SEC Form N-14AE

What Is SEC Form N-14AE?

SEC Form N-14AE is no longer used for registration filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding open-end funds. This obsolete form was replaced with SEC Form N-14.

Understanding SEC Form N-14AE

SEC Form N-14AE was created to satisfy SEC Rule 488, which governs the effective date for registration of securities by open-end management investment companies.

It was a statement required of open-end funds registering securities with automatic effectiveness under Rule 488. That rule was itself a consequence of Rule 145, which made the protections of the Securities Act of 1933 applicable to investors offered securities in previously excluded situations such as mergers and business combination transactions.

Rule 488 specifies standards for effective registration dates of securities issued in transactions under Rule 145. 

The SEC announced in 2006 that it would be discontinuing SEC forms N-14AE and N-14AE/A and that businesses formerly required to file those forms could immediately begin filing under SEC forms N-14 and N-14/A, where space was available to make a registration statement under Rule 488.

Recent Form N-14/A submissions are posted online by the SEC, as are Form N-14 submissions.

Sections in a Registration Statement

The Securities Act of 1933 was a response to the stock market crash 1929. This highly consequential law stipulated, among other things, that every US company must file a registration statement with the SEC in advance of a public offering.

Every registration statement, of which SEC Form N-14AE was one type, consists of two sections.

The prospectus of an open-end fund includes information of interest to any investor in a fund, rather than a company. It describes the goals, strategies, risks, fees, and distribution policy of the fund.

The SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (EDGAR) system contains millions of filings by companies and individuals. It can be accessed for free by any investor.

One of the best ways for an investor to evaluate a fund is to read the prospectus.

Accessing Registration Statements

The Securities and Exchange Commission maintains a database of SEC filings that is available to the general public for free. Known as EDGAR for Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval System, it contains millions of filings by companies and individuals. In addition to company filings, the database includes information provided by mutual funds, money market funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), variable annuities, and individuals.

About EDGAR

The easiest way for investors to access registration statements in the U.S. is through the SEC’s EDGAR online filing system. Because of the importance of timely information to effective investing, EDGAR gets needed information, including registration statements, into the hands of investors and analysts as quickly as possible.

That said, there is a learning curve when it comes to extracting information from EDGAR files. SEC filings on EDGAR have a consistent structure but can be difficult to skim for specific data points. The quarterly and annual reports issued by companies and funds contain much of the same information and are certainly presented in a more reader-friendly format.