At the Managed Funds Association Outlook 2013 Conference, held on October 18, 2013, SEC Chair Mary Jo White delivered a speech emphasizing the importance of transparency in the hedge fund industry. Chair White highlighted that the JOBS Act, which allows private funds to participate in the general solicitation, increases the responsibility of private funds to be open and honest with potential clients and regulators. Chair …
ERISA and Hedge Funds
What is ERISA? ERISA is the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which governs, among other things, the investment of certain benefit plans into hedge funds. The significance of ERISA for hedge funds is that if more than 25% of a hedge fund’s equity interests are those of certain “benefit plan investors,” all of the hedge fund’s assets will be considered “plan assets” under …
CFTC and Swaps: What You Should Know
Under the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”), a person who qualifies as a “swap dealer” or “major swap participant” is required to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and comply with the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act’s regulatory regime governing swaps, which generally requires, among other things: Mandatory clearing of certain designated derivatives through a “derivatives clearing organization” (“DCO”) Mandatory execution …