Proposed rules to bring America’s ultra-wealth managers under the Securities and Exchange Commission are set to provide the first clear definition of a multi-family office, a term that has often caused confusion for wealth managers and their clients across Europe.

The rules would help level the playing field between the unregulated multi-family offices and rival US investment managers which target the super wealthy. Proposed Rule 202(a)(11)(G)-1, which implements Section 409 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, would require some family offices to register as investment advisers under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.