Reuters – Belgian banking and insurance group KBC said on Monday that it will discontinue some of its hedge fund-related activities and that the move could lead to some redundancies.

KBC said it will also close its Alternative Investment Management service.

"KBC FP (Financial Products) has conducted a strategic review of operations and decided to discontinue some of its hedge fund-related activities," KBC said in a statement, adding that the remaining positions of existing investors will be managed until they reach maturity.

"This decision has already led to and could lead to further internal transfers and, where no suitable alternatives are available, to redundancies," the company said.

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Globe and Mail – Daniel Gross, writing on Slate, makes an interesting point about the latest version of the U.S. government’s bailout plan: The plan, officially known as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, looks a lot like the prospectus for a hedge fund.

“In the past, hedge funds – secretive pools of capital – were open only to qualified (read: rich) investors,” he said. “But with the stroke of a pen, President Bush will soon make all American citizens investors in the world’s biggest fund – and a democratic one at that.”

Hedge funds often use leverage, or borrowed money, to amplify their returns and often use the money to buy beaten up assets. Similarly, the bailout plan, which Mr. Gross dubs the Universal Hedge Fund, will use $750-billion (U.S.) of borrowed money to buy distressed assets. But the similarities don’t end there. The manager of the Universal Hedge Fund can hold bonds to maturity or flip them for a profit. The manager can also bring in outside expertise, making the fund look like a fund of funds.

“Like many of today’s sharpest hedge funds, the Universal Fund will also have the ability to drive a harder bargain by demanding equity stakes, or new debt securities, from the institutions it is helping,” Mr. Gross said.

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