The Regulation Of Hedge Funds

This book analyses elements of international finance, comparing the regulation of hedge funds in United States, Europe, the UK, and off-shore jurisdictions in the aftermath of the financial crisis. It critically compares the Dodd- Frank Act in US with the Alternative Investment Funds Managers Directive in Europe. Moreover, it goes further by analyzing the implementation of the AIFM Directive in seven jurisdictions in Europe famous for the incorporation of hedge funds: the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Ireland, Malta, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. The book also analyses the effect of Brexit on the legislation in the UK regarding the application of the directive and the distribution of financial products in Continental Europe, and will be of particular interest to researchers, academics, and students of international finance and financial regulation.

This authoritative resource surveys federal securities laws and rules applicable to the organization, capitalization and operations of private U.S. domestic investment partnerships that invest and trade mainly in the public securities markets. Includes a detailed index.

The Law of Hedge Funds is a concise yet comprehensive guide to the law in this area. Practical and user-friendly, it covers all the relevant legal aspects involved, including choice of jurisdiction and vehicle, service providers, prime brokerage, fund directors, the regulatory environment in the UK, the EU and the USA, marketing in various different jurisdictions, taxation, employment and the in-house perspective. This second edition has been updated to take account of the changes introduced by the Alternative Investment Funds Managers Directive (AIFMD).

The number of hedge funds and the assets they have under management has increased in recent years. This increase became significantly more pronounced after the market downturn in 2001. Hedge funds can help investors to benefit from volatile and even sinking stock markets. However, despite the prominent use of the word "hedge" in their name, such funds rarely offer a safe hedge against risk, given that they depend heavily on skill-based investment techniques and often invest in highly speculative financial instruments. Nevertheless, such funds received no specific treatment in the legislation of such major markets as Germany and the United States for years. Against the backdrop of international regulatory concern for hedge funds, the Institute for Law and Finance (ILF), in cooperation with Deutsches Aktieninstitut e.V. (DAI), brought together leading scholars, lawyers and bankers, to assess the risks, opportunities and regulatory challenges that hedge funds present. At the time of the conference, German lawmakers were still discussing the need and possible content of a new law. The fruit of their discussions was the German Investment-Modernization Act (Investmentmodernisierungsgesetz), which entered into force on January 1, 2004, and increased the attractiveness of offering hedge fund products in the German market. This inaugural volume of the Institute for Law and Finance Series contains the proceedings of the ILF/DAI May 2003 conference entitled "Hedge Funds: Risks and Regulation", and presents papers discussing the economic characteristics of and regulatory strategies for addressing hedge funds. The first two papers examine hedge funds from an economic perspective. Alexander M. Ineichen, Managing Director and Global Head of AIS Research at UBS, reveals the economic reality of hedge funds from the myths that has surrounded them. Then Franklin R. Edwards, Professor and Director of the Center for the Study of Futures Markets of the Columbia Business School in New York explains how the regulation of hedge funds should be tailored to their core economic reality and the goals of financial stability and investor protection. Next, Marcia L. MacHarg, a partner of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, Ashley Kovas, a Manager in the Business Standards Department of the Financial Services Authority, London, and Edgar Wallach, a partner of Hengeler Mueller, present the state of the relevant regulatory structures in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Germany, respectively. The book then closes with an analysis of corporate structures used for German hedge funds, offered by Kai-Uwe Steck, a member of the German Asset Management practice group of Shearman & Sterling LLP.

While hedge funds have been part and parcel of the global asset management landscape for well over fifty years, it is only relatively recently that they came to prominence as one of the fastest growing and most vigorous sub-sectors of the financial services industry. Despite their growing significance for global and European financial markets, hedge funds continue enjoying a sui generis regulatory status. The ongoing credit crisis and its lessons for the wisdom of unregulated or loosely regulated pockets of financial activity raise, with renewed urgency, the issue of deciding how long for the relative regulatory immunity of hedge funds is to be tolerated in the name of financial innovation. This well-thought-out book, the first of its kind in this particular field, examines the case for the European onshore hedge fund industry’s regulation, making concrete proposals for its normative future. Following a detailed account of the ‘established’ regulatory systems in Ireland and Luxembourg, as well as of the ‘emerging’ hedge fund jurisdictions in Italy, France, Spain and Germany, and of the regulatory treatment of hedge funds in the UK, this book examines to what extent the continuing exclusion of hedge funds from harmonized European regulation is defensible, whether their differences to traditional asset management products justify their distinct regulatory treatment and, ultimately, if their EU-wide regulation is possible and, if so, what form this should take. This book offers enormously valuable insights into all facets of the subject of the regulation of hedge funds, including: the legitimacy of the public policy interest in their activities; the conceptual underpinnings and systemic stability emphasis of a realistic hedge fund regulatory scheme; the main parameters of a workable onshore hedge fund regulatory framework; the role of investor protection and market integrity as part of a holistic hedge fund regulatory scheme; the possible use of the UCITS framework as a foundation for the EU-wide regulation of hedge funds; the MiFID’s impact on the regulatory future of the European hedge fund industry; existing cross-jurisdictional differences and similarities in the normative treatment of hedge funds within the EU; hitherto initiatives and recommendations of the Community institutions and bodies; and the need for more efficient co-operation and information-sharing arrangements amongst national supervisors for the monitoring of the cross-border risks inherent in the activities of hedge funds. As the first ever comprehensive account of the profile, main features and normative future of the contemporary global and European hedge fund markets – including a systematic inquiry into the conceptual underpinnings of hedge fund regulation and a detailed examination of the European hedge fund industry’s treatment under Community and domestic law – this book represents a major contribution to the literature on hedge funds and their regulation which, through its concrete proposals for the onshore industry’s regulation and its clear analysis of the conditions necessary for their implementation, should be of extraordinary value to policymakers, supervisors and academics alike.

"The Regulation of Hedge Funds: A Global Perspective represents a timely and well-argued contribution to the scientific literature on this subject. It provides a comprehensive review of recent development in hedge fund regulation and legislation, with an appropriate study of comparative law of hedge funds in several jurisdictions. The book of Ana Maria Fagetan is a very valuable tool for understanding the guidelines of regulation in this area, including protection of investor interests, risk prevention and market freedom." - Domenico Siclari, Full Professor of Banking and Financial Regulation, Sapienza University of Rome This book analyses elements of international finance, comparing the regulation of hedge funds in United States, Europe, the UK, and off-shore jurisdictions in the aftermath of the financial crisis. It critically compares the Dodd- Frank Act in US with the Alternative Investment Funds Managers Directive in Europe. Moreover, it goes further by analyzing the implementation of the AIFM Directive in seven jurisdictions in Europe famous for the incorporation of hedge funds: the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Ireland, Malta, Luxembourg, and Switzerland. The book also analyses the effect of Brexit on the legislation in the UK regarding the application of the directive and the distribution of financial products in Continental Europe, and will be of particular interest to researchers, academics, and students of international finance and financial regulation. Ana Maria Fagetan is a Senior Lecturer in Banking and Financial Regulation at the University "La Sapienza" in Rome, Italy, where she teaches post-graduate lectures and seminars on Banking and Financial Regulation. She earned her PhD and her LLM in Banking and International Financial Law at Queen Mary University of London, UK.

Hedge funds remain the most controversial vehicles of the alternative investment funds universe. Their opaque nature, alleged role in major crises around the world and perceived lack of investor protection have repeatedly led to calls for greater regulation. Yet despite its tremendous growth, the hedge fund industry is still shrouded in a veil of mystery largely due to the highly complex and dynamic trading strategies employed by hedge funds and the scarcity of information about them. For the first time in one comprehensive volume, this concise but thorough guide explains how hedge funds work, analyses risk, compares the European Union (EU) and United States (US) systems and proposes reforms to the European framework in order to improve its resilience. Focusing on the contribution of the hedge fund industry to systemic risk, the author elucidates the complex world of hedge funds and the legal issues linked to it. The analysis proceeds as follows: introduction to the world of hedge funds – definition, main characteristics, organizational structure, investment strategies, and benefits; deeply informed exploration of the dangers posed by hedge funds; documentation and examination of the major incidents connecting hedge funds and financial crises; rationales for regulation of hedge funds; comparison of relevant legislative developments in the US and EU; and proposals for strengthening the current EU supervisory and regulatory framework. Guiding legislation, such as the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive and the US Dodd-Frank Act, is analysed, along with topical issues such as hedge fund activism. Because the direction that hedge fund regulation takes in the future has implications for the Eurozone and systemic risk in the wider financial system, this book will be of immeasurable value to professionals in both the legal and business communities. It will be welcomed by corporate lawyers, regulatory authorities, policymakers and academics in both business-related and finance-related disciplines.

The book on hedge fund basics, completely updated to reflect today’s post-crisis industry The hedge fund industry has been reeling in the wake of recent Ponzi schemes and insider trading scandals as well as the loss of billions of dollars in assets under management due to fund closures. Getting Started in Hedge Funds, Third Edition focuses on the current state of the industry; how hedge funds did or did not survive the subprime and subsequent credit crisis; and, what the future holds for investors. Getting Started in Hedge Funds, Third Edition also provides readers with a brief overview of the industry's history, and describes the inner-workings of these complex investment vehicles, including how to start a hedge fund, and what new regulations means for managers and investors. • Profiles 10 highly successful hedge fund managers • Addresses the Madoff scandal, as well as other lesser known Ponzi schemes, and analyzes the ripple effect felt throughout the industry as a result of these and other scandals Despite the performance of some of these funds in the last few years, hedge funds are here to stay. In this Third Edition, Getting Started in Hedge Funds, Strachman provides an updated "how-to" guide for investors interested in hedge funds in this era of "new normal."