Section 204 of the Advisers Act and Rule 204-2 thereunder require that SEC-registered investment advisers maintain and preserve specified books and records, and make them available to Commission examiners for inspection. Rule 204-2 permits investment advisers, under certain conditions, to maintain books and records on microfilm and magnetic disk, tape, or other computer recordkeeping devices.

Rule 204-2 requires every SEC-registered investment adviser to retain copies of all advertisements and other communications (collectively, "advertisements") that the adviser has circulated, directly or indirectly, to ten or more persons (excluding persons connected with the adviser). Generally, the adviser also must create and retain all documents necessary to substantiate any performance information contained in advertisements. With respect to the advertisement of performance information for managed accounts, an adviser need retain only (1) all account statements, if they reflect all debits, credits, and other transactions in a client's account for the period of the statement, and (2) all worksheets necessary to demonstrate the calculation of the performance or rate of return of all managed accounts.