To permit a registered investment company to omit certain fees from the calculation of Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, and for other purposes.
Summary
What This Bill Does
The Access to Small Business Investor Capital Act changes how registered investment companies calculate Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, or AFFE, on registration statements filed under section 8(b) of the Investment Company Act. The bill defines the relevant SEC fee-table forms: Form N-1A, Form N-2, and Form N-3. It then lets a registered investment company omit from the AFFE line the fees and expenses it incurs indirectly because it invests in shares of an acquired fund that is a business development company. The bill does not erase the actual BDC expenses or create new capital by itself; it changes the cost presentation in investment-company registration materials so BDC exposure is not counted in the AFFE sub-caption the same way as other acquired-fund expenses.
Who Benefits and How
Registered investment companies, mutual fund sponsors, closed-end fund sponsors, business development companies, investment advisers, small business borrowers financed by BDCs, middle-market companies seeking growth capital, broker-dealer distribution teams, and financial analysts covering BDC funds benefit because funds that hold BDC shares can show lower AFFE figures in SEC registration fee tables. That can make BDC allocations easier to include in fund products and may improve investor demand for vehicles that channel capital to small and middle-market businesses.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Retail investors, fee-comparison analysts, investor-protection organizations, financial advisers, Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure staff, fund compliance officers, and shareholder-reporting teams must account for a fee table that omits a category of indirect BDC expenses from AFFE, which can reduce visible cost comparability and requires compliance updates to Forms N-1A, N-2, and N-3 disclosure practices.
Key Provisions
- Adds definitions for Acquired Fund, Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, Fee Table Disclosure, Forms N-1A, N-2, and N-3, business development company, and registered investment company.
- Authorizes registered investment companies to omit indirect BDC-related fees and expenses from AFFE calculations.
- Applies the omission to Investment Company Act section 8(b) registration statements.
- Modifies SEC fee-table disclosure treatment without changing the underlying BDC fee economics.
- Limits the change to acquired funds that are business development companies.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Allows registered investment companies filing Investment Company Act registration statements to omit from Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses calculations fees indirectly incurred through investments in business development companies, while preserving the underlying BDC expenses outside the fee-table calculation.
Key Policy Areas
Financial Services, Securities, Small Business
Primary Purpose
Allows registered investment companies filing Investment Company Act registration statements to omit from Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses calculations fees indirectly incurred through investments in business development companies, while preserving the underlying BDC expenses outside the fee-table calculation.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Registered investment companies
- Mutual fund sponsors
- Closed-end fund sponsors
- Business development companies
- Investment advisers
- Small business borrowers
- Middle-market companies
- Broker-dealer distribution teams
Identified Costs
- Retail investors
- Fee-comparison analysts
- Investor-protection organizations
- Financial advisers
- Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure staff
- Fund compliance officers
- Shareholder-reporting teams
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived; read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, …
Passed House (inferred from eh version)
Additional sponsors: Mr. David Scott of Georgia, Mr. Meuser, Mr. …
Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the …
Mr. Sherman (for himself, Mr. Huizenga, Mr. Garbarino, and Ms. …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Business development companies, Fund compliance officers, Mutual fund sponsors
Positive-direction: Business development companies, Mutual fund sponsors, Registered investment companies
Negative-direction: Fund compliance officers
Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure staff
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "sec"
- → Securities and Exchange Commission
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
Has the Investment Company Act section 2(a) meaning.
The fee table in Form N-1A, Form N-2, or Form N-3, including successor SEC fee-table disclosure.
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology