SEC and CFTC propose rollback of private fund reporting
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have proposed a set of amendments that would significantly scale back reporting requirements for private fund advisers under Form PF. The changes, announced on 20 April, aim to reduce compliance burdens tied to the confidential form used to monitor systemic risk across financial markets.
The central focus is a major increase in the reporting threshold. Advisers would only be required to file Form PF if they manage at least $1 billion in private fund assets, up from the current $150 million. According to the regulators, this update alone would remove nearly half of existing filers. The threshold for more detailed reporting by “large” hedge fund advisers would also rise significantly, from $1.5 billion to $10 billion.
Beyond raised thresholds, the proposal also streamlines the form, removing many reporting requirements. It also introduces a new approach to identifying funds with exposure to the fast growing and often opaque private credit market.
Form PF was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to give regulators insight into the systemic risks that could be hidden within private funds. While subsequent updates expanded both its scope and granularity, the current proposal from SEC leadership indicates a desire to revisit those changes and ease requirements it now considers to be overly burdensome.
The public comment period will open 60 days after the proposal is published in the Federal Register.
