The global hedge fund industry is not ‘un-regulated’ or lightly-regulated. Hedge fund managers are already rigorously regulated in all the main jurisdictions in which they operate, and significant new regulation is being introduced internationally.

That’s according to the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), the global hedge fund association, which has supported G20 regulatory initiatives for hedge funds. G20 leaders agreed in 2009 that all hedge fund managers should be registered by their national regulators, and that managers should report systemically relevant data to those regulators in the interests of financial stability.

“All the major jurisdictions where hedge fund managers operate - whether in North America, Europe or Asia-Pacific - have rigorous regulation of the industry. And this already rigorous regulation is being increased by new legislation introduced since the crisis – for example the Dodd-Frank Act in the United States, and the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive in the European Union,”  said Andrew Baker, CEO, AIMA.

“Some recent references to the ‘un-regulated’ financial sector internationally have been interpreted as referring to hedge funds. Given that it would be completely mistaken to call the global hedge fund industry ‘un-regulated’, this interpretation is presumably inaccurate.

“It’s also worth noting that because the G20 has declared that no financial market, participant or instrument should go un-regulated and is delivering on this promise, no major financial services sector globally can remain ‘un-regulated’”.

- Ends -

For media enquiries, please contact Christen Thomson, AIMA’s Director of Communications. Tel: +44 (0)20 7822 8380; Email: [email protected]

About AIMA
As the global hedge fund association, the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) has over 1,200 corporate members (with over 5,000 individual contacts) worldwide, based in over 40 countries. Members include hedge fund managers, fund of hedge funds managers, prime brokers, legal and accounting firms, investors, 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 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.