SEC CDO
SEC Approves New Rule Regulating Hedge Funds & CDOs
Hedge funds can expect a new wave of regulations associated with the Dodd-Frank Act as the SEC just voted to regulate CDOs more strictly. The Securities and Exchange Commission voted unanimously to enforce new rules that will regulate the way that hedge funds use collateralized debt obligations. The rule prevents firms that sell securities to investors from subsequently shorting those securities for at least a year.
The regulator unanimously voted today to approve a new conflicts of interest rule for asset-backed securities. The new rule, mandated by last year's Dodd-Frank law, would both bar firms that package the securities from shorting them for one year following their sale to investors, and would also bar banks from allowing third parties—read: hedge funds—to short ABS they had a hand in selecting the securities for.
The rule stems from the SEC's case against Goldman Sachs, which resulted in a $550 million settlement with the bank. The regulator accused Goldman of structuring and marketing a collateralized debt obligation on behalf of Paulson & Co. without informing investors that Paulson participated in the asset selection—or that the hedge fund was shorting the CDO.
Since then, the SEC has launched probes into several other CDO transactions, several linked to Magnetar Capital.
None of the hedge funds tied to those transactions has been accused of wrongdoing. Source
Related to: SEC CDO
Tags: SEC, Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC CDOs, Collateralized Debt Obligations, Collaterized Debt Obligation, Hedge Funds
