Financial Terms

Excluded from the Investment Adviser Definition

Banks, incidental professionals, broker-dealers, and publishers are not advisers at all.

Uniform Securities Act & Registration Series 65 · Section 4

What is Excluded from the Investment Adviser Definition?

Not investment advisers under the Act: banks, savings institutions, and trust companies; lawyers, accountants, engineers, and teachers whose advice is solely incidental to their profession (sometimes remembered as LATE); broker-dealers whose advice is solely incidental and who receive no special compensation for it; and publishers of bona fide newspapers or financial publications of general, regular circulation. An exclusion means the person is outside the definition entirely.

Excluded from the Investment Adviser Definition: a worked example

An accountant who charges separately for investment advice, or advertises it, is no longer 'solely incidental' - and becomes an adviser.

What is the difference between Excluded from the Investment Adviser Definition and Exemptions from State Adviser Registration?

Excluded = not an investment adviser at all. Exempt = is an adviser, but need not register in the state. The exam tests this distinction constantly.

Often confused with Exemptions from State Adviser Registration - see Excluded from the Investment Adviser Definition vs Exemptions from State Adviser Registration side by side.

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More terms in Uniform Securities Act & Registration

Uniform Securities Act (USA) The model state securities law most states' 'blue sky' statutes are based on. State Securities Administrator The official or agency that enforces a state's securities act. Person (USA Definition) Anyone who can be held legally responsible - individuals and organizations. Investment Adviser (USA Definition) Advises on securities, as a business, for compensation. Exemptions from State Adviser Registration An adviser with no office in the state and only institutional or very few clients there. De Minimis Exemption No place of business in the state and fewer than 6 clients there in 12 months. Federal Covered Adviser An adviser registered with the SEC rather than the states. Exempt Reporting Adviser A private fund adviser exempt from SEC registration but still filing reports.

All Uniform Securities Act & Registration terms · Full glossary