AIMA announced Tuesday that it welcomes a recent decision by the SEC not to appeal against the ruling by a US court of appeals that struck down a rule requiring hedge funds to register with the commission.
“We are pleased to see that the SEC has decided to take a fresh look at its proposal for hedge fund regulation,” says Florence Lombard, executive director of AIMA. “AIMA urges the SEC to ensure specifically, that it permanently removes the requirement for non-US hedge fund managers also to register in the USA if they are already fully regulated in efficient jurisdictions, such as the UK and France, which together account for over 80% of the European industry. The requirement for dual registration, imposed by no other regulator worldwide, was unnecessary, expensive, lead to complex issues for managers having to comply with very different sets of rules and created an un-level playing field.”
The AIMA says it will now seek to further discussions with the SEC about hedge fund oversight. If further efforts are made to require the funds to submit to dual registration, the AIMA says it will enlist the support of the European Commission to secure exemptions from SEC registration.