Representative Andy Barr Looks to Increase RIA Registration Exemption Amount

Representative Andy Barr, R-Kentucky, introduced the Small Business Investor Capital Access Act on Thursday. The bill would tie the threshold for the private fund adviser registration exemption to inflation, not only in the future, but retroactively as well.

Currently, the Private Fund Investment Registration Act of 2010 exempts private fund advisers with less than $150 million in assets under management from having to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, though they must still periodically send reports to the SEC. Since this requirement was enacted, the exemption threshold—$150 million—has not changed.

The bill would index the exemption limit to inflation going forward, but it would also retroactively increase the limit for past years to the proper, inflation-indexed amount. In other words, the $150 million figure would be increased for each of the last 13 years to account for inflation before tying it to inflation going forward.

Barr’s office did not respond when asked what the current threshold would be when inflation since 2010 was factored. According to the Consumer Prince Index Inflation Calculator on the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics website, $150 million in December 2009 would have been worth $206.16 million in December 2022.