The Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”) is the shortest of the federal securities laws enacted after the Great Depression, and the SEC has adopted relatively few regulations under the Advisers Act. As any compliance officer knows, however, the Advisers Act and its related regulations are not the only basis upon which an investment adviser should be basing its compliance decisions. In short, compliance with the Advisers Act is subject to the periodic interpretation of the SEC and its staff and can be complex.

With that in mind, Morrison & Foerster has created a handbook designed to provide a simple reference guide that includes the basis for certain key “rules” applicable to an investment adviser’s business – even when they aren’t really rules. It is not an exhaustive compendium of regulatory guidance, but rather a compliance index of sorts for the compliance practitioner and a resource that can be referred to when needed.