AIMA

07 April 2008

London, 7 April 2008: The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) and Managed Funds Association (MFA) announced today that they are entering into an alliance that will allow the two organizations to work together more closely and to collaborate on key industry initiatives.  AIMA, headquartered in London, England, and MFA, headquartered in Washington, D.C. are the world’s two leading hedge fund associations.

Richard H. Baker, MFA President and CEO, and Florence Lombard, AIMA CEO, made the joint announcement saying, “MFA and AIMA will develop a framework for increased cooperation on issues of common interest such as the adoption of a global, principles-based regulatory system which will unify our members across jurisdictions and foster industry-wide compliance with the highest levels of sound business practices and integrity.”

Initially, MFA and AIMA will develop an information exchange, participate on each others’ Boards, discuss the development of shared initiatives and collaborate on educational seminars.

Christopher Fawcett,  AIMA Chairman, said, “AIMA and MFA are seeking closer cooperation on issues of mutual interest and our aim is to facilitate communication among our members that will promote a unified approach to issues that impact our businesses and our ability to meet our investors’ needs. The international convergence of sound practices is the right way forward for the industry, and the demand and challenge now is for the industry to bring about convergence between the various standards proposed.”

Eric Vincent, MFA Chairman, said, “Our members collectively represent the vast majority of alternative investment fund groups worldwide. We seek to establish a unified global industry voice, to avoid duplication of effort on common initiatives and to foster market disciplines and efficiencies for our members, counterparties and investors worldwide.”

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For further information from AIMA, please contact:

Eoin Brophy
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7499 8736
Email: eoin.brophy@humebrophy.com

For further information from MFA, please contact:

Meg Bode
MFA Media Relations
+1 (516)-869-6610

Editors’ Notes

1. About AIMA

AIMA, the Alternative Investment Management Association, has over 1,300 corporate members worldwide, based in 49 countries. Members include leading hedge fund managers, fund of hedge funds managers, prime brokers, legal and accounting services 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 membership’s 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

2. About Managed Funds Association

MFA’s members include professionals in hedge funds, funds of funds and managed futures funds. Established in 1991, MFA is the primary source of information for policy makers and the media and the leading advocate for sound business practices and industry growth. MFA Members represent the vast majority of the largest hedge fund groups in the world who manage a substantial portion of the approximately $2 trillion invested in absolute return strategies.  MFA is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with an office in New York, N.Y.  For more information go to: www.managedfunds.org.
 

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