Form ADV is the disclosure document every registered investment adviser files with regulators and delivers to clients. It describes the firm's services, fees, conflicts of interest, disciplinary history, and the people who run it.
Part 1 is structured data for regulators: ownership, assets, client types, disciplinary history. Part 2 is the brochure, written in plain language for clients. Part 3 is Form CRS, a short relationship summary.
Item 5 of Part 2 covers fees and compensation, including how the adviser is paid and by whom. Item 10 covers other financial industry affiliations. Item 11 covers conflicts of interest and personal trading.
Those three items are where an adviser's affiliations with product providers must appear. They are the fastest way to check whether what a firm says about itself matches what it has filed.
Anyone can look up any registered firm or individual through the Investment Adviser Public Disclosure system. There is no cost and no login.
Regulators review filings for completeness. Acceptance of a filing is not approval of the firm or its practices, and regulators require advisers to say so rather than imply otherwise.
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