The federal Investment Advisers Supervision Coordination Act took effect on July 8, 1997. Since that date substantive regulation of investment advisers has been divided between the Securities and Exchange Commission and the states.

However, federal covered investment advisers must still make notification filings with the Washington State Division of Securities if they are operating above the de minimis exemption (no place of business in Washington, and five or fewer Washington clients in a 12 month period). All their investment adviser representatives with a Washington “place of business” as defined in SEC Rule 203A-3(b) must be licensed with the Division.

Investment Adviser Registration Depository

All federal covered advisers are now required to register with the SEC and notice file with the states via the Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD).

Advisers wishing to notice file in Washington should pay the $160 Washington filing fee to IARD and designate Washington on their Form ADV Part 1.

Washington has chosen to become an “automatic” state for new federal advisers, which means that IARD will process your Washington application without Division personnel reviewing it. The Division does not require any paper filings from you.

Investment Adviser Representative Registration

All individuals employed by the adviser who render advisory services, manage client portfolios, solicit/refer clients, offer the services of the adviser, or supervise persons performing these functions, must register as investment adviser representatives, if they have a place of business in Washington. Representative registration is accomplished by:

  • Funding the adviser’s IARD Daily Account in the amount of $50 per representative.
  • Completing and submitting a Form U-4 on the CRD system for each representative applying for Washington registration.

Persons applying for investment adviser representative registration must have passed qualifying examinations within the last two years, been registered in Washington or another state within the last two years, or hold specified designations.

The qualifying examinations are:

  • Series 65
  • Series 7 and 66

The approved designations are:

  • Certified Financial Planner (CFP)
  • Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC)
  • Personal Financial Specialist (PFS)
  • Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
  • Chartered Investment Counselor (CIC)