AIMA, in a report sharply critical of the proposed European Union financial transaction tax, sets out the way in which the tax could burden businesses, and their consumers, to a degree far greater than the proponents contend. After all, any single product may pass through several stages between raw materials and final consumer, as there are several steps between farmer harvesting wheat and retail outlet, such as Tesco, selling pasta. Businesses at every stop along the way (farmers, wheat processers, pasta extruders) will naturally want to hedge their own operational risks in the financial markets, so the price of the finished product will reflect the repeated imposition of the FTT.

There is an old story often attributed to economist Burton Malkiel. A professor of finance and an undergraduate are walking together. They see what looks like a $100 bill lying on the sidewalk. The naïve student bends down to pick it up, but the professor says, “Don’t bother. If it were a real bill, it [...]

The explosion of the subprime market may yet produce a significant change in the way investors and their managers with a distressed-assets strategy maneuver for advantage in the context of Chapter 11 proceedings

Clearing within ten days after the transaction (T+10) was once the norm, though it now seems archaic. Clearing overnight or in a once-a-day cycle will in the years ahead become equally unsatisfactory. It may soon “become standard practice for risk managers and eventually traders to demand proof that their trades have been cleared mere seconds after execution.”

There are high hopes that the new UCITS framework that took effect in July could herald rationalisation amongst Europe’s regulated hedge funds. While tax factors could slow down the process, UCITS has plenty of other growth drivers besides cost savings.

As if there wasn't enough confusion in the roiling U.S. capital markets and regulatory environment, the U.S. Second Circuit Court has issued a decision that will make alpha that more elusive for hedge funds involved in shareholder activism.

There's nothing like a good list of acronyms to confuse even the most immersed hedge fund aficionado. A new report by KPMG and RBC Dexia unintentionally takes the industry's affinity for acronyms up a notch.

After being castigated in 2003 for their cozy relationship with their i-banking brethren, equity research departments are now accused of being in cahoots with the hedge fund community.

Fiduciaries think of a client's needs before their own - sacrificing the latter if required. But does the requirement for a hedge fund manager to put their client's interests before their own help or hinder the search for alpha? It depends on who you ask.

A funny thing happened on the way to blaming hedge funds for the global financial crisis, formulating a new set of rules to monitor them, politically compromising and scaling back on those rules and then slamming them through.

Hedge fund crusader Phil Goldstein is back in court appealing a verdict that he says is unconstitutional. But this time around, the opinions of a small group of journalists, academics and students could have a profound and lasting impact on the way hedge funds communicate with the outside world.

The Alternative Investment Fund Management Directive has cast hedge fund managers as pariahs to be closely monitored, but research and history suggest the industry will adapt and survive.

Yes. You read it right. Regulations that could actually lead to more alpha? Hey, it can happen.

The SEC's attempt to regulate hedge funds in 2005 hinged on the definition of "client." By avoiding that question in 2010, its newest kick at the can seems likely to allow the issue to fester even longer. As a result, a University of Washington law professor ponders the question of to whom, exactly, a hedge fund adviser owes its fiduciary duty.

It's easy to see why investors find insider trading morally objectionable. But if market prices are a critical form of information transmission, then does "some" insider trading actually help society? And if it does, then what kinds of insider trading?

As UCITS-compliant hedge funds become increasingly popular among funds of hedge funds in particular there is growing concern that underlying managers may be bending the rules to get the UCITS seal of approval.

With the practice of securities lending likely to undergo substantial regulatory change, a recently published paper argues that "CCPs", already being adopted, are the best way forward.

A new report by Lipper examines the early impacts of the UK's endorsement of performance fees for mutual funds.

A recent SEC ruling requires investment advisers to use "plain English" when communicating with clients. But for now, hedge funds can keep confusing people...

As policymakers debate the value of hedge funds as liquidity providers, they should take note of this recent academic paper.

There have been a lot of surveys on Europe's latest fashion trend: UCITSIII. Today, a guest author reports on some actual hard data on the topic.

Panacea, cure-all, the ultimate fix for liquidity, transparency and due diligence issues - whatever you want to call it, UCITS-wrapped hedge funds appear here to stay.

An update on a study of the infamous 2008 short-selling bans pins the blame squarely on regulators for inadvertently making a bad situation worse.

UCITS-structured hedge funds continue to be the trend du jour for 2010, but the jury is still out on whether they are the best route to delivering liquidity, transparency and compliance.

Debate still rages over whether efforts to curb short-selling in the dark days of 2008 were fair and effective. With the SEC and others now putting into effect new, more permanent rules governing short sales, the question has re-surfaced.

A new study addresses the impact of potential disclosure requirements on managers engaged in short-selling. The conclusion: It won't be pretty for anyone.

On the backburner for the past two years, talk of regulation and policy change to reshape the investment management industry is aplenty.

Post Madoff, Galleon and financial crisis, the US Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to beef up its enforcement management and oversight significantly. So why should alternative investment managers take it seriously this time?

The expected EU Directive in addition to generally more heightened demand for regulatory compliant alternative investments has already set in motion a wave of so-called UCITS- and NEWCITS-based funds. The question is whether they can truly live up to expectations, particularly with higher costs and lower returns?

Securities lending in it's old-school, pass-around-the-securities-and-collect-the-fees form is seemingly gone for good. But what form it will take now?

A study by the European Central Bank explores what happens when hedge fund investors and prime brokers want their money back in a hurry.

According to experts, a case currently before the US Supreme Court will "define the contours of a mutual fund adviser’s fiduciary duty with regard to compensation." Will it impact hedge funds too?