The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering whether to exempt some investment firms from federal oversight as it prepares to start regulating the $1 trillion hedge fund industry.
“There has been a lot of discussion about that recently,” Lori Richards, the SEC’s director of compliance inspections and examinations, said yesterday.
Now, investment firms with $30 million in assets must register with the SEC. About 9,000 are large enough to fall under the SEC’s jurisdiction. That could rise to 1,200 as fund managers meet a Feb. 1 deadline.