SEC Launches Investment Adviser Website In US

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com

15 October 2001

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) have launched a website that will allow investors to electronically access information about money managers, financial planners and other investment advisers.

The Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) website, at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov, provides instant and free access to registration documents filed by approximately 7,300 SEC-registered advisers and 1,700 state-registered advisers. The documents, filed electronically with the SEC or state securities administrators, provide information about each adviser's business, advisory services and fees. The registration documents also disclose any disciplinary problems an adviser or its employees may have had during the last ten years.

In a statement released by the SEC, Chairman Harvey L Pitt said: 'The IAPD website underscores the SEC's commitment to full public disclosure by giving investors a valuable new tool to help them compare the qualifications and services of thousands of investment advisers.'

However, according to an article in the Financial Times last week, the website is not as efficient as it should be. None of the 9,000 plus files are edited so visitors to the website have to scroll through the whole file they have selected to retrieve any particular piece of information. But on a positive note, the FT describes the website as 'businesslike and concise' and easy to navigate.

'Investors need to know who they're dealing with and IAPD will help them do just that, with just a click of a mouse. IAPD will become an increasingly useful tool for investors as more and more state investment advisers come on the system in the months ahead,' said NASAA President Joseph Borg.

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