Me and Bernanke

As noted in today's Hedge Fund Daily, I am pleased to say that Ben and I see eye-to-eye on the issue of hedge fund regulation, preferring a market-based approach:

Like his predecessor, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is cool to the idea of hedge fund regulation. Speaking before a House Financial Services Committee, Bernanke said, “The best way to make sure hedge funds are not taking excessive risks or excessive leverage is through market discipline” and bank regulation. He argued that the Securities and Exchange Commission does have a role in hedge funds, but not as a regulator, saying he would support actions that would give the agency the authority to make sure that “the information that hedge funds to provide their investors is accurate.” He noted that the commission has made “very strong efforts to ensure that those banks and investment banks are carefully monitoring the risks” of HFs with which they work. Bernanke cautioned that hedge funds should remain in the “realm of sophisticated investors.” The former Fed chief, Alan Greenspan, may have warned of a hedge fund meltdown in his time, but he also opposed the regs.

Thanks, Ben. Have a great weekend.