Form ADV guide

Every SEC-registered (and many state-registered) investment adviser files Form ADV. Part 1A is a structured questionnaire. On Best Investors firm profiles, those answers appear with item codes such as 5G(1) or 5F(2)(c).

These pages explain what those lines mean, how to read a Yes/No or dollar answer, and where the field sits in the form. The catalog covers 245 Part 1A fields across 27 sections.

Sections

• Item 1 - Identifying Information
• Item 10 - Control Persons
• Item 11 - Disclosure Information
• Item 2 - SEC Registration
• Item 3 - Form of Organization
• Item 5B - Employees
• Item 5C - Advisory Clients
• Item 5E - Compensation Arrangements
• Item 5F - Regulatory Assets Under Management
• Item 5G - Advisory Services
• Item 5I - Participation in Wrap Fee Programs
• Item 5K - Separately Managed Account Clients
• Item 5L - Advertising
• Item 6A - Other Business Activities
• Item 7A: Financial Industry Affiliations
• Item 8 - Participation or Interest in Client Transactions
• Item 8C–E - Brokerage Practices
• Item 8G - Soft Dollar Benefits
• Item 8H–I - Client Referrals
• Item 9A - Custody
• Item 9C–D - Custody Compliance

Field explainers

• 10A - Unnamed person controls management or policies
• 11 - Events involving you or supervised persons
• 11A(1) - Felony conviction or guilty / no-contest plea
• 11A(2) - Felony charge
• 11B(1) - Investment-related misdemeanor conviction or plea
• 11B(2) - Misdemeanor charge (listed in 11B(1))
• 11C(1) - False statement or omission finding (SEC / CFTC)
• 11C(2) - SEC / CFTC statute or regulation violation finding
• 11C(3) - Cause of denied, suspended, revoked, or restricted authorization (SEC / CFTC)
• 11C(4) - SEC / CFTC order in connection with investment-related activity
• 11C(5) - Civil money penalty or cease-and-desist (SEC / CFTC)
• 11D(1) - False statement, omission, or dishonest / unfair / unethical finding (other regulators)
• 11D(2) - Investment-related regulation or statute violation (other regulators)
• 11D(3) - Cause of denied, suspended, revoked, or restricted authorization (other regulators)
• 11D(4) - Order in past ten years (other regulators)
• 11D(5) - Registration or license denied, suspended, revoked, or restricted
• 11E(1) - False statement or omission finding (SRO / commodities exchange)
• 11E(2) - SRO / exchange rule violation (other than minor rule violation)
• 11E(3) - Cause of denied, suspended, revoked, or restricted authorization (SRO)
• 11E(4) - Expulsion, suspension, bar, or activity restriction (SRO)
• 11F - Attorney, accountant, or federal contractor authorization revoked or suspended
• 11G - Pending regulatory proceeding
• 11H(1)(a) - Enjoined in past ten years (civil court)
• 11H(1)(b) - Investment-related statute or regulation violation finding (civil)
• 11H(1)(c) - Settlement dismissal of investment-related civil action
• 11H(2) - Pending civil proceeding (Item 11H(1))
• 1F(5) - Number of other offices
• 1I - Do you have one or more websites
• 1M - Registered with a foreign financial regulatory authority
• 1N - Public reporting company under the Exchange Act
• 1O - $1 billion or more in assets at fiscal year-end
• 1P - Legal Entity Identifier
• 2A(1) - Large advisory firm (SEC size threshold)
• 2A(10) - Multi-state adviser (rule 203A-2(d))
• 2A(11) - Internet adviser (rule 203A-2(e))
• 2A(12) - SEC order exempting from prohibition against registration
• 2A(13) - No longer eligible to remain SEC-registered
• 2A(2) - Mid-sized advisory firm
• 2A(4) - Principal office outside the United States
• 2A(5) - Adviser to a registered investment company
• 2A(6) - Adviser to a business development company
• 2A(7) - Pension consultant (rule 203A-2)
• 2A(8) - Related adviser under rule 203A-2(b)
• 2A(9) - Newly formed adviser (rule 203A-2(c))
• 2B(1) - Exempt reporting - venture capital fund adviser
• 2B(2) - Exempt reporting - private fund adviser under $150 million
• 2B(3) - Private fund adviser no longer eligible for 2B(2)
• 3B - Fiscal year end month
• 5B(1) - Employees who perform investment advisory functions
• 5B(2) - Employees who are registered representatives of a broker-dealer
• 5B(3) - Employees registered as investment adviser representatives
• 5C(1) - Approximate number of advisory clients
• 5C(2) - Percentage of clients who are non-United States persons
• 5E(1) - Compensation as a percentage of assets under management
• 5E(2) - Compensation by hourly charges
• 5E(3) - Compensation by subscription fees
• 5E(4) - Compensation by fixed fees
• 5E(5) - Compensation by commissions
• 5E(6) - Compensation by performance-based fees
• 5E(7) - Other compensation arrangements
• 5F(1) - Continuous and regular supervisory or management services
• 5F(2)(a) - Discretionary regulatory assets under management
• 5F(2)(b) - Non-discretionary regulatory assets under management
• 5F(2)(c) - Total regulatory assets under management
• 5F(2)(d) - Discretionary total number of accounts
• 5F(2)(e) - Non-discretionary total number of accounts
• 5F(2)(f) - Total number of accounts
• 5F(3) - Regulatory AUM attributable to non-United States persons
• 5G(1) - Financial planning services
• 5G(10) - Market timing services
• 5G(11) - Educational seminars/workshops
• 5G(12) - Other advisory services
• 5G(2) - Portfolio management for individuals and/or small businesses
• 5G(3) - Portfolio management for investment companies
• 5G(4) - Portfolio management for pooled investment vehicles
• 5G(5) - Portfolio management for businesses or institutional clients
• 5G(6) - Pension consulting services
• 5G(7) - Selection of other advisers
• 5G(8) - Publication of periodicals or newsletters
• 5G(9) - Security ratings or pricing services
• 5I(1) - Sponsor of a wrap fee program
• 5I(2)(a) - Regulatory AUM as wrap fee program sponsor
• 5I(2)(b) - Regulatory AUM as wrap fee portfolio manager
• 5I(2)(c) - Regulatory AUM as sponsor and portfolio manager for the same wrap fee program
• 5K(1) - Separately managed account clients
• 5K(2) - Borrowing for separately managed account clients
• 5K(3) - Derivatives for separately managed account clients
• 5K(4) - Custodians holding 10% or more of SMA regulatory AUM
• 5L(1)(a) - Advertisements include performance results
• 5L(1)(c) - Advertisements include testimonials
• 5L(1)(d) - Advertisements include endorsements
• 5L(3) - Advertisements include hypothetical performance
• 6A(1) - Broker-dealer (registered or unregistered)
• 6A(2) - Registered representative of a broker-dealer
• 6A(6) - Insurance broker or agent
• 6A(7) - Bank
• 7A(1) - Broker-dealer, municipal securities dealer, or government securities broker or dealer
• 7A(12) - Insurance company or agency
• 7A(2) - Other investment adviser (including financial planners)
• 7A(8) - Banking or thrift institution
• 8A(1) - Principal transactions with advisory clients
• 8C(1) - Discretion to select securities for a client's account
• 8C(2) - Discretion to determine amount of securities for a client's account
• 8C(3) - Discretion to select the broker or dealer for a client's account
• 8C(4) - Discretion to determine commission rates for client transactions
• 8E - Recommend brokers or dealers to clients
• 8G(1) - Receive research or soft dollar benefits
• 8H - Compensate for client referrals
• 8I - Receive compensation for client referrals
• 9A(1)(a) - Custody of cash or bank accounts
• 9A(1)(b) - Custody of securities
• 9C(1) - Qualified custodian sends quarterly statements to pool investors
• 9C(3) - Annual surprise examination of client assets
• 9D(1) - Acting as qualified custodian

Browse all published field explainers

Official sources

• Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD)
• Form ADV (SEC)