‘(A) IN GENERAL- Paragraph (1) shall not apply to any portion of an underpayment to which this section applies by reason of subsection (b)(7) unless–

‘(i) the relevant facts affecting the tax treatment of the item are adequately disclosed,

‘(ii) there is or was substantial authority for such treatment, and

‘(iii) the taxpayer reasonably believed that such treatment was more likely than not the proper treatment.

‘(B) RULES RELATING TO REASONABLE BELIEF- Rules similar to the rules of subsection (d)(3) shall apply for purposes of subparagraph (A)(iii).’.

(d) Income and Loss From Investment Services Partnership Interests Taken Into Account in Determining Net Earnings From Self-Employment-

(1) INTERNAL REVENUE CODE- Section 1402(a) is amended by striking ‘and’ at the end of paragraph (16), by striking the period at the end of paragraph (17) and inserting ‘; and’, and by inserting after paragraph (17) the following new paragraph:

‘(18) notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, in the case of any individual engaged in the trade or business of providing services described in section 710(c)(1) with respect to any entity, any amount treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss of such individual under section 710 with respect to such entity shall be taken into account in determining the net earnings from self-employment of such individual.’.

(2) SOCIAL SECURITY ACT- Section 211(a) of the Social Security Act is amended by inserting after paragraph (16) the following new paragraph:

‘(17) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this subsection, in the case of any individual engaged in the trade or business of providing services described in section 710(c)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 with respect to any entity, any amount treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss of such individual under section 710 of such Code with respect to such entity shall be taken into account in determining the net earnings from self-employment of such individual.’.

(e) Conforming Amendments-

(1) Subsection (d) of section 731 is amended by inserting ‘section 710(b)(4) (relating to distributions of partnership property),’ after ‘to the extent otherwise provided by’.

(2) Section 741 is amended by inserting ‘or section 710 (relating to special rules for partners providing investment management services to partnership)’ before the period at the end.

(3) The table of sections for part I of subchapter K of chapter 1 is amended by adding at the end the following new item:

‘Sec. 710. Special rules for partners providing investment management services to partnership.’.

(f) Effective Date-

(1) IN GENERAL- Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the amendments made by this section shall apply to taxable years ending after December 31, 2009.

(2) PARTNERSHIP TAXABLE YEARS WHICH INCLUDE EFFECTIVE DATE- In applying section 710(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this section) in the case of any partnership taxable year which includes December 31, 2009, the amount of the net income referred to in such section shall be treated as being the lesser of the net income for the entire partnership taxable year or the net income determined by only taking into account items attributable to the portion of the partnership taxable year which is after such date.

(3) DISPOSITIONS OF PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS- Section 710(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (as added by this section) shall apply to dispositions and distributions after December 31, 2009.

(4) OTHER INCOME AND GAIN IN CONNECTION WITH INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT SERVICES- Section 710(d) of such Code (as added by this section) shall take effect on January 1, 2010.

(5) PUBLICLY TRADED PARTNERSHIPS- The amendment made by subsection (b) shall apply to taxable years beginning after December 31, 2009.

Classification of Private Funds as Publicly Traded Partnerships

irs internal revenue service

Due to the increasing incidence of fund investors who want to transfer their investment fund interests, private investment funds face a risk of being classified as publicly traded partnerships. That would mean the fund would become taxable as a corporation.

A bad result.

Under Internal Revenue Code § 7704, a partnership will be classified as a publicly traded partnership if (1) the fund interests are traded on an established securities market or (2) the fund interests are readily tradable on a secondary market or its substantial equivalent.

The big problem is determining when you have a “substantial equivalent” of a secondary market. Under the regulations, the IRS uses a facts and circumstances test to determine if “partners are readily able to buy, sell, or exchange their partnership interests in a manner that is comparable, economically, to trading on an established securities market.” You hate to get into a facts and circumstances discussion with the IRS.

Fortunately there are some safeguards in the implementing regulations at 26 C.F.R. § 1.7704-1.

Involvement of the Partnership

For purposes of section 7704(b), interests in a partnership are not readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent unless (1) The partnership participates in the establishment of the market or (2) The partnership recognizes any transfers made on the market by (i) redeeming the transferor partner or (ii) admitting the transferee as a partner.

Since most fund partnerships require the general partner to approve the the transferee and then admit the transferee, they are unlikely to be able to take advantage of this safe harbor.

De Minimis Trading Safeharbor

The focus of a fund should be on the 2% de minimis safe harbor. 26 C.F.R. § 1.7704-1(j) provides for interests in a partnership to be deemed not readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof if the sum of the percentage interests in partnership capital or profits transferred during the taxable year of the partnership does not exceed 2 percent of the total interests in partnership capital or profits.

You want avoid having more than 2 percent of the partnership interests changing hands each tax year.

If you get close to that number there are several transfers that are disregarded transfers for this safeharbor, including:

  • block transfers by a single partner of more than 2% of the total interests
  • intrafamily transfers
  • transfers at death
  • distributions from a qualified retirement plan
  • Transfers by one or more partners of interests representing  50 percent or more of the total interests in partnership

Private Placement Safeharbor

The regulations deem a transfer to not be a trade if it was a private placement. But the regulations have their own definition of a private placement: (1) the issuance of the partnership interests had to be exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933,  and (2) the partnership does not have more than 100 partners at any time during the tax year of the partnership. 26 C.F.R. § 1.7704-1(h)

The first prong should be straight-forward for most private funds. The trickier part is the second prong. In some circumstances the IRS can look through the holder of a partnership interest to its beneficial owners and expand the number of partners to include the beneficial holders of that interest.

Passive Income Safeharbor

If a fund is determined to be a Publicly Traded Partnership, it will nonetheless not be taxed as a corporation if 90% or more of the fund’s gross income is passive-type income. [26 U.S.C. § 7704(c)] Passive-type income generally includes dividends, real property rents, gains from the sale of real property, income from mining and oil and gas properties, gains from the sale of capital assets held to produce income, and gains from commodities (not held primarily for sale in the ordinary course of business), futures, forwards, or options with respect to commodities. The income test is on a taxable year basis and must be have been met each prior year.

References:

Another Private Fund Registration Bill

I'm just a bill from Schoolhouse Rock

As expected, Senator Dodd introduced a comprehensive bill for revising the regulatory system for the U.S. financial services industry.
Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2009.pdf-icon

You can tell its comprehensive because the discussion draft weighs in at 1,136 pages. I have not read all of it, but I did focus in Title IV: Regulation of Advisers to Hedge Funds and Others, also labeled as the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act of 2009. This is apparently the Senate counter-proposal to the House version passed by the House Financial Services Committee at the end of October: Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act is Passed by House Committee.

What are some of the differences between the House bill and the Senate bill:

Exemption level. The Senate bill has a threshold of $100m assets under management, the House bill an exemption for “small” funds under $150m.

Venture Capital. The Senate bill exempts both venture capital and private equity funds, the House bill only venture capital funds. Neither bill makes any attempt to define a “venture capital fund” or a “private equity fund.”

Reporting Requirements. Both bills contain similar requirements for funds to regularly report in certain basic information to the SEC, including information about the amount of assets under management, the use of leverage, counter-party risk exposure etc.

Investor Qualifications. The Senate bill contain provisions to continually update the accredited investor qualification standard to keep pace with inflation.

Further Study. The Senate bill provides for a further study regarding the feasibility of a hedge fund self-regulatory agency, the state of short-selling in the market, and the appropriate level for the accredited investor standard.

Independent Custodian Requirement. The Dodd bill calls for an independent custodian to be used by hedge funds to hold client assets.

The Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2009 would also create a single bank regulator, provide for self-funding the SEC, and establish a new consumer financial protection agency and install plethora of other changes.

What does this mean for the likelihood of mandatory registration of private investment funds? It’s much more likely. But the venture capital exception and private equity exception are potentially very big. Of course that will depend on how the SEC defines these terms.  It also shows that the House and Senate are taking very different approaches to financial regulation. The House is looking at a series of small bills to fix some of the holes. The Senate is looking for a comprehensive change.

(Not to be a cynic, but Senator Dodd is up for re-election in 2010. I would guess that he is looking for a big new law to tie to his name and his re-election campaign. Not that it is bad. Just politics. Critics Question Dodd’s reform proposal.)

References:

Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act is Passed by House Committee

Capitol_dome

The House Financial Services Committee passed H.R. 3818, the Private Fund Investment Advisers Registration Act, introduced by Congressman Paul E. Kanjorski (D-PA), Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets, Insurance, and Government Sponsored Enterprises. The Committee passed H.R. 3818 by a vote of 67-1.

The press release summarizes the bill as “Everyone Registers. Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” But the text of the bill appears to still have an exclusion from registration for venture capital firms.

References:

Defining An Accredited Investor

bull investor

One of the key rules for private investment funds is that their investors generally need to be “accredited investors.” This is the gateway to an exemption from the registration requirement under the federal securities laws.

The exemption is generally targeted so that experienced investors with significant financial resources and their own advisers are in less need of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s regulatory protection. In theory, they can protect themselves better than the SEC could protect them.

Who qualifies as an accredited investor? The answer is spelled out in Rule 501 of Regulation D:

  • Any bank as defined in section 3(a)(2) of the Act, or any savings and loan association or other institution as defined in section 3(a)(5)(A) of the Act whether acting in its individual or fiduciary capacity;
  • Any broker or dealer registered pursuant to section 15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; any insurance company as defined in section 2(a)(13) of the Act;
  • Any investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 or a business development company as defined in section 2(a)(48) of that Act;
  • Any Small Business Investment Company licensed by the U.S. Small Business Administration under section 301(c) or (d) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958;
  • Any plan established and maintained by a state, its political subdivisions, or any agency or instrumentality of a state or its political subdivisions, for the benefit of its employees, if such plan has total assets in excess of $5,000,000;
  • Any employee benefit plan within the meaning of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 if the investment decision is made by a plan fiduciary, as defined in section 3(21) of such act, which is either a bank, savings and loan association, insurance company, or registered investment adviser, or if the employee benefit plan has total assets in excess of $5,000,000 or, if a self-directed plan, with investment decisions made solely by persons that are accredited investors
  • Any private business development company as defined in section 202(a)(22) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940
  • Any charitable organization, corporation, or partnership with assets exceeding $5 million (not formed for the specific purpose of acquiring the securities offered);
  • Any director, executive officer, or general partner of the company selling the securities;
  • Any natural person who has individual net worth, or joint net worth with the person’s spouse, that exceeds $1 million at the time of the purchase;
  • Any natural person with income exceeding $200,000 in each of the two most recent years or joint income with a spouse exceeding $300,000 for those years and a reasonable expectation of the same income level in the current year;
  • Any trust with assets in excess of $5 million, not formed to acquire the securities offered, whose purchases a sophisticated person makes
  • Any entity in which all of the equity owners are accredited investors.

In addition to the definition of accredited investor, you also need to understand how accredited investor status relates to the common exemptions from the registration requirements of the federal securities law.

Rule 504 permits allows a business to sell up to $1 million in securities during a 12 month period to an unlimited number of non-accredited investors. Additionally, Rule 504 does not require the issuer to provide any specific disclosure to the investors, regardless of whether they are accredited.

Rule 505 allows a business to sell up to $5 million in securities during a 12 month period to an unlimited number of accredited investors, and up to 35 non-accredited investors. The disclosure requirements when selling to non-accredited investors are significantly more difficult to meet and are very similar to the disclosures required in a public offering.

Rule 506 allows a business to raise an unlimited amount of capital via the sale of securities to an unlimited number of accredited investors and up to 35 non-accredited investors. In addition to the disclosure requirements for Rule 505, any non-accredited investors must also meet a “sophistication” standard, either themselves or through a qualified  representative. The status of an investor as “sophisticated” is a high standard. Investors who are merely knowledgeable about the particular industry are not necessarily sophisticated. They must have such knowledge and experience in financial and business matters that they are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the prospective investment.

References:

Update on the European Directive to Regulate Alternative Investment Fund Managers

eu

The draft Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers pdf-2 was published on April 30, 2009. The Proposed Directive has been subject to lots of criticism. Many of the provisions in the Proposed Directive misunderstood the characteristics of different types of alternative investment funds.

It now seems the Proposed Directive will be implemented in one form or another. (The EU’s focus on financial market reform has not been distracted by health care reform like happened here in the US.)

The first problem with the proposed directive is that it has broad definition of “alternative investment fund” so it can sweep up all hedge funds. It seems the the Presidency of the European Council has noticed that the existing definition would capture funds that clearly should not be the target of the Proposed Directive. [see AIFM Issues Note from the EU Presidency]

Unless non-EU managers comply with the rules within three years of the Directive coming into force (probably around 2015) they will be barred from offering their products in the EU. Britain, another center of hedge funds and private equity is campaigning to water down the directive. France, Spain and Germany seem to be very pro-directive and in favor of stiffer regulations.

Britain’s financial services minister, Paul Myners, told a conference: “Smell the coffee! There is going to be a directive.”

For more detail read a client alert from Shearman & Sterling: Update on the European Directive to Regulate Alternative Investment Fund Managers.

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