Take FORM PF SURVEY ONLINE – completely anonymous
Download Form PF Survey Questionnaire in Word Format
To:
Private Fund Advisers Registered with the SEC
Chief Legal / Compliance Officer
To Whom It May Concern
From:
Professor Wulf A. Kaal
1000 LaSalle Ave., MSL 400
Minneapolis, MN 55403
Telephone: (651) 962-4972
Cell: (312) 810-4390
Facsimile: (651) 962-4996
wulfkaal@stthomas.edu
http://www.wulfkaal.com
July 15, 2013
RE: Participant Understanding of Participation in the Survey
Dear Sir or Madame,
The purpose of this survey is for Professor Wulf A. Kaal at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in Minneapolis to learn more about your experiences in dealing with recent private fund registration and disclosure requirements under the Dodd-Frank Act and in particular your experiences in providing the SEC with required information under Form PF.
As you may know, the Dodd-Frank Act authorized the SEC to promulgate rules requiring registration and enhanced disclosure for private fund managers. As part of the new rules, the SEC introduced a reporting obligation under Form PF. The effects of private fund registration and disclosure requirements in the United States are unclear and this survey study hopes to evaluate and clarify possible effects.
To ensure that we reduce any risks in your participation, we will not in any form identify you or your firm in any of our reports. Responses to this survey will be used by Professor Kaal in several academic publications, which will be made available to academics, industry experts (including survey respondents), and regulators as well as to the general public at the time of publication. Respondents’ identities will not be disclosed and particular responses to this survey will not be linked to particular respondents.
We would be happy to share the survey results with you, as they may prove to be informative in the administrative management of your fund(s). The collected cost data in the aggregate form will allow respondents to compare costs. If deemed desirable and only with your consent, we would also be happy to share the results of this survey with your investors.
Answering the survey questions below will take approximately ten to fifteen minutes. We do very much appreciate your support. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with any questions.
With best regards,
Wulf A. Kaal
Associate Professor of Law
FORM PF Survey Questions
Download Form PF Survey Questionnaire in Word Format
1. Did you assist in completing and/or file Form PF on behalf of the investment adviser firm with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)?
a. Yes ___
b. No ___
2. Please check which section(s) of Form PF you completed:
a. 1a & 1b – All private fund advisers ____
b. 1c – All private fund advisers that advise hedge funds ____
c. 2a – Large hedge fund advisers (>$1.5 bil. AUM) ____
d. 2b – Large hedge fund advisers (>$1.5 bil. AUM) ____
e. 3 – Large liquidity fund advisers (>$1 bil. AUM) ____
f. 4 – Large private equity advisers (>$2 bil. AUM) ____
g. 5 – Temporary hardship exemption ____
3. Are you required to file Form PF?:
a. Annually ____
b. Quarterly ____
4. Please check all of the types of private funds that your investment adviser firm manages (please only check those that apply best to you):
a. Hedge Fund ____
b. Liquidity Fund ____
c. Private Equity Fund ____
d. Real Estate Fund ____
e. Securitized Asset Fund ____
f. Venture Capital ____
g. Other Private Fund ____
5. Which, if any, of the questions in Form PF required the greatest level of interpretation?
____________________________________________________________________________
6. Are there definitions or instructions in Form PF that you disagree with?
a. No ____
b. Yes ____
i. If yes – What definitions or instructions do you disagree with? ________________________________________________________________
ii. Why do you disagree with the definition or instruction? ________________________________________________________________
7. Please comment on the SEC guidance pertaining to Form PF:
a. Is the flexibility provided by the SEC in filling out Form PF helpful?
i. Yes ____If Yes, why? _______________________________________________
ii. No ____If No – why not? ____________________________________________
b. When the SEC is prescriptive in its Form PF guidance do you agree with the stance the SEC is taking?
i. Yes ____
ii. No ____If No – why not? ___________________________________________
8. Please comment on specific questions in Form PF:
a. What question in Form PF should not have been asked and why not? ______________________________________________________________________
b. What questions should have been asked instead and why?
______________________________________________________________________
9. What is the most pressing issue the SEC should address in the context of Form PF?
________________________________________________________________________
10. In your opinion, what is the purpose of Form PF? Please check all that apply and/or provide additional comments:
a. Ease the burden on private fund managers to produce data ___
b. Assess systemic risk posed by the hedge fund industry ___
c. Allow the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) and the Office of Financial Research (OFR) to monitor risks to the U.S. Financial System ___
d. Address the lack of private fund information available to regulators ___
e. Collection of risk exposure information of individual private fund advisers ___
f. Other __________________________________________________________
11. Are you using a service provider to complete Form PF (Y/N)? _________________
a. If No – why not? ___________________
b. If Yes ___
i. Why are you using a service provider? _____________________
ii. Are there any issues with using service providers? Please explain: ___________________
12. Please estimate the following pertaining to your investment adviser firm:
a. Total number of people who worked to complete Form PF for the first time (including external consultants) __________________
b. Total number of hours to complete Form PF for the first time ____________________
c. Total amount of funds spent to complete Form PF for the first time $____________________
d. Please estimate the annual cost for subsequent Form PF filings (after the first time filing) $___________________
13. SEC guidance and support:
a. On a scale of 1 – 5, how would you rate the best level of guidance available from the SEC staff to assist you in completing Form PF?
i. Excellent ____
ii. Good ____
iii. Sufficient ____
iv. Insufficient ____
v. No Guidance ____
b. Which Sections / Items on Form PF were not adequately captured by SEC guidance? Please list all relevant Sections / Items:
______________________________________________________________________
14. Which question(s) on Form PF were most time consuming to answer?
a. Please list the three most time consuming items on Form PF:
i. ________________________________________________________________
ii. ________________________________________________________________
iii. ________________________________________________________________
b. Please state shortly why these items proved time consuming (in order of priority):
i. ________________________________________________________________
ii. ________________________________________________________________
iii. ________________________________________________________________
15. Did your existing reporting, monitoring, and tracking systems adequately capture the information required on Form PF?
a. Yes ____
b. No ____ If no, why not? __________________________________________________
c. If your existing reporting systems did not adequately capture the information required on Form PF, how did you obtain the information necessary to report the data to the SEC? _________________________________________________________________
16. Form PF requires disclosures regarding counterparty credit exposure and collateral [(Section 1(b) Item B, Numbers 22, 23, and Section 2(a) Numbers 36, 37, and 38)].
a. How did you identify the relevant counterparties? _____________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
b. Did you encounter any difficulties in identifying counterparties?
i. No ____
ii. Yes ____ If yes, what difficulties did you encounter?
___________________________________________________________________
17. Have your investors asked to obtain your Form PF filing?
a. No ____
b. Yes ____ If yes – are you providing your Form PF filing to investors?
i. Yes ____ If yes – why are you providing investors with your Form PF filings? ________________________________________________________________
ii. No ____ If no – why not?
________________________________________________________________
18. To the extent permissible, are you using Form PF as a substitute form for required CFTC forms?
a. No ____
b. Yes ____ If yes – why? ____________________________________________________
19. Did reporting “Regulatory AUM” as required in Form PF require a level of interpretation from you?
a. No ____
b. Yes ____
i. If yes – why? __________________________________________________
ii. If yes – how? __________________________________________________
Wulf Kaal 