🏛️ 🏛️ SEC Form ADV Adviser Watch — RIA Change Feed

Monitor official SEC adviser reports and receive structured changes for RIAs and exempt reporting advisers.

This actor converts the monthly SEC Investment Adviser Information Reports into an auditable recurring delta feed. The first run seeds a private baseline and emits no alerts. Later scheduled runs return new and removed advisers, RIA/ERA registration-class changes, AUM-band filter crossings, and selected profile changes — each with the official source URL, report edition, archive checksum, IAPD firm link, before/after profiles, and reconciled receipts.

The reports derive from Form ADV, contain a subset of Form ADV data, and are not guaranteed by the SEC for filer accuracy.

Output is one adviser_delta row per result; billing is pay-per-event, the value event being one adviser delta (a $0.02 start fee per run, then $0.08 per adviser delta). Source: www.sec.gov.

No login, no API key and no CAPTCHA solving are involved: the source is read logged-out.

📊 Sample Output

No sample rows: the Store-example run on this build (run gDampYJC2L7xz1LPz on 0.1.19, 2026-09-17) returned 0 rows and finished with NORMAL: deltas=0. In watch mode the first run seeds the baseline and returns no deltas by design, and a later run returns zero when nothing changed since the last one. The record shape is documented from the dataset schema under What you get — no row is invented.

✅ What you get

One of two dataset record types, discriminated by record_type: adviser_delta or source_receipt. The adviser_profile appears embedded in the before/after of a delta.

Each row is flat JSON with these fields (from the dataset schema and the sample run; a field the source does not publish for a given row is null):

• record_type (string) — Discriminator.
• run_id (string) — Apify run id that produced this item.
• source_url (string) — Exact public SEC request URL supporting this item.
• observed_at (string) — RFC3339 UTC time after shape validation.
• change_id (string/null) — Deterministic SHA-256 change identifier (adviser_delta); billing dedup key.
• delta_type (string/null) — adviser_delta only.
• crd_number (integer/null) — Organization CRD number.
• sec_file_number (string/null) — SEC file number (801-/802-).
• firm_name (string/null) — Primary business name.
• adviser_class_before (string/null) — Class before the change (null on add).
• adviser_class_after (string/null) — Class after the change (null on removal).
• adviser_url (string/null) — Emitted IAPD firm summary URL (never fetched).
• source_edition (string/null) — Report edition date the change was observed in.
• changed_fields (array/null) — Sorted JSON Pointers of changed material fields.
• terminal_state (string/null) — source_receipt only.
• source_class (string/null) — source_receipt class.
• archive_sha256 (string/null) — SHA-256 of the fetched archive (receipt provenance).

Every run also writes a RUN_RECEIPT record to its key-value store with the source checks it made and the counts it charged — diagnostics never land in the paid dataset.

⚙️ Sample inputs

1. Quick start — the Store example (this is what the sample above came from)

{
  "watchMode": true,
  "adviserClasses": [
    "RIA"
  ],
  "states": [
    "NY"
  ],
  "baselineKey": "ria-ny-registration",
  "maxItems": 5000
}

The sample run charged exactly: 1 × $0.02 apify-actor-start + 0 × $0.08 adviser_delta + 1 × $0.10 watch_check = $0.12 on the Free tier

2. A smaller, narrowed run

{
  "watchMode": true,
  "adviserClasses": [
    "RIA"
  ],
  "states": [
    "NY"
  ],
  "baselineKey": "ria-ny-registration",
  "maxItems": 5
}

Caps the run at 5 rows; same billing shape as the sample run above.

3. Watch mode on a schedule

{
  "watchMode": true,
  "adviserClasses": [
    "RIA"
  ],
  "states": [
    "NY"
  ],
  "baselineKey": "ria-ny-registration",
  "maxItems": 5000
}

The first run seeds a private baseline and emits zero deltas; every later run emits one row per change, billed at $0.08 each.

🧾 JSON sample record

No dataset record to show for this actor type (see Sample Output).

🔧 How it works

Transport. Plain HTTPS from the Apify platform, no proxy.

Watch semantics. Snapshot mode (watch_mode: false) returns a preview. Watch mode keys every record on a source-native id, stores a private baseline in a named key-value store, and on each later run emits one delta row per change (new / changed / removed). A blocked fetch is never diffed, so a source outage cannot show up as a mass removal.

Terminal states. A run ends NORMAL, CAPPED (your cap was reached), PARTIAL (something was withheld and the message says what), GENUINE_EMPTY (the source was read and truly had nothing in scope) or BLOCKED (the source refused or changed shape — the run FAILS loud and bills nothing). A zero-row run is never reported as a silent success.

Charging. Each adviser delta is charged at the moment it is pushed (adviser_delta); a row that fails to charge is not delivered, so the dataset count always equals the charged count.

Sources

• Manifest: https://www.sec.gov/data-research/sec-markets-data/information-about-registered-investment-advisers-exempt-reporting-advisers (public, logged out).
• RIA and ERA monthly report archives are discovered from the manifest's same-origin Data-Downloads links and validated against the published path contract — never constructed from user input.
• The actor emits (never fetches) the IAPD firm summary link https://adviserinfo.sec.gov/firm/summary/{crd}.

Identified, moderate automation only: descriptive User-Agent, one request per second, concurrency 1, bounded retries with backoff.

Unit nouns (Pay-Per-Event)

• watch_check — fires once per run after the selected sources terminate and at least one validates (seed and genuine-zero runs included).
• adviser_delta — fires once per successfully pushed unique change, deduplicated by change_id.

Receipts (source_receipt) are always pushed and never billed. Amounts are configured at publish time.

Change types

added_to_scope, removed_from_scope, registration_class_changed, profile_changed, entered_filter, exited_filter. Precedence: class change, then add/remove, then filter crossing, then profile change. One delta per adviser per edition.

Honest limits

Monthly, not real-time. Removal means absence from the report, not firm closure or withdrawal. Fields and countries may be incomplete. No brochures, Form CRS, IAPD scraping, EDGAR, state sites, or personal contacts. Public logged-out data only; stops on objection. Not investment, legal, or compliance advice. Schedule weekly or monthly after the seed run; there is no always-on process.

2026-07-26

nameMatchMode is now part of the derived watch baseline. It decides whether firmNameContains matches ANY or ALL of the supplied substrings, so it changes which advisers are in scope. Previously both modes resolved to the same auto-derived baseline, and flipping the mode made advisers that no longer matched read as removed_from_scope — real deltas with the wrong cause.

If you pin baselineKey, nothing changes. If you do not, your derived baseline name changes once with this build: the next run re-seeds and emits zero deltas, and your previous state is archived under the old key rather than deleted. Runs after that behave normally. This is a one-time cost, taken deliberately in exchange for correct scoping.

source_url is now carried on removed_from_scope deltas. A removal has no after-profile, so the field was previously empty on exactly that delta type. Records already absent when this build shipped keep an empty source_url on their eventual removal delta — we genuinely do not know where they were last seen, and no value has been invented to fill it.

Run memory raised to 1024 MB. apify-actor-start bills per gigabyte with a minimum of one, so 512 MB cost the same as 1024 MB. No price change; more headroom on large editions.

What is not done. No login, no cookie or CAPTCHA bypass, no private or personal-account data, no browser automation.

⏰ Set it on a schedule

A single run is a snapshot. The value is the feed: open the actor in Apify Console → Schedules → Create new, add this actor with input 3 above (watch_mode: true), and pick a cadence:

• Daily — 0 7 * * * (07:00 UTC): catch changes within a day.
• Weekly — 0 7 * * 1: a Monday digest.

Each run is independent; keep the same input on the schedule so the results stay comparable. Schedules can also POST results to a webhook (Console → Integrations).

💰 Pricing example

Event	Free	Bronze	Silver	Gold
Actor Start (apify-actor-start)	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02	$0.02
Adviser delta (adviser_delta)	$0.08	$0.07	$0.06	$0.05
Watch check (watch_check)	$0.10	$0.09	$0.08	$0.07

Worked at the live Free-tier price (watch mode, one delta per change):

• 5 adviser deltas: $0.02 start + 5 × $0.08 = $0.42
• 25 adviser deltas: $0.02 start + 25 × $0.08 = $2.02
• 5000 adviser deltas: $0.02 start + 5000 × $0.08 = $400.02

A run that delivers zero rows charges the $0.02 start fee only. A BLOCKED run (source refused) fails loud and charges no value event. The start fee is charged once per GB of run memory; the default run memory is 1024 MB.

Yield on the sample run: NORMAL: deltas=0. maxItems is a hard ceiling on what is delivered and billed, never a target.

⚖️ Legal & ToS

This actor reads public, logged-out pages and feeds published by www.sec.gov. It collects only what the source publishes to any visitor, identifies itself, and does not access accounts, private data or anything behind authentication. Use the output in line with the source's terms and your local law; the intended use is B2B research and monitoring.

❓ FAQ

Q: Do I need an API key or a login?
A: No. The source (www.sec.gov) is read logged-out; the input schema has no key field and the actor carries no secrets.

Q: Why did my run return 0 rows?
A: Read the run's status message. GENUINE_EMPTY means the source was read and had nothing in scope for your input (in watch mode the first run always seeds the baseline and returns zero deltas); BLOCKED means the source refused and the run failed without billing a value event — retry later or narrow the input. A zero-row run bills the start fee only.

Q: How many rows can one run return?
A: Up to maxItems (default 5000). Raise the cap for a bigger run; you pay per delivered row.

Q: What does watch mode remember between runs?
A: A private baseline of source-native record ids in a named key-value store. Each later run diffs the live source against it and emits only changes.

Q: How fresh is the data?
A: Every run reads the source live at run time; nothing is cached between runs except the watch baseline. Put it on a schedule for a continuous feed.

Q: What formats can I export?
A: The dataset downloads as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML or RSS from the run's Dataset tab or the Apify API, and any run can push to a webhook or integration.

Q: How is this different from the other SEC filing watches actors?
A: Same output shape and billing model; this one covers www.sec.gov. The siblings under Related Actors cover the other sources or slices — run several on one schedule for a combined feed.

🆘 Troubleshooting

• Run FAILED with BLOCKED → the source refused the request or changed its page shape → nothing was billed beyond the start fee; retry after a while, and if it persists open an Issue with the run id.
• Status says CAPPED → your cap (maxItems) was reached → raise it for a bigger run.
• Input validation error on start → a field is outside the schema's allowed values → start from the Quick start block and change one field at a time.
• Run TIMED-OUT → a very wide request on a slow day → raise the run timeout in Run options or narrow the input; what was delivered before the timeout is still in the dataset.
• First watch run shows no deltas → expected: it seeds the baseline; changes appear from the second run.

🔗 Related Actors

• SEC 8-K Material-Event Watch — Turns newly filed SEC Form 8-K / 8-K/A material-event filings on your issuers into a typed material-event feed
• SEC 13F Portfolio Change Watch — Institutional 13F holdings reports, amendments and notice filings
• SEC 13D/13G Beneficial Ownership Watch — Schedule 13D/13G beneficial-ownership filings and amendments
• SEC Form 4 Insider Transaction Watch — Insider-transaction filings (Form 4) as they hit the EDGAR daily index
• 🏢 About NexGenData — NexGen Watch is NexGenData's fleet of 256 public monitoring and lookup actors built on official sources, pay-per-result. Browse the catalog at apify.com/nexgenwatch.

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