On Monday, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to propose new Rule 2a-5 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (1940 Act) establishing a framework for funds' fair value determinations (Proposed Rule). Section 2(a)(41)(B) of the 1940 Act defines "fair value" as valuations "determined in good faith by the board of directors." The Proposed Rule would expressly permit boards to assign fair value determinations to the fund's investment adviser, subject to board oversight and certain other conditions. The proposals would apply to open- and closed-end funds and business development companies (BDCs).
Specifically, the Proposed Rule would permit a board to assign the following valuation functions to the fund's investment adviser, subject to additional oversight requirements: assessing and managing material risks associated with fair value determinations; selecting, applying and testing fair value methodologies; overseeing and evaluating pricing services used, if any; adopting and implementing valuation policies and procedures; and maintaining certain records.
With the delegation to the adviser, the following key guardrails would be required:
- Board oversight of the adviser.
- The Proposed Rule would require the adviser to report to the board with respect to matters related to the adviser's fair value determination process. Boards would be expected to probe the appropriateness of the adviser's fair value determination processes and periodically review the financial resources, technology, staff and expertise of the assigned adviser, and the reasonableness of the adviser's reliance on other fund service providers with respect to valuation.
- Boards would be expected to seek to identify, monitor and take reasonable steps to manage potential conflicts of interest of the adviser. They would also be expected to monitor conflicts of interest regarding any other service providers used by the adviser as part of the valuation process and seek to ensure that they are being managed.
- Periodic and prompt reporting to the board.
- Periodic Reporting. The Proposed Rule would require the adviser, at least quarterly, to provide the board with a written assessment of the adequacy and effectiveness of the adviser's process for determining the fair value of the assigned portfolio of investments. Such report would, at a minimum, include a summary of material valuation risks, material changes to or material deviations from methodologies, testing results, pricing vendor services, and any other materials requested by the board.
- Prompt Reporting. The Proposed Rule would require that the adviser promptly report to the board in writing on matters (but in no event later than three business days after the adviser becomes aware of the matter) associated with the adviser's process that materially affect, or could have materially affected, the fair value of the assigned portfolio of investments, including a significant deficiency or a material weakness in the design or implementation of the adviser's fair value determination process or material changes in the fund's valuation risks.
- Clear specification of responsibilities and reasonable segregation of duties among the adviser's personnel.
- Keeping additional records relevant to the assignment to the adviser.
As can be seen from the above, although boards would be free from making actual pricing determinations, boards would not be relieved of reviewing significant documentation and overseeing the entire valuation process. In particular, boards will have to review evidence that the adviser satisfies the conditions under which delegation to the adviser is permissible, including that conflicts are handled, risks are evaluated and methodologies resulting in the values determined are sufficiently detailed.
In addition, the proposals would also define "readily available market quotations" in order to align the concept with accounting guidance on fair value for generally accepted accounting principles, particularly ASC Topic 820's categorization of positions as falling into Level I, II or III accounting buckets. The proposing release identifies Level II and III assets as requiring fair value determination and describes circumstances in which Level I assets' market quotations are "unreliable" and therefore would require fair value adjustment as well.
The public comment period on the proposals will remain open until July 21, 2020.
The complete SEC release, including the full text of the Proposed Rule, is available on the SEC's website at: https://www.sec.gov/rules/proposed/2020/ic-33845.pdf.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.