Hedge Fund Regulation Proposed in Senate

Submitted by Melissa Hoffmann on Fri, 01/30/2009 - 15:42

Two senior senators have introduced legislation to impose government oversight of hedge funds.

The bipartisan legislation by Democratic Senator Carl Levin, of Michigan, and his Republican and Iowan counterpart Senator Charles E. Grassley, was filed as the Obama administration was preparing a broader legislative overhaul of the regulatory system, including an effort to more tightly regulate hedge funds.

The bill would require hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, file an annual disclosure form, comply with SEC record-keeping standards and cooperate with SEC investigations. Hedge funds lost $600 billion in 2008, reportedly more than any year previously. 

More confidence-boosting regulatory shifts in the works, according to the New York Times: tighter regulation of credit rating agencies, new federal oversight of mortgage brokers and greater supervision of credit-default swaps. Administration officials have also reportedly expressed a particular interest in tightening regulation over hedge funds, a move that was opposed by the Bush administration.

The Levin-Grassley legislation would correct that problem by giving the SEC the authority to regulate hedge fund advisers. More from Bloomberg News about the so-called "Hedge Fund Transparency Act" here. And here's a speech from Levin to Congress, urging passage of the bill.

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Another interesting part of

Submitted by Hedge Fund Attorney (not verified) on Tue, 02/03/2009 - 02:47.

Another interesting part of the act is that it would require hedge funds to disclose the names and addresses of their investors. For the complete text of the act, see Hedge Fund Transparency Act.

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