WHAT IS IARD?
The IARD system has three objectives: (1) to create a regulatory system for Investment Advisers to improve overall regulation of advisers, (2) to make information about Investment Advisers available to the public, and (3) to provide Investment Advisers an efficient automated filing system. The information provided via this Web page pertains to the third objective.
IARD is generaly available from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. Please refer to the Availability Schedule for detailed weekend and holiday availability. Also available are:
The Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD) is an electronic filing system for Investment Advisers sponsored by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) and North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA), with FINRA serving as the developer and operator of the system. The IARD system collects and maintains the registration, reporting and disclosure information for Investment Advisers and their associated persons. The IARD system supports electronic filing of the revised Forms ADV and ADV-W, centralized fee and form processing, regulatory review, the annual registration renewal process, and public disclosure of Investment Adviser information.
FINRA does not have regulatory authority over Investment Advisers; however, it was chosen to develop, operate, and maintain the system because of its regulatory business and technical expertise and the success of its Web-based licensing and regulation system, Web CRDSM, deployed in 1999. Web CRD is a state-of-the-art Web application for the registration of broker/dealers and their representatives. IARD provides regulators with the ability to monitor and process Investment Adviser information via a single, centralized system.
The SEC mandated its Investment Adviser registrants use the system to make all filings with the Commission (effective January 1, 2001). The IARD system satisfies the requirements of the National Securities Markets Improvement Act (NSMIA,1996), which authorized electronic system registration of Investment Advisers. For more information regarding NSMIA, see the "Regulatory and Legal Background Information about IARD".
IARD provides a mechanism that allows federally regulated Investment Advisers to satisfy the SEC mandate for electronic filing and related public disclosure. The system also offers states similar benefits by facilitating "Notice Filing" requirements for federal filers and registration requirements of state-regulated Investment Advisers. The IARD Program also provides for the registration of Investment Adviser Representatives (RAs) using the Individual Form Filing Functionality in Web CRD. In 2011, IARD was upgraded to accept reports from exempt reporting advisers.
The IARD Program is composed of four critical components: IA Firm Registration/Reporting, IA Firm Public Disclosure, IA Representative Registration, and IA Representative Public Disclosure. The Firm Registration component was released into production on January 1, 2001. This allows Investment Adviser firms to file a Form ADV and/or Form ADV-W electronically with the SEC and states. The IA Representative Registration component was implemented in Web CRD March 18, 2002 through software Release 4.0, which enables firms to register their IA representatives online via the Web CRD system. In conjunction with Release 4.0, the Uniform Forms U4 and U5 were revised to include the RA registration position code for IA representatives. Both the IA Firm Registration component and the IA Representative Registration component provide the ability to view the information contained on the filings, collect and disburse fees associated with these filings, request reports, and allow joint firms that are both broker/dealers and Investment Advisers, to share filing information between Web CRD and IARD. IA Exempt Report Filing was implemented in Web CRD on November 7, 2011, through software Release 2011.4.