Registration & Fund Operation Assistance
US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
If you have more than $25 million under management, or expect to reach this within four months of startup, you may apply directly with the US Securties & Exchange Commission. If you are eligible, and choose to register with the SEC, you will not be required to register with the State of Hawaii DCCA.
Website: www.sec.gov
Hawaii Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs (DCCA):
If you have less than $25 million under management you will need to register with the State of Hawaii Department of Commerce & Consumer Affairs (DCCA), Securities Branch. This branch is responsible for the registration of securities and the licensing of all broker-dealers and their salespersons, investment advisers and their representatives doing business in Hawaii.
Website: www.hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/sec
Hawaii Business Action Center (DCCA)
The Business Action Center is a branch of the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ Business Registration Division. In line with the Business Registration Division’s mission to process and maintain the business registry for the State of Hawaii, the BAC provides assistance in obtaining and completing the forms required for the registration of corporations, limited liability companies, general partnerships, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships and limited liability limited partnerships conducting business activities in the State.
The BAC helps business owners obtain general excise and other tax licenses from the Department of Taxation as well as registering as an employer with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations.
The BAC also provides information on other permits and licenses for the state, county, and federal government agencies, counseling and workshops offered by other business resource programs, alternative financing, government procurement and other useful information.
Every Monday (excluding state holidays) from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., a representative from the federal Small Business Administration is available at the BAC to counsel you on the federal Community Express Loan and government procurement programs.
Website: www.hawaii.gov/dcca/areas/bac
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC):
If your Offering Memorandum states that you may use options or futures for hedging and/or speculative purposes, you will need to register with the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission.
Congress created the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) in 1974 as an independent agency with the mandate to regulate commodity futures and option markets in the United States. The agency’s mandate has been renewed and expanded several times since then, most recently by the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000.
In 1974 the majority of futures trading took place in the agricultural sector. The CFTC’s history demonstrates, among other things, how the futures industry has become increasingly varied over time and today encompasses a vast array of highly complex financial futures contracts.
Today, the CFTC assures the economic utility of the futures markets by encouraging their competitiveness and efficiency, protecting market participants against fraud, manipulation, and abusive trading practices, and by ensuring the financial integrity of the clearing process. Through effective oversight, the CFTC enables the futures markets to serve the important function of providing a means for price discovery and offsetting price risk.
The CFTC’s mission is to protect market users and the public from fraud, manipulation, and abusive practices related to the sale of commodity and financial futures and options, and to foster open, competitive, and financially sound futures and option markets.
Website: www.cftc.gov
Hawaii State Tax Office:
Website: www.state.hi.us/tax