Page Perry

Under the new Dodd-Frank financial reform law, hedge funds with $100 million or less under management will be overseen by state regulators. While state securities regulators have done a remarkable job of enforcement given their limited funds, is Congress asking too much of them? The answer may be a resounding “yes” since the budget cuts in many states have resulted in a lack the funds and staff to do the job, according to an August 19, 2010 Wall Street Journal article by Kara Scannell, “States Will Be Hedge-Fund Police.” If that is the case, a major piece of financial reform may turn out to be illusory. That is because a disproportionate amount of fraud tends to be committed by these thousands of mid-sized and smaller hedge funds that will now be policed by the states.