미국 투자자문사의 의무 : 브로슈어 발행·교부 의무를 중심으로

An investment adviser is a person or a firm that provides investment advices on the value or transactions of securities or that provides asset management services to securities investors. As the number of individual investors relying on the services of investment advisers increases, it is needed to pay attention to the protection of individual investors in investor-adviser relationships. Since late 1970s, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, as a measure to protect investors, has required investment advisers to file Form ADV with the SEC and deliver their brochure to client, in which investment advisers should disclose information, such as the their business practices, fees, and conflicts of interests, that their clients needed to know to make informed decision in selecting investment advisors and maintaining the relation with them. Recently, the SEC has published an Amendment Proposal to Form ADV and related rules requiring that the brochure should be written in plain English. This article examines investment adviser's obligations to issue and deliver brochures to their clients that the Investment Advisers Act provides and trials being made to improve investor protection measures.