04/03/2010
Editor's view: 4 March 2010
Pardoned by De Larosière, the G20, and, last week, the FSA. If we didn’t know it 12 months ago, we certainly should all be cognisant now that hedge funds played no role in the carnage
of 2008. The message from this powerful triumvirate has been clear and concise, but, for the equally powerful triplets of European political power, it is an absolution that continues to be ignored.
With Parliament, Council and Commission gyrating wildly, the last seven days have been challenging to say the least. Marketing stipulations – the dreaded Article 35 – that many thought
had withered on the vine, are now back with a vengeance and threatening to a make the current AIFM draft as protectionist as ever.
When HFMWeek started its ‘Directive Action’ campaign, we made it very clear that marketing was the number-one issue. Over the last 10 months we have made progress on the other bones of
contention: Mandatory third-party valuation has been excised, along with leverage caps, and risk-bearing depository demands have eased, yet a threat to restrict the marketing of non-EU funds
remains a clear and present danger.
Troubling it may be, but the situation is not lost. Parliament and the current Spanish Presidency may have revisited promotional bans for non-EU funds, but the Commission’s position remains
unknown. Even the potential demise of private placement rulings is uncertain. And, with a transitional period of five years being slated, the status quo will be with us for some time.
As pointed out at last week’s HFMWeek breakfast briefing, funds are worried, but managers, as of yet, are not running for the hills or putting new launches on ice. In fact, long before this
happens, it seems certain, particularly with Spain struggling to achieve a qualifying majority for its changes (see news, p5), that the wheel will turn full-circle and the draft will change again
– hopefully for the better, and soon.
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