AIMA

24 June 2009

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) – the global hedge fund industry association – has welcomed remarks by Jacques de Larosière, Lord Turner, Lord Myners and Sir James Sassoon on the European Commission’s draft directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers.

Speaking at a seminar in London this morning hosted by Business for New Europe entitled “Striking the Right Balance: National, European and Global Regulation”, Jacques de Larosière, whose High Level Group on Financial Supervision in the EU produced an authoritative report on the current crisis, said that he had “personal doubts” about the “wisdom” of “some aspects of the directive”. He said that that his report did not consider hedge funds a systemic issue and that the directive went “much further” than his report recommended.

Lord Turner, Chairman of the UK’s Financial Services Authority, added that he thought there was a danger that hedge funds would become a “target” in Europe - despite the fact, he said, that his report and the de Larosière report concluded that they did not play a major part in the crisis.

Lord Myners, the UK Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury, said the directive was “flawed” and showed “poor understanding” of the industry, and said that the UK government was “working hard to improve the directive” with its European partners and was confident that the final directive would be “much more acceptable”.

Sir James Sassoon, Advisor to the UK’s Conservative Party on Financial Regulation, described the draft directive as “protectionist in effect if not intent”, “poorly drafted”, and said that it was “hugely regrettable” that the Commission had “cut corners” in rushing it out without proper consultation.

- Ends -

For media enquiries, please contact Christen Thomson, AIMA Director of Communications, on +44 (0)2078228380; email – cthomson@aima.org

Editors’ Notes:

About AIMA
As the only truly representative global hedge fund association, AIMA, the Alternative Investment Management Association, has more than 1,100 corporate members worldwide, based in 40 countries.

Members include leading hedge fund managers, fund of hedge funds managers, prime brokers, legal and accounting firms and fund administrators.  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 designation (CAIA) – the industry’s first and only specialised educational standard for alternative investment specialists. For further information, please visit AIMA’s website, www.aima.org.

Return to Media Release listing page