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In association with Hedge Fund Intelligence |
It’s certainly not the end of the matter – it’s probably only the end of the beginning. More registration, reporting and oversight requirements imposed on hedge funds now seem inevitable. Yet, following the recent G20 Summit in London, it does at least seem that these new requirements are likely to be more sensible, proportionate and appropriate – maybe even beneficial to the long-term health of the industry – and not the kind of drastic, sweeping over-reaction many had feared.
The devil, of course, is still in the details. But it does seem that the restrictions on hedge funds called for ahead of the G20 by world leaders such as president Nicolas Sarkozy of France and chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany have been averted, at least for now. Quite what those restrictions would have amounted to is far from clear. But in a febrile political atmosphere, with public opinion inflamed by the scale of the global financial crisis – and the perceived stupidity and avarice of bankers – some unpleasant outcomes were distinctly possible.
| "Last year was the worst year Aima |
The fate of hedge funds in this political cauldron was quite precarious for various reasons.