FSOC Report Focuses on Liquidity, Leverage and Other Risks Facing Hedge Fund and Asset Managers

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) recently issued a report focusing on potential systemic risks posed by hedge funds and others in the asset management industry. The report considers potential risks caused by liquidity and redemption; leverage; operational functions; securities lending; and transition planning and resolution. This article summarizes FSOC’s findings and recommendations for evaluating and mitigating those risks. In a public statement, SEC Chair Mary Jo White commended FSOC’s work on the report, noting the significant overlap between FSOC’s work and rules proposed by the SEC in 2015. See “Current and Former Directors of SEC Division of Investment Management Discuss Hot Topics Under the Investment Company Act” (Mar. 10, 2016). She cautioned, however, that the FSOC report “should not be read as an indication of the direction that the SEC’s final asset management rules may take.” See also “SEC Chair Highlights Two Types of Risks Hedge Fund Managers Must Consider” (Oct. 29, 2015). For analysis of the ongoing debate in the U.K. about the systemic risk posed by hedge funds and other asset managers, see “Focus on Hedge Fund Managers and Market Liquidity May Be Overemphasized, Argues FCA Director” (Mar. 31, 2016); and “European Central Bank Official Regards Hedge Fund Leverage As Risk to Financial System” (Mar. 24, 2016).

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