CFTC and SEC Propose Regulatory Amendments to Ease Reporting Burden on Private Funds

On April 20, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jointly proposed amendments to Form PF to alleviate the reporting burden on private equity funds while ensuring the continued collection of necessary and appropriate information. The proposed amendments would eliminate filing requirements for small advisors, who currently account for about half of the total number of advisors required to submit Form PF. The amendments would raise the reporting threshold for private equity fund assets under management from $150 million to $1 billion. The proposal would also increase the risk exposure reporting threshold for large hedge fund advisors from $1.5 billion to $10 billion. Form PF will continue to collect information on over 90% of total private equity fund assets and require detailed risk exposure information from funds managed by large hedge fund managers. Additionally, the proposed amendments to Form PF will provide a method for identifying funds active in the private credit market. Besides modifying these thresholds, the proposal will also eliminate or simplify many of the requirements of Form PF, significantly reducing the burden on advisors required to submit the form. The proposal seeks comments on all proposed amendments.