The SEC at its August 28, 2024, open meeting, amended investment company reporting requirements on Form N-PORT and Form N-CEN, and issued guidance on open-end fund liquidity risk management programs.
Form N-PORT Amendments
Form N-PORT which is created monthly and is filed with the SEC on a quarterly basis provides a range of information about a fund and its portfolio holdings, valuation as well as information about fund flows.
Under the amendments, funds will be required to file Form N-PORT on a monthly basis, within 30 days after the end of the month to which the report relates. The amendments apply to all funds required to report on the Form.
Further, as amended, a fund's monthly reports on Form N-PORT will become publicly available 60 days after the end of the month to which the report relates whereas currently, only the report for the third month of every quarter is made publicly available after filing.
The SEC also adopted amendments to certain existing Form N-PORT items to account for the amendments making monthly Form N-PORT information available to the public. In this regard, funds will report certain return and flow information only for the month that the Form N-PORT report covers and will report the aggregate amount and detail of miscellaneous securities held by a fund.
Form N-CEN Amendments
The SEC also amended Form N-CEN to require funds that are subject to Rule 22e-4 under the Investment Company Act (the “Liquidity Rule”) to identify and provide certain information about those service providers used by the fund to fulfill the liquidity risk management program requirements of the Liquidity Rule.
Funds will be required to:
1. name each liquidity service provider;
2. provide identifying information, including the legal entity identifier, if available, and location, for each liquidity service provider;
3.disclose whether the liquidity service provider is affiliated with the fund or its investment adviser;
4. identify the asset classes for which that liquidity service provider provided classifications; and
5. indicate whether the service provider was hired or terminated during the reporting period.
Open-End Fund Liquidity Risk Management Program Guidance
The SEC also published guidance for funds subject to the Liquidity Rule (Rule 22e-4). The SEC’s guidance addressed issues concerning intra-month reviews of liquidity, based on market, trading and investment-specific considerations. The SEC also clarified, among other things, that "cash" means US dollars, and that funds should consider time frames for converting foreign currencies to US dollars in applying their liquidity risk management programs and provided detailed suggestions for international funds.
The SEC also provided specific guidance on the determination and review of highly liquid investment minimums, especially for funds that are on the “lower end” of the liquidity spectrum and emphasized the fund’s obligation to keep boards informed.
Compliance Dates
Funds generally will be required to comply with the amendments to Forms N-PORT and N-CEN for reports filed on or after the effective date of November 17, 2025, except that fund groups with net assets of less than $1 billion will have until May 18, 2026, to comply with the Form N-PORT.
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