BISMARCK-North Dakota Securities Commissioner Karen Tyler will serve as panel moderator at an upcoming forum hosted by The North American Securities Administrators Association, Inc., (NASAA). The public forum will explore the ramifications of the sale of hedge funds and funds of funds to retail investors and the challenges this trend poses to regulators charged with upholding investor protection. The NASAA Listens Forum is scheduled for April 4 from 12 noon to 2:30 p.m. in the Whitney Room of the Intercontinental Barclay Hotel, 111 East 48th Street, in New York City.
Once an investment alternative utilized primarily by high net worth and institutional investors, hedge funds are increasingly finding their way into the portfolios of Main Street investors said Tyler. For the securities industry, investors and regulators alike, these developments pose a pressing question: Is the 'retailization' of hedge funds good for investors?
The Forum will take place against a backdrop of rapid growth in the hedge fund industry - assets have risen more than sixfold during the past decade to $1.1 trillion and the number of hedge funds has doubled to almost 8,700 since 2001 - and the high-profile collapse of two large hedge funds, Bayou Management and Wood River Capital Management.
The Forum will explore the growth of the hedge fund industry, the factors fueling the demand for alternative investments, recent national and international developments regarding alternative investment products and regulation, as well as suitability, transparency, and distribution issues. Panelists include:
- William F. Galvin, Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth;
- Michael R. Butowsky, Partner, Mayer, Brown, Rowe and Maw LLP;
- Paul M. Weisenfeld, Director, Smith Barney Alternative Investments;
- Bruce Graham, Managing Director, Shields Associates;
- Susan M. Mangiero, Managing Member, BVA, LLC and Founder, Pension Governance, LLC, and
- Ryan Tagal, Hedge Funds Product Manager, Morningstar, Inc.
The Forum will be available on the NASAA website www.nasaa.org via webcast at 1 p.m. (EDT) on April 4. The 90-minute audio-only webcast also will be archived on NASAA’s website for later listening. (Direct link http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=33001).
Karen Tyler was appointed Securities Commissioner by Governor John Hoeven in July 2001 and serves on the NASAA Board of Directors. NASAA is the oldest international organization devoted to investor protection. Its membership consists of the securities administrators in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, and Mexico.