Herald Tribune – Finance ministers from the world’s leading economies put the $1.4 trillion hedge fund industry firmly on the international policy agenda over the weekend, saying that they wouldscrutinize the sector closely with an eye toward encouraging more self-regulation.
Representatives from the Group of 7 countries, who met in the industrial center of the host country, Germany, issued a statement saying the practices of hedge funds, which have drawn growing concern among financial policy makers over the past few years, had “become more complex and challenging” in light of the industry’s prominence and volatility.
“Given the strong growth of the hedge fund industry and the instruments they trade, we need to be vigilant,” the ministers said. “We therefore agreed to further pursue the issue.”
Hedge funds, which manage vast pools of capital and operate largely outside regulatory scrutiny, have grown to become some of the largest and most important players in markets around the world, particularly on Wall Street and in London. Fortress Investment Group, the first hedge fund in the United States to go public, saw its shares rise 67.6 percent Friday, their first day of trading.
