Frequently Asked Questions

What’s with the name?

40Act.com derives its name from the acts that form the basis of the U.S. investment management and funds industries. The Investment Company Act and the Investment Advisers Act were both enacted in 1940. Their nicknames are the “’40 Act” and the “Advisers Act” or together the “’40 Acts.” Attorneys and other professionals who work with advisers and funds are said to be “’40 Act professionals”, as in “I’m a ‘40Act lawyer!” We think it’s a great name for our community of 40 Act professionals and hope you join us.

What is ‘40Act.com?

40Act.com is a community, the foundation of which is a comprehensive set of resources and tools that help ’40 Professionals to do their important work:

A concise treatise and topical discussion of Advisers Act subjects
How-to guidance to help you do your legal or compliance tasks
Sample forms, contracts, compliance policies and procedures and lots more
The laws: the Acts and their rules, all integrated with the treatise and how-to’s
Reference: fully integrated library of no-action letters, SEC releases, exemptive orders, etc. all integrated with the treatise and how-to pages
Community: the hub of our community where you can interact with other members, find links to government, service provider and other websites and post materials you wish to contribute

What are the advantages of 40Act.com?

When you join, you will find a comprehensive set of materials for legal and compliance professionals. We’ve designed a highly innovative site that is an electronic, web-based service, for today’s generation of lawyers, compliance professionals, auditors, and operations professionals.

Comprehensive materials, prepared and curated by ’40 Act experts.
Targeted to our industry. We focus exclusively on the money management industry.
Contrast the large data services which let you hunt and peck and search through their databases trying to find and collect what you need.
We’ve done that work for you.
Designed for the internet; not based on printed books. Most treatises and law/rules books are exactly that: books—often loose-leaf, requiring periodic updating by hand. When put on the web, the publishers typically present you a pdf version of the book.
User friendly Responsive design for access by all of your devices, from PCs to smartphones
Pages throughout the site allow for easy navigation between treatise pages, sample compliance procedures, the underlying laws and rules, relevant cases, no-action letters and determinations, How-To guidance and Samples of all sorts.
No other site or even book provides this type of ease of use and comprehensiveness
We do the updating for you
Competitive pricing
Low annual subscription fee!
Check Amazon.com or Google for competing products:
- The least expensive treatises in print are $300-$400 and require $400 of updates annually; you’ll need three to four of these treatises to get our coverage and still won’t have the flexibility of our site, nor the How-to guidance and Sample Documents
- Large data provider services cost from $1000 per year and up. For a small office, that can add up to $6000 for several users

Who’s behind 40Act.com?

40Act.com was founded by a team of industry professionals with a collective 100 years+ of experience. Led by Karl Hartmann, the team has experience is all aspects of the site’s coverage. That experience provides the foundation of understanding the needs of ’40 practitioners and of curating the materials.

How will you fit in?

You are stepping into a community rich with resources. We have done the heavy lifting. As a member of this community, we hope you will be active by contributing your ideas, suggestions and documents. We will weave your input into the appropriate places in the site. As a result, the site will evolve, expand and stay current.

How easy is it to find what I need?

The site has navigation topically and functionally:

Generally, material on the site is arranged by Subject, How-To, Reference and Laws & Rules sections. These sections are interconnected for easy cross-reference. We call this our zone structure. The colored zones are consistent through-out the site: Subjects (Green Zone); How-To (Blue Zone); Reference (Red Zone) and Laws & Rules (Orange Zone). These function as follows:

Subjects—the site contains a comprehensive list of subjects. Importantly, each Subject page is colored green so that you’ll know you are in the Subject (Green) Zone. At the bottom of each Subject discussion there are Reference (Red) and How-To (Blue) Zones, which allow you to jump directly to relevant related materials and documents.
How-To—many Subjects have associated How-To guidance providing you with instructions, e.g., on how to prepare a document or filing. Throughout the site, each How-To page is colored blue so that you’ll know you are in the How-To (Blue) Zone. At the bottom of each How-To page, be sure to look for the associated Subject (Green) and Reference (Red) Zones which allow you to connect directly to relevant Subject or Reference pages.
Reference—most Subjects have associated Reference (Red) Zone pages, which list links to relevant laws, rules, no-action letters, interpretive letters, SEC or other agency rulemaking. The Reference or Red Zone is the large database upon which the site is built. It provides you with a comprehensive set of materials and documents for further research and understanding of the subject you’re exploring.
Laws & Rules---for your convenience, the Subject and How-To pages typically offer an Orange Zone at the bottom of the page for quick linking to relevant laws and rules.
Search—finally, don’t forget the Search button located at the top of the homepage!

What does 40Act.com cost?

Memberships cost $395 per year.

Qualified academics and students may become Free Members upon providing appropriate credentials. For more information, please contact us at contactus@40Act.com.

How do I become a Member?

Please visit the Register or Subscribe Now pages and complete the subscription form with payment.

Can I cancel my Membership?

Yes, but the annual fee is non-refundable.