The hedge fund industry has been shaken by volatile financial markets and the Madoff investment scandal of December 2008. While the hedge fund and investment management industries are changing because of these twin forces, many people are looking back to try to piece together what has happened and more importantly why it happened. One primary source will definitely be “The World’s Largest Hedge Fund is a Fraud” – a whistleblower manifesto provided to the SEC on November 7, 2005 by Harry Markopolos. This article provides a link to the manifesto (Madoff Whistleblower Report), and discusses the observations and predictions therein. Continue reading
Category Archives: News and Commentary
Another Ponzi Scheme
Broken Record
I’ve said it all before. The following press release can be found here. Please see the following articles on hedge fund and investment advisor fraud.
Hedge Fund Predictions for the New Year
Typically we do not comment non-law related hedge fund news stories. However, we’d like to point attention to a very good article which opines on the likely trends for the hedge fund industry in 2009. This article will be good reading for those managers who are starting a hedge fund in 2009. The following are the takeaways from the article:
– Market neutral strategies to see increased demand
– Trend toward less leverage
– Investors are expected to ask for increased transparency and liquidity
– Short biased funds will be popular
– Commodity programs will become more popular
– Shrinking assets until end of Q2
– Institutional investors expected to dominate investor landscape Continue reading
Obama Names Future Financial Market Regulators
President-elect Brarack Obama’s choices for the head of the SEC and the CFTC have been generally well-received. Mary Schapiro and Gary Gensler have very large jobs ahead of them as Congress is expected to require hedge fund registration with the SEC, and the CFTC also has the mandate to regulate the off-exchange forex markets. As always we stess that any regulation should be reasonable and considered; knee-jerk legislation will not lead to more fair markets.
The releases below come from current SEC Chairman Cox and CFTC Acting Chairman Lukken. Continue reading
Cox Comments on Madoff Investigation
Statement Regarding Madoff Investigation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-297
Washington, D.C., Dec. 16, 2008 — Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox issued the following statement today concerning its ongoing investigation in the case of SEC v. Madoff:
Since the Commission first took emergency action against Bernard Madoff and his firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, LLC on Thursday, December 11, every necessary resource at the SEC has been dedicated to pursuing the investigation, protecting customer assets and holding both Mr. Madoff and others who may have been involved accountable. Continue reading
Green Fund of Hedge Funds
The following article on a green fund of hedge funds was originally published on the website www.socialfunds.com and can be found here. (For more information on environmentally focused hedge funds, please also see our article on Carbon hedge funds.)
Over the Hedge: New Green Hedge Fund of Funds
by Anne Moore Odell
Kenmar plans to launch socially responsible hedge fund of funds for institutional investors.
SocialFunds.com — Kenmar recently announced that it will be launching a new SRI hedge fund of funds, the Kenmar Global ECO Fund SPC Limited, which will be available to investors July 1. Kenmar hopes to tap into the growing interest of investors in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues while also achieving its goal of capital appreciation. Continue reading
Another Commodity Pool Operator Fraud – Lesson in Hedge Fund Due Diligence
We frequently discuss scams involving the investment management and hedge fund industry as a warning to potential hedge fund investors to take the hedge fund due diligence process seriously. In the CFTC release posted below, we have a classic scam where the sponsors of a commodity/futures fund acted in a fraudulent manner and used the assets of the fund for their own personal reasons. We have listed the items which the consent order found and how an experienced hedge fund due diligence team could have protected the investor from fraud. Continue reading
Hedge Fund Managers and Investment Advisor Registration Status
Many hedge fund managers who are registered as investment advisors with the SEC have experienced losses this year as well as investor redeptions. For some managers the losses combined with investor redemptions may have the effect of decreasing an advisor’s assets below the $25million threshold for SEC investment advisor registration. Generally an investment advisor is not allowed to be registered with the SEC if the manager’s assets under management do not exceed $25 million. Continue reading
Hedge Funds Blindsighted by Massive Ponzi Scheme
According to a SEC release this morning (and every other financial news agency), major hedge funds, banks and other financial institutional were caught in a Ponzi scheme of epic proportions. While it is hard to believe that such large groups were blindsighted by this, it does showcase the fact that fraud can happen to even sophisticated investors and that hedge fund due diligence (an ongoing due diligence) is absolutely required. The SEC release is reprinted below. Continue reading
Hedge Fund Fraud – Prominent Hedge Fund Attorney is Wrongdoer
Usually our discussion of hedge fund frauds revolves around unscrupulous promoters who engage in some sort of fraudulent behavior against hedge fund investors. Most of the time the fraud is based on some sort of ponzi scheme. However, in the case reprinted below, the fraud was actually perpetuated against many hedge funds, including some funds with a significant amount of assets under management. Even more incredible is that the fraud was perpetuated by a hedge fund attorney with a very impressive background. While this is slightly different than hedge fund affinity fraud, it does show that frauds can be found on all scales and that hedge fund due diligence is important for both investors and hedge funds. It is important, maybe now more so than ever, that hedge funds conduct proper due diligence on their counterparties when engaging in private placements and off-exchange transactions. Please contact us if you have any questions on hedge fund due diligence. Continue reading