WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Grassley today offered an amendment that would require hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission
“Sunshine can do a lot of good,” Grassley said. “The secretive way that hedge funds operate might not be an issue for the super rich who first invested in hedge funds, but today the average Joe has a stake as pension funds are invested in hedge funds. Right now a hedge fund isn’t required to report even basic information about who runs the fund.”
Grassley said Congress needs to act because the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals last year overturned a regulation imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission requiring hedge funds to register. The federal courts said the Securities and Exchange Commission was going beyond its statutory authority.
“My amendment gives Congress a good opportunity to say there should be greater transparency with hedge funds,” Grassley said. Some estimates say that hedge funds today control over $1.2 trillion in assets.
Grassley filed his amendment to S.4, the 9-11 homeland security legislation now being debated by the full Senate. Grassley said the amendment is relevant to the larger bill as reports have indicated terrorist links to some pooled investment groups including hedge funds.
Grassley has been making the case for greater transparency requirements for hedge funds since last October, when he surveyed federal agencies about the issue. He said then that millions of pension holders are in the dark about their exposure to hedge fund losses because transparency is so inadequate.
Earlier this year, Grassley joined in requesting a review by the Government Accountability Office of the scope of public and private pension plan investments in hedge funds and what returns and risks are likely for worker retirement funds.
Grassley also has been conducting a review of how the Securities and Exchange Commission handled allegations of misconduct by agency regulators investigating a hedge fund.
DESCRIPTION OF THE GRASSLEY AMENDMENT TO S.4
AMENDING THE INVESTMENT ADVISORS ACT OF 1940
This amendment would amend section 203(b)(3) of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C. § 80b-3(b)(3)). Section 203(b)(3) currently provides a statutory exemption from registration for investment advisers who had fewer than fifteen clients in the preceding twelve month period and who does not hold himself out to the public as an investment adviser. This amendment would narrow the exemption that is currently used by large, private pooled investment vehicles to avoid registering with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
The amendment would authorize the SEC to require investment advisers to register unless the advisor: (1) had $50,000,000 or less in assets under management, (2) had fewer than fifteen clients, (3) did not hold himself out to the public as an investment advisor, and (4) managed the assets of fewer than fifteen investors, regardless of whether the investors participate directly or through a pooled investment vehicle, such as a hedge fund
This amendment will bring some transparency to large pooled private investment vehicles that currently operate outside of the purview of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The amendment is a first step in bringing basic transparency to large private pools of equity to ensure that the Securities and Exchange Commission can regulate the financial markets with an even hand for investors large and small.
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