Bloomberg reports that the SEC is engaged in a probe of investment advisers who invest client assets in hedge funds, funds of funds, private equity, venture capital and other alternative investments. The SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations has recently requested that advisers provide extensive information about their alternative investments, particularly in regards to the due diligence processes used when evaluating alternative investments. A copy of the letter sent by the OCIE to examined advisers and the accompanying information request list is available here.
“This is further evidence of the SEC’s more proactive approach to the hedge-fund industry,” said Jay Gould, a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP in San Francisco. “Hedge-fund managers, including funds of funds, can expect the agency to take a greater interest in their policies, practices and their relationships with investors and other fund managers.”