SEC, CFTC Propose Form PF Overhaul to Ease Private Fund Reporting Burden

The Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission have jointly proposed amendments to Form PF aimed at reducing reporting burdens for private fund advisers while preserving regulators’ ability to monitor systemic risk.

Form PF, the confidential reporting form used by certain SEC-registered advisers—including those also registered with the CFTC—supports oversight by the Financial Stability Oversight Council and informs investor protection efforts. The proposed changes seek to recalibrate disclosure requirements that regulators say have grown overly complex.

“A key pillar of my agenda is restoring balance to disclosure obligations and reducing the cost of compliance wherever possible,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins. “Prior amendments to Form PF have led to overly burdensome disclosure requirements for advisers…without a commensurate benefit to regulators’ use of the collected data.”

A central component of the proposal is raising the filing threshold from $150 million to $1 billion in private fund assets under management, eliminating requirements for nearly half of current filers. The agencies also proposed increasing the “large” hedge fund adviser threshold from $1.5 billion to $10 billion, while still capturing detailed exposure data for the largest managers.

“By raising the filing threshold and streamlining Form PF, we are taking steps to reduce the burdens associated with filing the form,” said CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig.

The amendments would also refine data collection, including new methods to identify private credit exposure, while simplifying reporting requirements. The proposal will be open for public comment for 60 days following publication in the Federal Register.