When the new SEC registration rules came out, it seemed pretty clear how funds would be affected: Funds with more than $150 million in assets would be required to register. Any fund with lesser amount would be regulated by states or not at all or have some discretion.

But there's an interesting twist as funds gear up to comply. The SEC now says that compliance will be determined by the level of gross assets, which includes leverage. That means a lot more funds than previously thought will be required to register, according to the WSJ. By this definition, there will be more funds with more than $1 billion in assets, which will be subject to more detailed requirements that must be reported within 15 days after a quarter ends. These funds will be asked to submit a detailed Form PF. This would be in addition to the new ADV Part 2 form, which will likely also be much more onerous than traditional filings.

So how many funds will be required to register? The SEC estimates up to 1,260 firms could be affected. These rules are still in flux, and it's unclear when the final proposal will be voted on.  The total costs to the industry could be nearly $60 billion, according to the SEC.

For more:
- here's an article

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