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SEC Hedge Fund Comments

SEC Hedge Fund Comments

SEC Asking Hedge Funds for Comments on Regulations

The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked hedge funds for comments on regulations.  The SEC wants to get a sense of what hedge fund managers think about the provisions in the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said in a speech Thursday to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that hedge funds “have flown under the regulatory radar for far too long.”

“The lack of a comprehensive database for private funds has made it virtually impossible to monitor them for systemic risk and investor protection concerns,” she said.

Last week, however, in Congressional testimony, Schapiro said she wasn’t sure if hedge fund firms posed a systemic risk to financial systems.

Schapiro also said in her speech that the SEC had been working closely with the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority on hedge fund reporting requirements.

Whatever the position the U.S. regulator may take on the systemic risk issue, the public is being encouraged to go to the SEC Web site and fill out a comment form even before the official regulation comment periods are opened.   Source

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Hedge Funds Talent Shift

Hedge Funds Talent Shift

Hedge Funds Talent Shift Before Regulatory Changes

Anticipation of regulatory changes has driven a new hedge fund hiring and talent shift. The Volcker Rule especially has had an impact on hedge funds’ and banks’ abilities to hire and retain talent.

“Huge anticipation around regulations including the Volcker Rule will have ramifications for the rest of 2010 and beyond,” says Mr. Edwards, Global Head of Financial Services and U.S. Hedge Fund Sector Leader with Heidrick & Struggles.

The report examines hedge fund talent trends as the sector recovers from 2008, even as current market instabilities threaten some of the growth. The report’s authors also identify industry-changing factors, such as the Volcker Rule, that will affect hiring not only over the coming months, but for years to come.

“The first half of 2010 saw a much healthier hiring market than last year, but there remain a lot of fresh wounds from 2008 that have re-opened during the recent bearish trends,” says Chad Astmann, the head of Heidrick & Struggles’ North American Asset Management Practice and a co-author of the report. “Money is flowing into funds — but cautiously. We are already seeing a shift in where talent is needed, and where it is landing.” Source

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Hedge Fund Managers Hiring

Hedge Fund Managers Hiring

Hedge Fund Managers Cautiously Resume Hiring

Hedge fund managers are wary about hiring staff again after the financial crisis. But after large job cuts in the industry, it appears that hedge funds are once again hiring. Recent data shows that hiring in the asset management industry increased by 20% in the first half of 2010.

Hiring in the asset management industry increased by 20 per cent in the first six months of the year, compared to the same period in 2009, according to Powerchex, a pre-employment screening company for the financial services sector.

“Asset managers are talking about growing their business again,” says Andrew Evans, managing director at Morgan KcKinley, a financial services recruitment consultancy.

Signs of a UK pick-up also come from a recent survey by PwC and the CBI employers’ organisation, which showed headcount in financial services rose at the fastest pace since June 2008 in the April-June period, the fifth consecutive quarter of expansion. Further rapid growth is also expected during the current quarter. Source

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Nonresident Hedge Fund Tax

Nonresident Hedge Fund Tax

Governor Paterson Backpeddles on Hedge Fund Tax

New York’s Governor Patterson appears to have dropped the proposed tax on hedge fund managers working in New York but living in Connecticut. His press secretary explained his position on the issue: “That provision was removed and will be removed again when the governor submits a proclamation for special session for Wednesday when he calls the legislature back.”

The proclamation aims to call for a special session of the state legislature to consider measures required to complete the state budget.

The proposal to tax nonresident hedge-fund managers, which would raise an estimated $50 million a year to help bridge New York’s $9.2 billion current-year deficit, has sparked concerns that managers would relocate their funds to neighboring Connecticut. Its governor, Jodi Rell, said she would welcome the funds with open arms.

Tim Selby, president of the New York Hedge Fund Roundtable and an attorney at Alston + Bird LLP, said he welcomed Paterson’s decision.

“I am encouraged that our legislative body in New York was open-minded enough to see the likely consequences of an ill-conceived piece of legislation before it was too late,” he said. “This could have been the commencement of a tipping point that would gave been disastrous for New York City.” Source

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Hedge Funds in Connecticut

Hedge Funds in Connecticut

Connecticut Luring Hedge Funds Away from New York

As previously reported, the New York State legislature is looking to tax hedge fund managers that commute from Connecticut to work in New York. Connecticut has responded by attempting to lure hedge funds into moving from the Big Apple to Connecticut. As Mayor Bloomberg warns, the movement–led by Connecticut governor Jodi Rell–is already gaining traction among the hedge fund industry.  To watch a video report on this hedge funds in Connecticut, follow this link.

When Albany lawmakers last month proposed a tax hike on hedge-fund managers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called it the best thing to ever happen to Connecticut. Sure enough, Connecticut governor Jodi Rell is now making a personal pitch to New York-based hedge funds, inviting them to relocate.

“She’s doing what she should do. And we should be out there doing the same thing — making this a more attractive place to do business. There’s some things the city can do and we’re doing those, I think. the state is not doing its job,” said the mayor.

What the state is considering would target hedge fund managers who work in New York but live out-of-state. Right now, the money they earn from managing investments is taxed only in their home state. Under the proposal floated by Governor David Paterson, that money would be taxed in New York like ordinary income, raising an estimated $50 million a year.  

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Hedge Funds in Connecticut

Hedge Funds in Connecticut

Connecticut Luring Hedge Funds Away from New York

As previously reported, the New York State legislature is looking to tax hedge fund managers that commute from Connecticut to work in New York. Connecticut has responded by attempting to lure hedge funds into moving from the Big Apple to Connecticut. As Mayor Bloomberg warns, the movement–led by Connecticut governor Jodi Rell–is already gaining traction among the hedge fund industry.  To watch a video report on this hedge funds in Connecticut, follow this link.

When Albany lawmakers last month proposed a tax hike on hedge-fund managers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called it the best thing to ever happen to Connecticut. Sure enough, Connecticut governor Jodi Rell is now making a personal pitch to New York-based hedge funds, inviting them to relocate.

“She’s doing what she should do. And we should be out there doing the same thing — making this a more attractive place to do business. There’s some things the city can do and we’re doing those, I think. the state is not doing its job,” said the mayor.

What the state is considering would target hedge fund managers who work in New York but live out-of-state. Right now, the money they earn from managing investments is taxed only in their home state. Under the proposal floated by Governor David Paterson, that money would be taxed in New York like ordinary income, raising an estimated $50 million a year.  

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Hedge Fund Industry Inflows 2010

Hedge Fund Industry Inflows

Hedge Funds Pull in $9.5 Billion in Q2 2010

While hedge funds have not made the kind of recovery in total assets that many expected, billions of dollars are still flowing into the hedge fund industry. Hedge funds attracted $9.5 billion in quarter 2 of 2010, according to recent research.

Hedge fund managers have seen flat returns on average as they have battled a volatile market so far this year, but that hasn’t stopped wealthy investors from sinking more cash into the industry. Strategies like global macro and event-driven funds that may insulate investors from stock market swings, have been seen as particularly attractive.

The fund industry’s most established firms with more than $5 billion in assets under management, saw $8.8 billion of the total inflows in the second quarter, according to HFRI.

“The hedge fund industry continues to be dominated by investor preference for robust fund infrastructure, encompassing enhanced liquidity and transparency,” Ken Heinz, president of HFRI, said in a statement. Source

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Post-Crisis Hedge Fund Investors

Post-Crisis Hedge Fund Investors

Hedge Fund Investors Still Wary Post-Crisis

According to recent data, hedge funds are not recouping losses suffered during the recession. Hedge funds made great gains in 2009, but investors aren’t flooding back to the extent that managers expected. There is even a small outflow from hedge funds in the first half of 2010 according to Credit Suisse.

There are good reasons, Breakingviews says. First, after the 2008 debacle, retail investors, who once were eager hedge fund customers, at least outside the United States, have lost enthusiasm. Institutions, meanwhile, are taking their time setting strategy, the publication says. Second, hedge fund clients still haven’t forgotten that many managers locked up their assets at the height of the crisis, Breakingviews notes. Credit Suisse estimates that about a third of the $174 billion of assets frozen in that way still haven’t been thawed by their managers.

Third, recent market gyrations have left investors uncertain. After losing big as asset values plummeted in the crisis, plenty of investors see the merits of hedge-fundlike strategies that employ both long and short bets. But they have no reason to hurry with markets volatile and seemingly in limbo, Breakingviews suggests. The problem for hedge fund managers is that those same conditions, along with intensifying regulation, force them to be cautious, reducing the likelihood of big returns, the publication says. So until markets turn friendlier, the industry may struggle to grow much.  Source

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Hedge Funds Mary Schapiro

Hedge Funds Potential Threat

SEC’s Schapiro Unsure Whether Hedge Funds Pose Threat

Mary Schapiro, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission, told Congress this week that it is “really not clear” whether hedge funds pose a potential threat to the U.S. economy. This is a different tone than what the regulatory body previously used when discussing stiffening regulation of hedge funds and gives some hope to those looking to avoid changes to how hedge funds are monitored and the compliance fees that such changes would require.

“It’s really not clear” whether the hedge-fund industry presents “systemic risks,” Schapiro said at a House Financial Services subcommittee hearing. “It will be very important” for regulators “to decide where the lines are drawn.”

Legislation approved by Congress last week establishes the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a super-regulator including officials from the SEC, Federal Reserve and Treasury Department that will monitor market participants with potential to roil the economy. The council, which would have authority over hedge funds it deems systemically risky, could direct the Fed to halt lines of business.

The bill overhauling financial-industry regulation also requires hedge-fund managers to register with the SEC, making them subject to disclosure requirements and agency inspections. Source

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Funds of Hedge Funds Financial Crisis

Funds of Hedge Funds Financial Crisis

Funds of Hedge Funds Manage to Survive Financial Crisis

Funds of hedge funds have survived the financial meltdown, contrary to many predictions. Funds of hedge funds may have survived the worst but the industry took some heavy damage, causing many FOFs to shut down. Most of the largest funds of hedge funds have managed to stay afloat through the crisis, according to recent data.

Investors started pulling out their money in the middle of 2008 and, apart from a small respite at the end of last year, they continued taking it away for the next 21 months and counting, according to data provider Hedge Fund Research.

But a list of the largest funds of hedge funds managers, ranked by the assets they run for pension schemes, and prepared by investment consultancy Towers Watson, shows most of them have survived.

Of the 20 largest fund of hedge funds managers at the end of 2006, 15 were still there at the end of last year.

Two of 2006’s largest managers were hit hard by the crisis: Union Bancaire Privée Asset Management and Bank of New York Mellon.

Union Bancaire Privée Asset Management, a division of a Swiss private bank, was managing $2.3bn of pension scheme assets at the end of 2006, placing it 17th in Towers Watson’s list; but at the end of last year, it had dropped out of Towers Watson’s top 50. Source

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