On October 3, 2011, the North American Securities Administrators Association (NASAA) issued a report on a series of coordinated examinations of investment advisers by 45 state and provincial securities examiners. The report identifies investment adviser deficiencies and recommends best practices that investment advisers should consider to minimize the risk of regulatory violations. The top five categories with the greatest number of deficiencies involved registration, books and records, unethical business practices, supervision, and advertising. As many previously exempt investment advisers are now preparing to register, we note the top registration deficiencies were inconsistencies between parts 1 and 2 of form ADV and failing to amend form ADV in a timely manner.

Among hedge fund advisers, the top deficiencies included valuation of holdings, cross trading, preferential treatment, registration-exemption issues, non-accredited investors issues and non-disclosed conflicts of interest. A copy of the report is available here.