Washington D.C., April 20, 2026 — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) jointly proposed new reporting rules for private investment funds to reduce reporting burdens. It marks a significant shift in a $26 trillion industry, with advisers long frustrated by extensive reporting obligations.
Phasing Out of Biden-Era Reporting Standards
U.S. regulators introduced stricter reporting requirements in 2024 for private fund managers under Form PF, which required more frequent updates and more detailed disclosures on areas such as investment exposures, leverage, and counterparty risks.
However, industry participants later raised concerns that the rules had piled on burdens by becoming overly complex, expensive to comply with, and sometimes less effective in producing meaningful risk insights.
Notable Regulatory Action of New Amendments
In response to the reported burden, the US regulators took a step forward to simplify the framework in April 2026 by increasing the reporting threshold by cutting off the mandatory filing requirement for small advisers from $150 million to $1 billion, which is a more than sixfold increase.
The proposal would also raise the exposure reporting threshold for “large” hedge fund advisers from $1.5 billion in hedge fund assets under management to $10 billion. Regulators are proposing to expand Form PF to include a new private credit reporting section and are inviting public feedback on key details.
“A key pillar of my agenda is restoring balance to disclosure obligations and reducing the cost of compliance wherever possible,” said SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins in a Yahoo Finance report. “Prior amendments to Form PF have led to overly burdensome disclosure requirements for advisers, distracting them from their core investment functions, often without a commensurate benefit to regulators’ use of the collected data. These proposed changes would help to rationalize the scope of Form PF requirements to support its purpose and bring our overall disclosure regime back into alignment.”
In addition, several detailed disclosure rules, such as granular reporting on investment exposures, counterparties, and short-term market activity, would be simplified or removed to reduce administrative burden.
Market Outcomes of Proposed Threshold
The changed rules for private funds are likely to produce a range of effects across the industry and broader markets, some of which are mentioned below:
- The proposed threshold would eliminate filing requirements for smaller advisers, who represent almost half of the advisers that currently must file Form PF.
- The Commission estimates that the proposed changes would generate nearly $1.2 billion in total net savings for affected entities.
- Form PF would continue to obtain information on over 90% of private fund gross assets and require detailed exposure information for funds managed by large hedge fund managers.
- Critics, however, warn that reducing reporting could make it harder for regulators to detect emerging risks in the financial system, particularly as private markets continue to grow.
Looking Ahead
The proposal is currently under review and is not yet final. CFTC Chairman Michael S. Selig. “I look forward to reading the public comments to ensure we get these changes right so that we eliminate unnecessary costs and burdens for filers.”
The statement highlights that the final decision will depend on the industry participants’ and experts’ feedback. The outcome will be important in determining the future balance between regulatory oversight and market flexibility.
