Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Can you beat 50% per month? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10382)	10/16/2006 4:51:01 PM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 19257

What's a little six billion dollar wager? US senator 'concerned' about hedge funds 2 hours, 45 minutes ago A top US senator has voiced concerns about the risks posed to investors by the secretive trading activities of hedge funds following the abrupt collapse of the Amaranth Advisors fund. Congressional concern about the trillion-dollar hedge fund industry has mounted in recent months, particularly over the lack of regulation governing the private capital pools. Senator Chuck Grassley, the chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, released a statement Monday saying he had written to regulators asking whether more transparency is needed to oversee the sector. "The potential for significant losses at our nation's pension funds due to hedge fund investments could put the retirement security of American workers in jeopardy," Grassley said in his letter. "After learning of events at Amaranth Advisors, I became concerned about the impact that Amaranths collapse may have on public and private pension funds and the American workers and retirees who rely on prudent investment of their pension funds," Grassley said. Grassley sent his letter to the Treasury Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission among other government agencies. The Connecticut-based Amaranth Advisors hedge fund collapsed recently after one of its employees made a series of disastrous bets on the energy market, losing over six billion dollars in a matter of days, according to US media reports. Grassley's heightened interest in policing the industry comes after SEC chairman Christopher Cox told Congress this summer that hedge fund regulation was "inadequate." Lawmakers are becoming increasingly worried about hedge funds because they are not subject to the disclosure rules that govern other financial intermediaries. Concern is also mounting because although they were once the preserve of wealthy individuals, pension funds and even universities now commonly invest in hedge funds. The last big hedge fund implosion, the 1998 four-billion-dollar collapse of Long Term Capital Management, triggered an intervention by the Federal Reserve to stop its failure sparking a massive run on the US financial system. Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AFP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of Agence France Presse. Copyright © 2006 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Questions or Comments