Funds Hub
Money managers under the microscope
Has the moment for greater UK hedge fund regulation passed?
Tuesday’s grilling of UK hedge fund executives is likely to create plenty of noise but produce little in the way of new rules.
While media-shy TCI founder Chris Hohn and others will face tough questions from the Treasury Select Committee on financial stability, short-selling and other issues, it nevertheless seems that the pro-legislation lobby’s position may be weaker than it has been in recent years.
For one thing, many hedge funds simply do not have the financial clout — and therefore carry the associated risks seen by some politicians — that they once did.
At the start of 2007 hedge funds were booming and assets had swelled to more than $2 trillion, according to HedgeFund Intelligence. Coupled with the substantial leverage employed by some strategies, hedge funds were a significant force in many markets.
