Hedge Funds Lobbying

Hedge Funds Lobbying of EU May Cause Backlash

According to the New York Times, the lobbying effort by hedge funds against impending regulation by the European Union has created a backlash. While influential politicians and London hedge funds may have succeeded in softening the regulation, the lobbying may have turned the public against hedge funds. A expert on financial regulation and head of the Center for European Policy Studies recently warned, “There is a danger that this lobbying is backfiring against the industry."

Interest groups representing hedge funds, private equity and other investment companies have campaigned vociferously against E.U. efforts to make fund managers register, disclose information about their businesses and fees and limit their use of debt. They have especially resisted attempts to bar hedge funds that operate from tax havens like the Cayman Islands from marketing investment products throughout the E.U., accusing Brussels of protectionism.

Sweden, which holds the rotating E.U. presidency through the end of the year, has sought to soften the original proposals to meet British objections. But the Swedes’ latest compromise text would impose policies on fund managers’ remuneration similar to those that the Group of 20 countries agreed to for bankers.

But lawmakers and most governments are unlikely to be moved by threats by hedge fund managers that they might decamp to Switzerland to escape tougher E.U. regulation. Some hedge fund managers are already moving from London to Geneva, but industry insiders say the shift is driven by tax increases in London. Source

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