New "Best Practices" Guidelines for Hedge Funds

A group of hedge fund managers, backed by treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, have just published a "Best Practices Guide" of hedge funds.  The Guide contains the expected -- more transparency and better internal valuation of assets.  Although the Guide is voluntary it could soon be part of the contractual obligations of the industry as hedge fund clients and counterparties may demand that the Guide's directors be included in their contracts.  One should not that the present economic crisis has hit the brokerage houses and investment banks much harder than hedge funds.  Given all the caterwauling about hedge fund risk taking in the past year or so, it should be well noted that it is not hedge funds that have proven to be the most vulnerable to the credit crunch.