“Regulation in the Aftermath of the Financial Crisis”
In the aftermath of the greatest financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression, increased regulation seems likely to follow. Many argue that hedge funds pose much less of a systemic risk than banks regulated by everyone from the Fed to the OTS, but new regulation could drastically remake the alternative asset industry as thoroughly as the crisis has remade Wall Street. In this panel, we will discuss potential changes in reporting and oversight requirements, and the possibility of new regulations limiting certain hedge fund strategies, as with the temporary no-short rule this summer. Moreover, given November’s election, we will also discuss the likelihood of changes to the capital gains tax benefit currently enjoyed by the entire alternative investments industry.

“Assessing Hedge Fund Performance and Selecting Managers”
Hedge funds offer risk and return profiles which are inherently more complex than those of traditional asset classes. Given the recently volatile markets and the growing size and number of funds, sophisticated due diligence measures are increasingly important for both fund-of-fund managers and investors. The panel will explore methods with which to characterize hedge fund performance and select managers. In particular, the recent instances of fraud will be discussed along with appropriate due diligence processes.

“Strategies for a Challenging Market”
A number of strategies have proven vulnerable in the current market climate. Two widespread strategies which may be highly successful in the coming years are distressed and equity long/short. Many have tried to step into the distressed investing space recently, and many have ended up with the wrong end of the knife for their efforts. Long/Short Equity has been severely battered in recent months as well, with even funds that made some prescient calls losing large sums of money overall. However, equity long/short remains the most popular hedge fund strategy as measured by assets under management. With stock markets down at their lowest point in years all over the world, we look at where opportunities lie today, and discuss the impact of the summer’s short-sale ban on managers. Additionally, we plan to discuss how funds can profit from the crisis, balancing the potentially outsized gains against the risk posed by the (sometimes undeserved) illiquidity of many securities in this panicked environment.