SEC Keeps Foreign Asset Rule Rolling Smoothly
Published Date: 12/12/2025
Notice
Summary
The SEC wants to keep the rules that help investment funds safely store their foreign assets with trusted banks. Funds and their advisers must get risk reports and have contracts ensuring ongoing risk checks. This update keeps protections strong without adding new costs or deadlines.
Analyzed Economic Effects
5 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 4 costs, 0 mixed.
Estimated Total Annual Compliance Burden
The SEC estimates the total annual hour burden for all collection requirements of Rule 17f-7 is 151,152 hours and the total internal cost to the industry is approximately $49,083,792 per year.
Per-Custodian Workloads and Costs Estimated
The SEC estimates there are about 87 global custodians; each custodian will average 4 responses per year, each response taking 260 hours (1,040 hours per custodian annually), totaling 90,480 hours and an estimated $25,967,760 in internal cost for those custodians annually.
Funds May Use Vetted Foreign Depositories
Rule 17f-7 permits a fund, under certain conditions, to maintain its foreign assets with an eligible securities depository that meets specified minimum standards. The rule assigns responsibilities to the fund’s primary custodian and investment adviser to ensure ongoing safeguards for those foreign custody arrangements.
Custodians Must Provide Risk Analyses and Monitoring
Under Rule 17f-7, a fund or its adviser must receive from the primary custodian (or its agent) an initial risk analysis of the foreign depository arrangements, and the fund’s contract with its primary custodian must state that the custodian will monitor risks and promptly notify the fund or adviser of material changes. Primary and other custodians must agree to exercise at least reasonable care, prudence, and diligence.
Information Provided Under Rule Is Not Confidential
The SEC states that the information provided under Rule 17f-7 will not be kept confidential, meaning materials submitted under the rule may be publicly accessible or treated as non-confidential records.
Personalized for You
How does this regulation affect your finances?
Personalize government policy and PRIA will tell you what this federal register document means for your household, plus every other regulation we track. PRIA reads each provision against your financial profile to show you exactly what matters to your wallet.
Key Dates
Department and Agencies
Related Federal Register Documents
2026-20466, Adviser and Regulated Fund Custody Rules; Crypto Custody Rules
The SEC is updating rules for how investment advisers and funds handle crypto assets, making sure they keep these digital investments safe and properly reported. These changes affect advisers, funds, and anyone managing crypto securities, aiming to modernize rules and improve transparency. Comments on the proposal are open until December 7, 2026, so get ready to weigh in!
2026-19260, Rescission of Rule 14a-8's Federal Regulation of Shareholder Proposals and Amendments to Rule 14a-4
The SEC wants to stop its federal rule that controls how shareholders can make proposals at company meetings, letting state laws and company rules take over instead. They’re also changing rules so companies can sometimes vote on proposals not in their official materials—but shareholders can opt out if they want. This affects investors and companies, with comments open until November 20, 2026, and could shake up how shareholder voices are heard and counted.
2026-18424, Political Contributions by Certain Investment Advisers
The Securities and Exchange Commission (the "Commission" or the "SEC") is proposing to rescind the political contribution rule under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the "Advisers Act"), which prohibits investment advisers from providing investment advisory services for compensation to a government client for two years after an adviser or any covered associate of the adviser makes a contribution to certain categories of elected officials or candidates, among other prohibitions. In the more than fifteen years since the rule was adopted, implementation challenges associated with the political contribution rule have resulted in a range of significant unintended consequences, including compliance practices among some investment advisers that may have had the effect of restricting all political contributions by the investment advisers and their employees. Market participants also have stated that the political contribution rule is burdensome, complex, and both lacks clarity and creates a de facto strict liability standard. The Commission is of the view that other existing requirements of the Advisers Act and its associated rules, including prohibitions on fraud, fiduciary duty requirements, the compliance rule, and the code of ethics rule (defined below), are likely sufficient to address pay-to-play practices while allowing an adviser the flexibility to implement an approach that is more appropriately tailored to its particular risks, rendering the political contribution rule unnecessary. The Commission also is proposing to amend the rule under the Advisers Act pertaining to books and records consistent with the proposed rescission.
2026-18190, Transfer Agent Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or "Commission") is proposing to adopt new rules, amend existing rules, amend the existing form for registration with the Commission as a transfer agent (Form TA-1) and the existing form for reporting activities of transfer agents (Form TA-2), and rescind an existing rule governing registered transfer agents. The proposals are designed to modernize the rules governing registered transfer agents.
2026-17183, Regulation Crypto Assets
The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") is proposing new rules to create a tailored offering regime for certain investment contracts involving crypto assets. The proposed offering regime is intended to facilitate capital formation and accommodate innovation within the crypto asset markets while, at the same time, ensuring that investors are adequately protected and provided with the information they need to make informed investment decisions. The proposed rules would be set forth in a new regulation titled "Regulation Crypto Assets" and would include two exemptions from the registration requirements of section 5 of the Securities Act of 1933. The first exemption would permit offerings of up to $5 million during a four-year period. The second exemption would permit offerings of up to $75 million during each 12-month period. Under both exemptions, issuers would be required to make certain principles-based narrative disclosures available to their investors. In addition, issuers under the second exemption would be required to provide financial statements and would be subject to ongoing reporting requirements. Issuers that rely on these exemptions would remain subject to the antifraud and antimanipulation provisions of the Federal securities laws. The proposed rules also would include a conditional safe harbor from the term "investment contract" in the definitions of "security" in the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. If the conditions of that proposed safe harbor are satisfied, then a crypto asset would be deemed not to be subject to an investment contract for purposes of those definitions of "security."
2026-12163, The Trade-Through Rule and Locked and Crossed Markets Provisions of Regulation NMS
The SEC wants to scrap some old rules that stop stocks from being traded at worse prices and prevent confusing market quotes. This change affects stock traders and exchanges, aiming to simplify trading and possibly speed things up. If you want to share your thoughts, you’ve got until August 17, 2026, so don’t miss out!
Previous / Next Documents
Previous: 2025-22649, Amending Over-the-Counter Monograph M020: Sunscreen Drug Products for Over-the-Counter Human Use
The FDA is proposing a change to sunscreen rules to allow a new ingredient called bemotrizinol at up to 6% in over-the-counter sunscreens. This means sunscreen makers can use this ingredient once the rule is final, helping improve sun protection options. People and companies should send their thoughts by January 26, 2026, so the FDA can decide soon.
Next: 2025-22651, In the Matter of SHINE Technologies, LLC; SHINE Medical Isotope Production Facility; Extension of Latest Date for Completion of Construction
SHINE Technologies got the green light to take more time building their Medical Isotope Production Facility in Wisconsin. The deadline to finish construction has been pushed from the end of 2025 to the end of 2029, giving them four extra years to get everything done right. This change mainly affects SHINE and the NRC, with no new costs announced yet.