Reuters – One of the joint chief executives of Jupiter Asset Management said hedge funds should be more tightly regulated in the wake of big losses suffered by some high-profile funds.
Earlier this month U.S.-based Amaranth Advisors said it had suffered a $6.4 billion (3.4 billion pound) loss — the biggest hedge fund loss ever — in September after being hit by wrong-way energy trades.
Vega Asset Management, formerly one of Europe’s top hedge fund managers, said its Select Opportunities Fund suffered a net loss of 10.6 percent for September.
Edward Bonham Carter, who is also Jupiter’s chief investment officer, told a meeting of the Securities and Investment Institute on Tuesday that hedge funds should be more tightly regulated, although some were already moving in the right direction.
“I think there should be more regulation of hedge funds to create more of a level playing field. The unit trust business is well regulated,” he said.
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet last week said international regulators were fairly close to reaching an agreement on tighter rules for hedge funds and that the existing system of relying on banks to make prudent lending decisions to hedge funds placed a heavy burden on them.
