AIMA

07 May 2010

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) – the global hedge fund industry association – has expressed concern about the issue of dual registration for non-U.S. investment advisers (hedge fund managers) in legislation currently being debated on Capitol Hill.

Todd Groome, Chairman of AIMA, said: “We fully support the financial stability goals of the ‘Restoring American Financial Stability Act’. Our concerns relate to the potential duplicative registration of non-U.S. hedge fund managers in the U.S. where those managers are already registered and regulated by a non-U.S. supervisor.

“If non-U.S. hedge fund managers are subject to supervisory standards outlined by the G-20 and the U.S., including similar reporting requirements and agreed information-sharing arrangements, then there should be an exemption from additional U.S. registration for non-U.S. hedge fund managers.

“Multiple registration, where a manager would have to report to two or more supervisors, is not only duplicative but also creates unnecessary administrative costs. Such duplicative costs and burdens will act as barriers to entry, especially for smaller managers, and ultimately limit investor choice.

“We are also concerned that U.S. hedge fund managers may in turn face reciprocal duplicative registration requirements when offering investment advisory services outside the U.S. Again, this would act to limit investor choice and market access.

“Finally, if the SEC were to be given the task of registering and supervising all non-U.S. investment advisers globally who have either 15 or more U.S. investors or $25 million of assets under management from U.S. investors, this would place a massive burden on the SEC’s workload, certainly challenge their existing supervisory capacity, and thus would not be supportive of the broader financial stability objectives.” 

AIMA has written to key U.S. policymakers on the issue. The proposed legislation is currently being considered by the Senate. 

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For media enquiries, please contact Christen Thomson, AIMA’s Director of Communications

Tel: +44 (0)20 7822 8380

Email: cthomson@aima.org

About AIMA

As the global hedge fund association, AIMA, the Alternative Investment Management Association, has more than 1,100 corporate members (with over 4,500 individual contacts) worldwide, based in over 40 countries.

Members include leading hedge fund managers, fund of hedge funds managers, prime brokers,  investors, legal and accounting firms, fund administrators and independent fund directors.  They all benefit from AIMA’s active influence in policy development, its leadership in industry initiatives, including education and sound practice manuals and its excellent reputation with regulators worldwide.

AIMA is a dynamic organisation that reflects its members’ interests and provides them with a vibrant global network. AIMA is committed to developing industry skills and education standards and is a co-founder of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation – the industry’s first and only specialised educational standard for alternative investment specialists. For further information, please visit AIMA’s website, www.aima.org.
 

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