Observations on Judicial Approaches to Discerning Investment Adviser Status under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940

• Main Author: Brian Carroll
• Format: Article
• Language: deu
• Published: Brigitte Lurger, Elisabeth Staudegger, Stefan Storr 2015-04-01
• Series: Austrian Law Journal
• Online Access: https://alj.uni-graz.at/index.php/alj/article/view/39

This article analyzes judicial approaches to interpreting the definition of an invest- ment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the United States federal statute gov- erning investment advisers. It starts by noting the role of investment advisers in the United States financial services industry and introduces the statutory definition of an investment advis- er and each element of this definition. It explains briefly why adviser status is important and touches on the relationship between investment adviser status and registration as an investment adviser with the United States Securities & Exchange Commission. Based on cases initiated by the United States Securities & Exchange Commission, the United States Department of Justice and investment adviser clients alleging investment adviser violations of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the article discusses key judicial interpretations of the elements of the definition of investment adviser. Along the way, the author shares his observations about these judicial approaches to interpreting the definition of an investment adviser by, among other things, evaluating some of the strengths and weaknesses reflected in these judicial approaches.