New Registration and Examination Requirements for New York Investment Adviser Representatives

Sep 25, 2026

March 10, 2021 guidance outlines New York’s new registration and examination requirements for certain investment adviser representatives and solicitors. Amendments effective February 1, 2021 require affected supervised persons to register with the New York Department of Law’s Investor Protection Bureau and meet examination obligations by August 31, 2021, with approvals needed before December 2, 2021. Exemptions cover personnel of many SEC-registered and exempt reporting advisers, subject to natural-person client thresholds and other conditions.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages4

Reading Time10 min

AccessFree to download

What you need to know

Who must register: personnel of state-registered advisers

Who must register: personnel of state-registered solicitors

Exemptions: personnel of SEC-registered advisers and exempt reporting advisers

Registration process for affected personnel

Investment Management March 10, 2021 New Registration and Examination Requirements for New York Investment Adviser Representatives By Scott H. Moss and Manas Kumar What You Need To Know: • Personnel for certain investment advisers and solicitors with natural person clients in New York will have to meet new registration and examination requirements. • Affected persons must be approved before December 2, 2021, to continue conducting investment advisory business in New York state. Effective February 1, 2021, amendments to the New York Investment Advisory Act (the“Amendments”) require supervised persons representing certain New York-registered investment advisers, and, to a lesser degree, investment advisers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), to register with the New York Department of Law’s Investor Protection Bureau (the“Department”) and meet new examination requirements. These supervised persons, called investment adviser representatives, have until August 31, 2021 to meet the new requirements and must have their registration approved before December 2, 2021 to continue operating within New York. As discussed in more detail below, private fund managers who are federally registered investment advisers are not affected by the Amendments. I. Who Must Register: Personnel of StateRegistered Advisers The Amendments primarily affect personnel representing New York-registered investment advisers (“NY IARs”) . Under New York State law, NY IARs include any persons who represent a New York-registered investment adviser in performing any activities that would cause the individual to be considered an investment adviser under New York law. Such investment advisers include those (i) advising members of the public, either directly or through published material within or from the state of New York, as to (a) the value of securities or (b) the advisability of investing in, purchasing, selling, or holding securities; or (ii) providing analyses or reports concerning securities to members of the public within or from the state of New York for compensation and as part of regular business. NY IARs also include (i) any persons who directly or indirectly control a New Yorkregistered investment adviser (“Principals”); and (ii) any persons who directly supervise one or more individuals associated with a New Yorkregistered investment adviser in their capacity as NY IARs (“Supervisors”) . II. Who Must Register: Personnel of StateRegistered Solicitors The Amendments also apply to the personnel of certain solicitors (“Solicitors”) . Under New York State law, Solicitors are persons who, as part of a regular business, engage in the business of providing investment advice to the limited extent that such persons receive compensation for introducing a prospective investor or investors to an investment adviser. Solicitors are now required to register as investment advisers if they (i) are not SEC-registered investment advisers; (ii) are not exempted from New York’s definition of investment advisers; and (iii) have six (6) or more clients in the state of New York (whether individuals or entities, but excluding financial institutions and institutional buyers) . The personnel, Principals, and Supervisors of Solicitors who must register will be subject to the same registration and examination requirements as those of affected investment advisers. III. Exemptions: Personnel of SEC-Registered Advisers and Exempt Reporting Advisers The Amendments will not affect personnel of many federally registered investment advisers. Personnel representing SEC-registered investment advisers (“Federal IARs”) will be subject to the new registration and examination requirements only if they are supervised persons of investment advisers which, under Rule 203A-3 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”),(i) have more than five (5) natural persons as clients; and (ii) have a client base of which more tha

FAQs

Which personnel in New York must meet the new registration and examination requirements?

Representatives of New York-registered investment advisers and, to the extent provided, personnel of certain solicitors must register and meet examination requirements under the Amendments.

What are the key deadlines for affected persons in New York?

Affected supervised persons must meet the new requirements by August 31, 2021 and have their registration approved before December 2, 2021 to continue operating in New York.

When are personnel of SEC-registered or exempt reporting advisers not subject to the Amendments?

SEC-registered advisers’ personnel are only affected when they supervise investment advisers meeting specific natural-person client thresholds, and exempt reporting advisers’ personnel are largely unaffected if they are not required to register with New York under the state exemption conditions.

Sep 25, 2026

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