SEC Should Adapt Recordkeeping Rules for 21st Century
May 1, 2026
Contact: IAA VP of Communications & Marketing Janay Rickwalder
Washington, DC; May 1, 2026 — The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should modernize the Recordkeeping Rule under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (Advisers Act) to better reflect the realities of modern technology, wrote the Investment Company Institute (ICI) and the Investment Adviser Association (IAA) in a joint letter.
“We applaud Chairman Atkins for his work to refocus the SEC’s enforcement efforts on cases correcting investor harms. Off-channel communications cases involving asset managers under prior SEC leadership saw vastly disproportionate penalties levied for employees using personal devices to send text messages,” said ICI President and CEO Eric J. Pan. “Updating the recordkeeping framework would be a significant step toward achieving our shared goals of investor protection and strengthening market integrity.”
The rule was originally drafted in 1961, and the way organizations communicate, use technology, and manage risk today was not anticipated at that time. ICI and the IAA recommend that the Recordkeeping Rule be adaptable as technologies and business practices continue to evolve. The revised rule should strike a balance between the SEC’s policy goals and the increasing burdens of retention requirements for advisers. In addition, the Commission should consider potential cybersecurity and data privacy risks. If these risks are not addressed alongside retention requirements, the rule may inadvertently increase exposure and ultimately harm investors.
“The IAA strongly supports modernizing the books and records rule for advisers. We encourage the SEC to create a framework that is technology neutral and recognizes reasonably-designed record retention programs,” said IAA President & CEO Karen Barr.
To that end, the letter recommends that the Commission avoid imposing a strict liability standard and create a safe harbor under the Recordkeeping Rule. The recent off-channel communications cases involving asset managers displayed the near-impossibility of compliance under a strict liability standard.
ICI and the IAA look forward to working with the Commission to develop an appropriately balanced recordkeeping framework.
Read the full letter here.
About the Investment Company Institute
The Investment Company Institute (ICI) is the leading association representing the asset management industry in service of individual investors. ICI’s members include mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts (UITs) in the United States, and UCITS and similar funds offered to investors in other jurisdictions. Its members manage $45.3 trillion invested in funds registered under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, serving more than 125 million investors. Members manage an additional $10.4 trillion in regulated fund assets managed outside the United States. ICI also represents its members in their capacity as investment advisers to collective investment trusts (CITs) and retail separately managed accounts (SMAs). ICI Associate Members include service providers to member firms and CIT trust companies. ICI has offices in Washington DC, Brussels, and London.
About the Investment Adviser Association
The Investment Adviser Association (IAA) is the leading organization dedicated to advancing the interests of fiduciary investment advisers. For more than 85 years, the IAA has been advocating for advisers before Congress and U.S. and global regulators, promoting best practices and providing education and resources to empower advisers to effectively serve their clients, the capital markets, and the U.S. economy. Our members range from global asset managers to the medium- and small-sized firms that make up the majority of our industry. Together, the IAA’s member firms manage more than $57 trillion in assets for a wide variety of individual and institutional clients, including pension plans, trusts, mutual funds, private funds, endowments, foundations, and corporations. For more information, please visit www.investmentadviser.org.
