Eva Marie Carney, Publications
Briefing Note: Just Released -- US Government Accountability Office Report on Hedge Funds
February 27, 2008
On February 25, 2008, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) – self-described as “the investigative arm of Congress” – released to the public its long-awaited Hedge Funds Report. The key question in many observers' minds was whether the GAO Report would be a regulatory "call to action" prompting increased focus on, and government intervention in, the hedge fund industry. In fact, the report is measured in tone and neither an indictment of the hedge fund industry nor a call for legislative action. The GAO Report (1) describes how federal financial regulators oversee hedge fund-related activities under their existing authorities; (2) examines what measures investors, creditors, and counterparties have taken to impose market discipline on hedge funds; and (3) explores the potential for systemic risk from hedge fund-related activities and describes actions regulators have taken to address this risk. The report’s title captures the GAO auditors' conclusion: Regulators and Market Participants Are Taking Steps to Strengthen Market Discipline but Continued Attention Is Needed.
One of our Washington, D.C. office partners, Eva Marie Carney, has prepared a briefing note on the GAO Report below.
