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Launching a Registered Investment Advisor firm in New York puts you at the center of the financial world, but getting through the state's compliance requirements is probably more complicated than you think. This isn't your standard securities registration process. New York does things differently, and those differences matter a lot.
This guide is for financial advisors who are going independent, existing RIA firms expanding into New York, or anyone trying to figure out what New York actually requires. We're going to walk through the entire registration process, the specific rules that apply only to New York, the fees you'll pay, and what you need to do year after year to stay compliant.
Here's something you need to know right away. In New York, RIA oversight is handled by the New York State Attorney General's Office, specifically the Investor Protection Bureau. This is not your typical securities commission. The AG's office is the state's chief law enforcement agency, and that enforcement-first mentality shows up in how they regulate advisors. Their mission includes "protecting vulnerable consumers from unscrupulous investment advisors," which tells you everything about their approach.
The numbers help explain why New York takes this so seriously. According to NASAA's 2025 report, New York is home to 720 state-registered RIAs, making it the 4th largest state for state-registered firms. And there are 1,745 SEC-registered firms that have filed notices in New York, which ranks the state 2nd nationally. Nationally, state-registered RIAs collectively manage about $361.8 billion in assets.
So you've got the world's largest financial firms, billions of dollars under management, and a regulator that approaches oversight like a prosecutor. Even if you're a small, brand new RIA in New York, you'll be scrutinized with that same intensity. The Investor Protection Bureau isn't just checking boxes.
Let's talk about the specific thresholds that determine whether you register with the New York Attorney General or with the SEC. These rules, especially around assets under management, are different from most other states.
New York has a non-standard AUM threshold that confuses a lot of new advisors. The rule actually depends on where your firm is located.
If your principal place of business is in New York, you're required to register with the SEC once you hit $25 million in AUM. That's way lower than the $100 million threshold most other states use.
For firms based outside of New York, the standard $100 million threshold generally applies. But if you're under that amount and you have clients in New York (and meet the client threshold we'll discuss next), you'll need to register with the state.
This $25 million rule changes everything for a New York-based advisor. If you're successful, you'll be forced to move from state registration to SEC registration much faster than advisors in neighboring states. That means you'll need to adopt SEC-level compliance policies earlier (things like the SEC Marketing Rule and complex custody rules), and you'll probably want to start looking at SEC compliance software sooner than you expected. Your compliance costs will go up faster too.
This rule tells you when an out-of-state RIA that's not SEC-registered needs to register in New York.
The magic number is six clients. Once you have six or more clients living in New York, you need to register with the state.
So an out-of-state firm can have five or fewer New York clients without triggering registration, as long as they don't have a physical office in the state.
If you maintain any physical office in New York, or if you're actively soliciting clients in the state, you need to register. Doesn't matter how much AUM you have or how many clients you serve.
Alright, let's get into the actual process. This is where things get detailed, so pay attention.
Before you start the registration paperwork, your firm needs to exist as a formal legal entity. That means setting up an LLC, S-Corp, or C-Corp. You can't register as a sole proprietor.
The main part of your registration happens through Form ADV, which you file using the Investment Adviser Registration Depository (IARD). FINRA operates this online system.
Form ADV Part 1 is the data-heavy section. It asks about your business structure, ownership, clients, employees, and any disciplinary history. This all gets entered directly into the IARD system.
Form ADV Part 2 (which includes Part 2A and Part 2B) is your client-facing document. Part 2A is basically your firm's brochure. It explains your services, how you charge fees, any conflicts of interest, and other details clients need to know. Part 2B is the supplement that provides background information on your advisory personnel.
Every person who gives investment advice on behalf of your RIA needs to be registered as an IAR.
You register IARs by filing Form U4 through the Central Registration Depository (CRD) system.
IARs need to pass certain exams. Usually that means the Series 65 exam, or a combination of the Series 7 and Series 66.
New York does offer exam waivers for IARs who hold certain professional designations in good standing. The accepted designations are CFP, ChFC, PFS, CFA, or CIC. You might also get a waiver if you've been continuously registered in another jurisdiction for at least two years.
All fees get paid through the IARD and CRD systems when you submit your paperwork. We'll break down the exact amounts in the next section.
Here's where New York really stands apart from other states. Most states just want to know you meet a minimum net capital requirement. New York wants to see your actual financial statements.
When you submit your Form ADV, you also need to send financial statements directly to the Office of the Attorney General. These statements need to include an Income Statement and a Balance Sheet for your firm's last fiscal or calendar year.
The financials need to be prepared according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Now, you don't need a formal audit. The statements can be certified by management as "true and complete." But if your submitted financial statements are more than 90 days old, you'll also need to provide an interim balance sheet.
This requirement acts as a real barrier to entry. It signals that the NY AG cares less about whether you have some arbitrary amount of capital sitting in a bank account and more about whether your firm is actually solvent and financially transparent. You need a proper, professional accounting system set up before you can even apply. This filters out poorly capitalized firms, which aligns with the AG's consumer-protection mandate.
Let me break down the costs. All of these fees are paid through the IARD and CRD systems.
For firm registration, the initial filing fee is $400. The annual renewal fee for the firm is also $400.
For each Investment Adviser Representative, the initial registration fee is $95, and the annual renewal fee is $95 per IAR.
So if you're registering a firm with three IARs, you're looking at $400 for the firm plus $285 for the IARs, which is $685 total for the initial registration. Your annual renewal would be the same amount.
Getting registered is just the start. New York firms have strict ongoing compliance responsibilities that don't go away. Understanding these RIA compliance requirements is critical for staying in good standing with the Attorney General's office.
Every RIA needs to file an annual amendment to Form ADV within 90 days of the fiscal year-end. This updates all the information you originally submitted about your firm.
The firm and all IARs need to renew their registration at the end of each calendar year. You do this through the IARD and CRD systems and pay the renewal fees we mentioned earlier.
This is a big ongoing requirement that's specific to New York. State-registered RIAs must submit their fiscal year-end financial statements (Income Statement and Balance Sheet, GAAP-compliant, and management-certified or audited) directly to the Office of the Attorney General within 90 days of their fiscal year-end.
This annual reporting requirement reinforces what we talked about earlier. New York wants ongoing visibility into your firm's financial health, not just a one-time snapshot at registration.
Your firm needs to create, maintain, and actually follow a compliance manual that's specific to your operations and New York's requirements. This is a top enforcement priority for regulators.
According to NASAA's 2025 Annual Report, "Failure to maintain adequate compliance policies and procedures" shows up as a top-five enforcement trigger for state-registered RIAs. The SEC has also highlighted problems like "inadequate compliance resources" and CCOs who "did not have the authority" as critical failures in recent risk alerts.
A generic, off-the-shelf manual won't cut it. The NY AG's office has been pretty active in 2024 and 2025, launching major enforcement actions against cryptocurrency firms like Genesis and NovaTechFx and issuing public warnings about AI-manipulated investment scams. An examiner from the Investor Protection Bureau will probably view a compliance manual that doesn't address crypto or AI as inadequate, especially since those topics are clearly on the regulator's radar.
Your compliance manual should cover essential areas like your Code of Ethics, cybersecurity policies, business continuity planning, and privacy policies. But it also needs to reflect the current enforcement environment. And if you're going to put client-facing marketing materials out there (which you probably are), you need systems in place to review that content for compliance before it goes live. That's where RIA compliance software can help, letting you review marketing materials systematically so you're not just hoping everything's compliant.
RIAs must maintain extensive records as required by state rules. This includes client communications, trade records, financial statements, and compliance documents. You need to be able to produce these records if the AG's office comes calling.
Here's something a bit unusual. New York explicitly does not have a minimum net capital or bonding requirement for RIAs that don't have custody of client assets. The state's focus on transparency is pretty clear. They've substituted mandatory financial reporting for a static capital requirement.
If your firm does have custody of client assets, you're subject to additional, more complex record-keeping and auditing requirements. You'll also need to work with qualified RIA custodians who can handle the custody arrangements properly.
The Attorney General's office doesn't provide a specific timeline and warns that processing can be "substantially delayed". If your application has any deficiency that's not related to an exam issue, you get only fourteen days to fix it. That's a pretty tight window. You really need to get your filing right the first time.
Yes. An out-of-state investment adviser with no physical office in New York doesn't need to register until they have six or more clients in the state.
IARs need to pass the Series 65 exam or hold both the Series 7 and Series 66 exams.
Yes. New York waives the exam requirement for IARs who hold one of these professional designations in good standing: CFP, ChFC, PFS, CFA, or CIC. A waiver is also available for people who have been continuously registered in another jurisdiction.
No. An out-of-state advisor can register if they meet the 6-client threshold. But if you do have a physical office in New York, registration is mandatory regardless of how many clients you have.
Registering as an RIA in New York isn't like registering in most other states. The rules here are unique, and those differences have real impacts on how you run your firm.
You're dealing with oversight by the Attorney General's Investor Protection Bureau, which brings an enforcement-first mentality to regulation. The $25 million AUM threshold for in-state firms means you'll move to SEC registration faster than you would in other states. The 6-client de minimis rule for out-of-state firms has its own implications. And the mandatory submission of GAAP-compliant financial statements both at registration and every year shows that New York prioritizes transparency over arbitrary capital requirements.
This complexity, from the non-standard AUM rules to the specific financial reporting to the regulator's evolving enforcement priorities, means generic compliance solutions probably won't work well. You need to understand New York's specific requirements.
And as your firm grows and you're putting more marketing materials out into the world, you need to make sure everything you publish is actually compliant. Manual review takes time and creates risk. An AI-based tool like Luthor can help you review marketing materials for compliance automatically, letting you reduce the risk and effort of managing compliance at scale. It's worth looking at how automation can help you handle compliance more efficiently.
If you're serious about getting your New York RIA registration right and building a compliance program that actually works, request demo access to see how Luthor can help you stay on top of compliance requirements without the manual burden.