News

Upcoming Regulatory Deadlines for VC and PE Firms

Cooley Alert
February 2, 2016

This alert highlights near-term regulatory deadlines that commonly apply to venture capital and private equity firms.

February 16, 2016. Firms that hold, or have traded in significant positions in public company securities may have filings due with the SEC.

  • Schedule 13G – reporting 5% or more beneficial ownership (on a combined basis, including funds, general partners and, in some cases, managing principals) of a US publicly registered company as of December 31, 2015, or changes in ownership during 2015 if a Schedule 13G is already on file.
  • Schedule 13F – annual update for firms reporting investment discretion over more than $100 million in US publicly traded securities.
  • Schedule 13H – annual update for firms reporting high volume US public trading activity (daily trading of at least 2 million shares or $20 million in share value, or monthly trading of at least 20 million shares or $200 million in share value).
  • Form 5 – Reporting for 10% shareholders, officers and directors of US public companies. Form 5 is primarily used to report certain transactions that occurred during 2015 that are exempt from reporting on a current basis on Form 4.

March 30, 2016. Both Exempt Reporting Advisers and SEC Registered Investment Advisers must file annual amendments to their Form ADV filing with the SEC and/or applicable states via the IARD filing system administered by FINRA.

April 29, 2016. SEC Registered Investment Advisers with December 31 fiscal year-ends that have at least $150 million in regulatory assets under management attributable to private funds must file Form PF with the SEC via the IARD filing system.

April 29, 2016. SEC Registered Investment Advisers that rely on the audited pooled vehicle exception to the SEC Custody Rule's delivery and verification requirements must deliver to their fund investors annual audited financial statements for funds with fiscal year-ends of December 31, 2015. The deadline for fund of funds managers relying on this exception to the Custody Rule is June 28, 2016.

Privacy Notices. Fund managers have been required to provide notice of their privacy policies on an annual basis to their funds' individual investors, and often these are included with year-end investor communications. A recent statutory amendment has eliminated this notice requirement for certain privacy policies that (i) only permit limited disclosures of investors' personal information (typically without requiring investor rights to "opt out" from such disclosures) and (ii) have not been modified since the last required disclosure of the privacy policy to investors.

Please contact your Cooley client team or a member of the Cooley Fund Formation practice group if you have any questions or would like assistance in preparing to meet any of these upcoming deadlines. This alert serves as a reminder of those regulatory deadlines that commonly apply to venture capital or private equity firms, but it is not intended as an exhaustive list of all regulatory requirements.

This content is provided for general informational purposes only, and your access or use of the content does not create an attorney-client relationship between you or your organization and Cooley LLP, Cooley (UK) LLP, or any other affiliated practice or entity (collectively referred to as “Cooley”). By accessing this content, you agree that the information provided does not constitute legal or other professional advice. This content is not a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a qualified attorney licensed in your jurisdiction and you should not act or refrain from acting based on this content. This content may be changed without notice. It is not guaranteed to be complete, correct or up to date, and it may not reflect the most current legal developments. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Do not send any confidential information to Cooley, as we do not have any duty to keep any information you provide to us confidential. This content may be considered Attorney Advertising and is subject to our legal notices.