Senate Democrats Denounce SEC Over Form PF Compliance Delay
Commentary by Steven Lofchie
Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee Elizabeth Warren and Senator Jack Reed asked the SEC Chair Paul Atkins to explain the Commission's delays in implementing updates to Form PF.
In a letter to SEC Chair Atkins, the lawmakers criticized the SEC's June 11, 2025, vote—taken jointly with the CFTC—to postpone the compliance deadline for Final Form PF amendments until October 1, 2025. The amendments, adopted in February 2024, require additional disclosures, including data on a fund's assets, financing, investor concentration and performance. (See previous coverage.)
The Senators said the move weakens the government’s capacity to protect against systemic risk and may signal a broader effort to weaken oversight of private funds. They pointed to concerns raised by SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, who warned that the extension would "hobbl[e]" the SEC's "ability to conduct precise and effective analysis of private markets." The lawmakers questioned whether the extension was part of a broader effort to rescind the new requirements altogether, citing language in the final rule that the Commissions may continue to "review whether Final Form PF raises substantial questions of fact, law, or policy."
The Senators also asked whether any officials from the White House or the Office of Management and Budget influenced the decision and requested all related communications. They inquired whether the Commission had conducted any cost-benefit analysis of the delay and demanded details on any discussions to reevaluate or roll back the rule.
The lawmakers requested a response from the SEC by August 5, 2025.
Commentary
The letter from Senators Warren and Reed exemplifies a particular approach to regulation: (i) all regulation is beneficial; (ii) rescinding any existing regulation is bad; and (iii) adding any new regulation is good.
This is the wrong approach. As it is with any human endeavor, all regulation is an experiment. Maybe it will accomplish its desired goal, maybe it won't. Maybe circumstances will change.
In the case of Form PF, that outlook would be quite generous. The Form was poorly designed and has been a waste since day one. (Note, previous Commentary from 2012.) Thirteen years later, nothing has been done to make the Form more useful.
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