The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted amendments to a confidential reporting form for certain SEC-registered investment advisers to private funds.

The amendments to Form PF will require large hedge fund advisers to report the occurrence of events "that could indicate significant stress at a fund or investor harm" within 72 hours of the occurrence, the SEC reports in its May 3 news release. Private equity fund advisers must file the reports on a quarterly basis, within 60 days of the fiscal quarter end.

"The amendments are designed to enhance the ability of the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) to assess systemic risk and to bolster the Commission’s oversight of private fund advisers and its investor protection efforts," the SEC states in the release.

Large hedge fund advisers are required to report events that include "certain extraordinary investment losses, significant margin and default events, terminations or material restrictions of prime broker relationships, operations events, and events associated with withdrawals and redemptions," the news release states.  Private equity fund advisers must report  "the removal of a general partner, certain fund termination events, and the occurrence of an adviser-led secondary transaction." 

Large private equity fund advisers will also be required to report general partner and limited partner "clawbacks" and any additional information on their strategies and borrowings as a part of their annual filing, the release reports.   

The amendments for current reporting will become effective six months after publication of the adopting release in the Federal Register; the remaining amendments will become effective one year after publication in the Federal Register, according to the release.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler stated in the release that private funds have "evolved significantly" in regard to business practices, investment strategies and overall complexity in the 12 years since Form PF was instituted. 

"Private funds today are ever more interconnected with our broader capital markets," Gensler said in the release. "They also nearly have tripled in size in the last decade. This makes visibility into these funds ever more important. Today’s amendments to Form PF will enhance visibility into private funds and help protect investors and promote financial stability."