Category Archives: How to become an RIA
 

Minnesota Investment Adviser Representative Registration Requirements

August 28, 2013

As we previously indicated in an article on June 28, 2013, Minnesota will soon begin requiring registration for investment adviser representatives located or conducting business in Minnesota.  In order to register investment adviser representatives, investment advisers will have to file a Form U4 through Web CRD/IARD system. Investment adviser representatives will be required to meet the examination requirements defined in the law, the Series 65 examination or the Series 7 and Series 66 examinations, prior to being registered. The new law was effective August 1, 2013.

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New Jersey Bureau of Securities Criminal Background Check for Investment Adviser Representatives

August 20, 2013

Per the provisions of 13:47A-3A.1 Registration of State registered investment adviser representatives, and N.J.S.A. 49:3-56(p), every individual applying for registration as an investment adviser representative must submit to being fingerprinted for a Criminal History Background Check.  The State of New Jersey has contracted with a vendor, MorphoTrak, to perform this service.

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Minnesota will begin Requiring Investment Adviser Representative (IAR) Registration

June 28, 2013

The Minnesota Department of Commerce – Securities Unit recently announced that during the last legislative session a bill was passed that has now been signed into law, resulting in changes to investment adviser representative (“IAR”) registration requirements.  One of the significant changes that will likely impact many federally and state registered investment advisers, located or conducting business in Minnesota, is the requirement to register investment adviser representatives through the Web CRD/IARD system.  Prior to this recent legislation, Minnesota did not have registration requirements for investment adviser representatives.  However, Minnesota Statute 80A.58 Section 403(a) has now been revised to state, “It is unlawful for a person to transact business in this state as an investment adviser or investment adviser representative unless the person is registered under this chapter or is exempt from registration. . . .”

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IARD Replacing System for a Registered Investment Advisor to Fund IARD/CRD Daily Account

April 19, 2013

Effective March 18, 2013, the IARD/CRD system implemented an E-Bill system for registered investment advisor firms to fund their FINRA Flex-Funding Account (CRD/IARD Daily Account). See the Account Payment Methods and Addresses section in the IARD public site for detailed information. Investment advisor firms may continue to use the existing Web CRD/IARD E-Pay system to make electronic (ACH) payments to their Daily Account until June 17, 2013, when the Web CRD/IARD E-Pay link will be replaced by a link to E-Bill.

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How to Register as an Investment Advisor

September 07, 2012

Pursuant to Section 202(a)(11) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Investment Advisers Act”), an investment advisor means “any person who, for compensation, engages in the business of advising others, either directly or through publications or writings, as to the value of securities or as to the advisability of investing in, purchasing, or selling securities, or who, for compensation as a part of regular business issues or promulgates analyses or reports concerning securities . . .”  Although there are some exemptions to the requirements to register as an investment advisor, generally anyone meeting this definition must register as an investment advisor with the appropriate regulatory body. While an individual can file for investment advisor registration as a sole proprietorship, it is most common and typically recommended, that an entity (e.g., limited liability corporation [“LLC”], limited partnership [“LP’’]) is established to register as the investment advisor.

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