Valuations and the New Presence Exams

sec-seal

I’ve come across a new document request list for a presence exam from the SEC’s Atlanta Regional Office. The exam period for the letter begins March 31, 2012 – the Dodd-Frank deadline for new advisers to register with the SEC. The SEC has said presence exams will target new advisers or those that manage private funds. The exams also may focus on just one or two topics.

Previously, I posted an examination letter that focused on fees. This new letter focuses on valuations.

The letter requests investment committee minutes, valuation policies and procedures, any models used in valuing investments, and any third party valuation reports.

Time to sit down and run through a mock document request again.

Sources:

New Document Request List for Presence Exams

We’ve had the first siting of the new document request letter for the new presence exams. IA Watch has obtained a copy of the letter issued from the Atlanta Regional Office.

This letter sets the exam period to start on March 30, 2012. That addresses some concerns that the SEC would look at period prior to a firm’s registration as an investment adviser.

It’s clear from the request list that the examiners will be looking closely at fees. Among the items is a “schedule of fees earned by the Adviser from each portfolio company and whether they were credited back to clients. It goes on to ask for all compensation received by the adviser, besides management and performance fees. Further, it asks for the total expenses reimbursed by each portfolio company.

Notably missing from the letter are items related to marketing, custody, portfolio management, and valuation. You may remember that the SEC’s Presence Exams are set to concentrate on five areas:

  • marketing
  • portfolio management
  • conflicts of interest
  • safety of client assets
  • valuation

It looks like this Atlanta RO letter is focused on conflicts of interest.  I’m going to guess that this document request is just one of several versions, with each version concentrating on different area.

Sources:

Recent SEC Document Request for Private Equity

It appears the Securities and Exchange Commission has started its initial examination program for newly registered investment advisers, including private equity fund managers. This is a recent document request list sent by Boston’s regional office:
August Boston document request (.pdf).

The request list is shorter than the typical request letter. This seems to be in line with the earlier announcement that the SEC intended to make brief visits to lots of newly registered advisers.

Let me know if you have been visited by the SEC under this new program.