Fund and asset management · SEC / state regulators
US investment adviser registration (SEC and state)
The United States holds the largest pool of investable capital in the world, and access to its institutional allocators generally runs through registration as an investment adviser, either federally with the SEC or at state level depending on assets and client base. Many private fund managers operate initially under exemptions rather than full registration.
The regulator
The Securities and Exchange Commission supervises registered advisers through an examination programme that is thorough and increasingly data-driven, with a strong focus on fees, expenses, conflicts, and marketing. State regulators apply their own regimes to smaller advisers.
What the licence permits
Regulated under the SEC / state regulators
- Provide discretionary investment advice to US clients
- Manage private funds offered to qualified US investors
- Approach the deepest institutional allocator base in the world
- Operate under the most widely recognised adviser credential
Who it suits
Managers raising from US institutions, endowments, and family offices, for whom the registration is effectively a precondition of the conversation.
Market access
Access to US investors, subject to the offering rules for the fund or mandate. It is not a passport elsewhere.
What to weigh
The examination regime is demanding and the marketing rules are specific and strictly enforced. Whether to register or rely on an exemption is a strategic decision with long consequences, not an administrative one.
We run the United States application end to end
Whether you build from new or acquire an existing licensed entity, BrokLicense handles incorporation, the regulator application, the AML and compliance framework, safeguarding and banking arrangements, and the operating stack. You stay the principal. We do the work, in confidence, and stay on for compliance once you are live.
Cost, capital, and timelines depend on your model and are set out in a first consultation, under NDA, not published here.
Other permissions in United States
Related reading
- Fund Manager or Investment Firm? Choosing the Right Asset-Management AuthorisationManaging mandates and managing funds are different regulated activities under different regimes. Applying under the wrong one costs a year and a rejection.
- The MiFID Investment Firm Licence: What the Permissions Actually CoverA MiFID licence is not one permission but a set you choose from. The combination you pick sets your capital, your obligations, and your supervisory weight.
- Licensing an Investment-Management Firm: What Changes When You Manage Other People's MoneyRunning an asset or portfolio manager sits under a different permission than broking. Here is what the licence covers and what regulators expect.
- EU Passporting Explained: One Licence, Thirty MarketsA single EU investment-firm licence works across the whole European Economic Area. Here is how passporting works and why it shapes where firms base.
Fund and asset management in other Americas jurisdictions
All jurisdictionsDiscuss your mandate in confidence
Every engagement begins under a mutual NDA. Set out the firm you intend to operate and the timeline you are working to, and you leave the first consultation with a recommended jurisdiction, the route to the licence, and a defined scope of work.
Prefer email? info@broklicense.com