Robert Plaze, Associate Director of the SEC's Division of Investment, in a letter to an official of NASAA (the association of state securities regulators), indicated that the SEC will "consider extending the date" to the first quarter of 2012 for private fund advisers to register and comply with the Advisers Act because Dodd-Frank rescinded the 15-client private fund adviser exemption.  Mr. Plaze also said that the SEC will similarly consider extending the transition time for federal advisers with less than $100 Million in assets under management to transition to state registration. 

 

OUR TAKE: Although this letter does not have any technical legal effect, we expect that Mr. Plaze, who is a fairly high-ranking official, would not have written the letter, and the SEC would not have published it, unless it was reasonably likely that the SEC would extend these compliance dates.  We just hope that the SEC publishes specific industry guidance sooner rather than later.