Form ADV
Form ADV has two parts. Registrants with the SEC must fill out Part 1A and all of Part 2. Part 1A asks for information about the structure of the business organization. It wants to know whether the firm is a corporation, sole proprietorship, or partnership, or whether it is a “separately identifiable department of a bank.” It wants to know whether it is a new company, has taken over an existing investment adviser, or changed its legal status. It wants to know its assets under management, the value of each of its portfolios, the services it provides its clients, and whether it has discretionary authority over its clients’ accounts. It wants to know whether the adviser has any affiliations with other financial institutions that might constitute a conflict of interest. Part 1A has a fill-in-the-blanks format and is primarily for SEC use.
Part 2 digs deeper into the company’s organization and business practices and has the customer in mind. The SEC requires investment advisers to deliver its customers a disclosure bro