8 Investor Protection Concerns in Private Investment Funds

Author(s):  
Spangler Timothy

This chapter examines the governance challenge in private investment funds arising from investor protection failures. It begins with a discussion of the Madoff affair, which brought to the fore alleged failures in reporting, oversight and governance mechanisms regarding private investment funds, whether hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate opportunities funds or other more esoteric investment pools. It then considers some issues which the Madoff debacle drew attention to, including the presence of multiple fund vehicles in the same structure or in interconnected structures such as parallel funds, master-feeder, and fund of funds. It also analyses the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) concerns about hedge fund fraud and conflicts of interest that may arise in the business models of any of the participants in the private equity market. Finally, it describes ongoing diligence and oversight regarding private investment funds and the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) concerns over due diligence involving private funds.

Author(s):  
Spangler Timothy

This chapter considers future legal and regulatory responses to private investment funds in the context of a country’s current political dynamics. It begins with a discussion of the regulatory policy issues surrounding private investment funds before and after the global financial crisis, criticisms against private equity funds and hedge funds, and lessons from the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive. It then examines indirect regulation of private investment funds as a way forward, along with financial innovation and regulatory arbitrage. In particular, it explains how the global financial crisis has exposed the complexity of modern financial markets, noting that one of the primary drivers of this complexity has been financial innovation. The chapter concludes by analysing investor-centric approaches to addressing the governance challenge present in private investment funds.


2021 ◽  
Vol 50 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-200
Author(s):  
Jae Hyun Gwon

In the context of the protection of individual investors of private investment funds in South Korea, this study examines the current regulation of private placements from legal and economic perspectives. It compares Rule 506 of Regulation D in the United States with the similar regulation of South Korea. The most distinguishing feature of South Korea’s regulation is that any individual who can evidence a certain investment amount, regardless of accreditation or sophistication, is eligible to participate in private equity funds, which has recently resulted in “incomplete sales” problems in Korea. To conform to the definition of private equity, it is best to abolish the threshold criteria of minimum investment amount. Otherwise, the “sales” of private equity via commercial banks and central institutions for financial stability must at least be banned so that individual investors do not confuse private placement with public offering. In return, public advertisement can be permitted for private equity funds with only accredited investors and sophisticated investors. Public fund investment in private equities are de facto private equities; they are inappropriate for individuals, who may be confused with private funds and public funds. As such, they need to be limited.


Author(s):  
Spangler Timothy

This chapter provides an introduction to private investment funds. It first considers the governance challenge in private investment funds that can be regarded as a need to improve the standard of corporate governance in the legal vehicles that comprise such funds. In particular, it examines the manner in which hedge funds and private equity funds affect the corporate governance of the portfolio companies in which they invest. The chapter proceeds by discussing governance issues arising from the use of partnerships vs. corporations as private fund vehicles, along with the consequences of governance failures and the function of private investment funds. It also analyses legal and regulatory issues surrounding the structuring and operations of private investment funds, the legal and fiduciary duties of the investment manager, and fiduciary duty in the financial services regulatory regime. Finally, it describes alternatives to centralised, top-down regulation of private investment funds.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 22-25
Author(s):  
Perrie Michael Weiner ◽  
Patrick Hunnius ◽  
Sean R. Crain

Purpose – To address “Conflicts, Conflicts Everywhere,” a speech at the recent IA Watch 17th Annual Compliance Conference by Julie M. Riewe, co-chief of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit (AMU). Design/methodology/approach – Provide information on the AMU’s creation, the AMU’s 2015 priorities for each of the primary investment vehicles it polices –registered investment companies; private funds (both hedge funds and private equity funds); and other client accounts, such as separately managed accounts/retail accounts – and the AMU’s central concern across all of the investment vehicles it polices: conflicts of interest. Findings – Conflicts of interest will be receiving much attention from the Commission in the coming months. In order to help avoid an SEC inquiry or, worse yet, an enforcement action, corporations and individuals should seek counsel. Originality/value – Practical explanation and guidance from experienced securities and financial services lawyers.


2021 ◽  
pp. xviii-32
Author(s):  
Douglas Cumming ◽  
Sofia Johan ◽  
Geoffrey Wood

This introduction reviews recent research on hedge funds. The Handbook of Hedge Funds comprises 21 chapters from authors around the world. The chapters describe hedge fund industry governance, flows, limited partnership contracts, compensation, fund strategies, performance, activism, effects on investee firms, misconduct, misreporting, fraud, and financial regulation. Further, the chapters highlight differences with other types of intermediaries, such as private equity funds and mutual funds. The chapters feature both US and international analyses. This introductory chapter summarizes papers that appear in the handbook, provide a theoretical framework for research on hedge funds, and highlight research trends on topic.


2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 39-42
Author(s):  
Veronica Rendon Callahan ◽  
Ellen Kaye Fleishhacker ◽  
Robert Holton ◽  
Steven A. Kaplan ◽  
Kevin Lavin ◽  
...  

Purpose – To explain and analyze SEC charges and settlement with Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (“KKR”) related to misallocation of broken deal expenses. Design/methodology/approach – Provides background, including other similar SEC enforcement actions in relation to private equity and hedge funds; explains the regulatory violations in KKR’s broken deal allocation methodology and related disclosure; draws lessons and makes recommendations for private equity firms concerning the need for compliance and disclosure reviews and the benefits of remediation and cooperation. Findings – This enforcement action and other similar ones represents a continuing SEC focus on fee and expense misallocation. It is also relevant to advisers to real estate and hedge fund complexes that face similar allocation issues. Practical implications – Private equity firms and other advisers to private investment funds should re-evaluate their fee and expense allocation policies and procedures to be sure that they adhere to current regulatory and investor expectations. Originality/value – Practical guidance from experienced securities enforcement and litigation and investment management lawyers.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Fichtner

During the last decades, institutional investors gained an ever more important position as managers of assets and owners of corporations. By demanding (short-term) shareholder value, some of them have driven the financialization of corporations and of the financial sector itself. This chapter first characterizes the specific roles that private equity funds, hedge funds, and mutual funds have played in this development. It then moves on to focus on one group of institutional investors that is rapidly becoming a pivotal factor for corporate control in many countries – the “Big Three” large passive asset managers BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street.


Author(s):  
Spangler Timothy

This book provides a clear and concise dual US/UK and pan-asset analysis on the legal and regulatory issues that arise in connection with private investment funds. The book advises on the structuring, formation, and operation of a range of asset classes, including hedge funds, private equity funds, real estate funds, and other non-retail collective investment vehicles. This edition has been revised to reflect the numerous and significant developments in financial services regulation on both sides of the Atlantic since the publication of the second edition. More elements of the Dodd Frank financial regulatory reforms, which increased the scope and reach of regulation applicable to private funds, have been implemented and commented on in this edition. In relation to European regulation, the impact of the commencement of the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) has also now been analysed. The US/UK approach is maintained, but this edition now also includes consideration of third countries, particularly the Middle East and Asia. An entirely new chapter is dedicated to litigation and regulatory enforcement, and some treatment is given to the effects of the global financial crisis, in particular the regulatory response and the changes to negotiating leverage of fund managers and fund investors. The potential impact of ‘Brexit’ on the United Kingdom private funds industry and the future of the AIMFD and European private funds is also examined.


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