An unusually high number of advisers say they don’t use soft dollars, Investment News reports, prompting concerns that there isn’t a clear understanding of what is classified as soft-dollar spending under the Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent rule. A soon-to-be-released report indicates that 39% of advisers surveyed did not say “yes” to a question about soft dollar usage, a number considered too high. “What a lot of investment advisers have thought, and probably still think,” said Executive Director David Tittsworth of study sponsor Investment Adviser Association, “is, if I’m not asking for it or if I’m not using it, I don’t have to mark yes here,” referring to item 8E on the ADV disclosure form. Tittsworth said the increase in reporting soft-dollars from 58% last year to 61% is likely attributable to new hedge fund adviser registrations.
