Books and Records Rules for RIAs

Rule 204-2 lists the books and records an adviser must make and keep, from its accounting records and client agreements to advertisements, written communications and the records behind its performance claims.

Most records must be kept for five years from the end of the fiscal year in which the last entry was made, the first two of them in an appropriate office of the adviser. Records may be kept electronically if the firm can produce them promptly and protects them from loss and alteration.

5 documents on books and records, ordered by legal weight

• Current · binding law

  Books and Records Rule

  Rule 204-2 · 17 CFR 275.204-2

• Proposed, not effective · Commission position

  Crypto custody proposal

  Release IA-7023 (proposed) · Proposed 17 CFR 275.223-1

• Current · fact-specific

  Standing letters of authorization

  IAA No-Action Letter (21 February 2017)

• Settled order · no admission, not precedent

  Hypothetical performance sweep

  SEC Press Release 2023-173

• Current · observations, not law

  SEC Exam Handbook

  SEC Form 2389 (09-26)