With so much uncertainty and a great deal at stake regarding the future of hedge funds and what constitutes “best practices” in management, NYSSA’s Alternative Investments and Institutional Asset Management Committees recently held an event to address such issues, bringing together representatives from every corner of the industry.

The heavily attended program, Best Practices in Hedge Fund Management, was held on September 14th and featured a panel of industry veterans, including: Robert Aitken, head of group compliance, Man Group plc; Anna Chefter, chief risk officer, Fortress Liquid Markets, Fortress Investment Group LLC; Todd Groome, chairman, The Alternative Investment Management Association Limited (AIMA); Steven B. Nadel, partner, Seward & Kissel; Peter W. Testaverde, Jr., CPA, partner, Eisner LLP and Paul Zummo, chief investment officer, J.P. Morgan Alternative Asset Management.

Topics covered included current trends in best practices as well as recent developments and initiatives toward greater oversight of investment advisers. The panel discussed the current state of SEC hedge fund oversight as well as how changes which could occur on the state, federal and international G-20 levels could be expected to impact both hedge funds and investors. All aspects of fund management were discussed, along with several key challenges facing fund managers, including: the current overall state of fund governance, current subscription terms and fee practices, conflicts of interest regarding fund use of bundled service providers, compliance issues unique to small firms, calls for greater transparency and risk disclosures, and the impact of “gates” as well as other liquidity controls and fund structural features. Stay tuned to NYSSA On-Demand for the event podcast.