Stop pretending
you're a compliance officer.
Procrastinated for 6 months. “One exam away” from a Form ADV citation. RegAxis monitors every ADV-W deadline so you stop being your own compliance department.
What SEC Form ADV actually requires of a solo RIA
Annual updating amendment to Part 2A within 90 days of fiscal year end — regardless of whether anything changed.
Interim amendment to Part 1A or Part 2A within 30 days of any material change — new services, conflicts, ownership, disciplinary events.
Initial delivery to clients and prospects, plus annual offer. 5-year retention of delivery logs required.
New services, new conflicts, disciplinary events, ownership changes, fee schedule changes, or new affiliated advisers.
Are you already outside the ADV-W window?
Has your firm had any material change in the last 6 months (new service, conflict, ownership, disciplinary event)?
Do you know the date of your last ADV-W interim amendment?
You’re likely outside the 30-day ADV-W window — full assessment takes 60 seconds.
Stop pretending
you're a compliance officer.
Every week spent on brochure-delivery logs is a week you aren’t advising clients, prospecting, or building book. RegAxis automates the Form ADV chase so you can go back to the work you were actually hired for.
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SEC, FINRA, NAIC changes curated for solo compliance officers who shouldn’t have to be one.
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What counts as a “material change” for ADV-W?
Anything a reasonable client would consider before engaging or continuing with your firm: new advisory services, new conflicts of interest, ownership or control changes, new disciplinary events, fee structure changes, new affiliated advisers, or changes to the types of clients you accept. Rule 204-1 is a disclosure rule, so err toward filing. Firms that self-define the threshold too narrowly are the most-cited exam deficiency pattern RegAxis sees in solo RIA sweeps.
Do I really need to file an annual amendment if nothing changed?
Yes. Form ADV Part 2A annual updating amendment is mandatory within 90 days of fiscal year end even if nothing material changed. If there were material changes since the last update, the brochure must include a “Material Changes” summary at the front. Skipping the annual amendment causes automatic IAPD delinquency and shows up in your next SEC exam even when nothing else has gone wrong.
What happens if I miss the 30-day window?
Late ADV-W filings are visible to the SEC Division of Examinations in IAPD. A solo adviser without a documented reason typically gets a deficiency notice on the next exam cycle, and in some cases must retroactively deliver an amended brochure to existing clients. Repeated late filings can be referred to Enforcement. The practical fix is straightforward — file immediately, document the delay, and put a change-detection process in place so it doesn’t recur next quarter.