What Is Form ADV? A Plain-English Guide

Form ADV is the disclosure document every investment adviser files with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It is the single most important public record about an advisory firm, and it is where nearly all of the data on this site comes from.

Part 1 is a structured, checkbox-and-number filing covering who owns the firm, how much it manages, how many employees and offices it has, the private funds it advises, and the service providers behind those funds. Part 2 is the plain-language brochure clients receive. Advisers must update Form ADV at least once a year, within 90 days of their fiscal year end, and promptly when key facts change.

Because the filing is public and standardized, it makes it possible to compare thousands of firms on the same terms: assets under management, number of funds, ownership, and more. That is exactly what this database does.

You can look up any of these facts for a specific firm using the search.