This transcript of a meeting of the Capital Markets Subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives examines not a new market mechanism, but one which has exhibited extraordinary growth over recent years, the hedge fund. To start with, there is not even a clear definition of what constitutes a hedge fund. Although hedge funds perform amazingly well, they are not necessarily linked to overall market performance. Hedge funds have demonstrated an ability to generate positive cash flow in a down or up market, which is a good thing. Hedge funds have also generated significant liquidity and helped to be a counterbalance to the risk prevalent in ordinary market functions, which is a good thing. The purpose of the hearing was not to condemn the hedge fund concept, but merely to continue the committees ongoing examination of all aspects of market function. There is some expressed concern as innovation proceeds that the fund of funds becomes a methodology for the retailization of hedge fund risk, which certainly leads us to examine suitability requirements and the necessary transparency of disclosure of the risk undertaken by hedge funds so that even the sophisticated investor may properly examine the risk they are assuming with their investment.
