Hedge funds enlist Boris in fight against EU plans
LONDON’S role as a financial centre will be damaged unless the UK can secure changes to the European Commission’s proposals on the regulation of hedge funds, alternative investment managers will tell London mayor Boris Johnson this week.
Paul Marshall of the Alternative Investment Managers’ Association (Aima) will join forces with Simon Walker, chief executive of the British Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (BVCA) and Stuart Fraser, chairman of Canada, to put their views to Johnson.
One source close to the talks said that the industry bodies would tell Johnson that the regulation of hedge funds and private equity should remain the domain of UK regulators.
“They are a vital part of London’s financial eco-system,” said the source.
“They provide liquidity to the capital markets so in that sense, they are the oil that greases the wheels of the machine,” he added.
Investment managers are concerned that proposals contained within the directive, such as limits on leverage, will spark an exodus of hedge funds.