Glassman Rues Controversial Indy, Hedge Fund Rules

Securities and Exchange Commissioner Cynthia Glassman said "it is unfortunate [the SEC] wasted so much time and effort" on the independent chairman and the hedge fund registration rules, only to have them voided by the U.S. Court of Appeals.

Glassman made the remarks before a speech at the National Economists Club in Washington yesterday on "Observations of an Economist Commissioner on Leaving the SEC."

Glassman and Commissioner Paul Atkins were the SEC's only two dissenters on the rules.

Glassman said she agreed with the court's decision on the independent chairman rule that the SEC had failed to conduct adequate cost/benefit analysis. She said this was "homework [the SEC] should have done in the first place" and that there is no proof that having an independent chairman is an advantage for investors.

About the hedge fund registration rule, she said the Commission "went off track" and required far too much information from hedge funds. Instead, Glassman said, it would have been adequate to have required simple census-type information. Further, she questioned whether ordinary investors are, indeed, flocking to hedge funds.