Senators Introduce Legislation Requiring Large Private Entities to Register with the SEC

In September, Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) introduced the “Private Markets Transparency and Accountability Act” (S. 4857) which would require privately held companies to register with the SEC when they surpass a $700 million valuation (excluding the value of shares held by affiliates) or when they exceed $5 billion in revenue with at least 5,000 employees. The bill targets large, private entities that often receive inflows of capital from private equity and/or venture capital. While the bill targets private entities across all sectors, asset managers that are currently not publicly traded such as Fidelity and Vanguard would likely be required to register. It is important to note that this bill does not have a Republican cosponsor and is unlikely to gain traction in the current political environment. No action has been taken on the bill other than its referral to the Senate Banking Committee.