While the
The association posted its 124-page report, 2003 Sound Practices for Hedge Fund Managers, on its Web site and also delivered a copy to the SEC, which is finalizing a report that many of the managers in the $600 billion hedge fund industry fear could mean regulation. The SEC is expected to issue its report in the fall.
"By promoting these practices, we hope to help protect investors," Lauren Teiglund-Hunt, a lawyer who helped write the report, told Reuters.
The guidelines are in direct response to the hedge fund roundtable that the SEC held earlier this year, Managed Funds Association President John G. Gaine told the SEC in a cover letter accompanying the report. They are meant to accompany two white papers the association issued earlier, one on registration of hedge fund advisors under the 40 Act, and the other on financial eligibility standards for investors.
Gaine also noted that the guidelines are an update from their first issue in February 2000, which the association felt was needed as the industry has grown, now to 6,000 funds with $600 billion, covering a broad range of investment disciplines.
"The most effective form of oversight is self-evaluation combined with self-discipline and self-policing," Gaine said.
