The SEC Exemptive Process 2.0

Since the enactment of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (Investment Company Act) and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act), the authority of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) to grant relief from certain statutory provisions has played an important role in the regulation of the investment management industry. The Commission may issue an order granting an exemption from particular legal prohibitions, approve specified types of transactions, or make certain legal declarations. Because many of the applications for these orders involve requests for exemptive relief, the orders are commonly referred to as “exemptive orders.”

This article updates an earlier Investment Lawyer article on exemptive applications published in the mid-1990s. Since that time, the exemptive process has evolved to be more efficient. Most notably, the SEC recently adopted expedited review procedures to more quickly process “routine applications.” Therefore, the time is right to update the prior
article.

Read "The SEC Exemptive Process 2.0"