Global hedge fund managers are spending more than 7% of their total operating costs and more than 10 basis points (as a percentage of assets under management) on compliance — amounting to $700,000 annually for small firms, $6 million for medium firms and more than $10 million for the largest ones, according to a just-released report.
The report, released by KPMG International, the Managed Funds Association and the Alternative Investment Management Association, surveyed 200 hedge fund managers representing more than $900 billion in AUM and found that the hedge fund industry spends more than $3 billion on compliance-related costs and that the "vast majority" of firms expect compliance costs to increase over the next five years.
SEC registration and compliance was listed as the second-most costly regulation. Forty-two percent of firms who have registered or are registering with the SEC deemed compliance costs to be "high," with only slightly fewer (40%) characterizing their costs as "medium."
Of those hedge funds registered as an investment advisor with the SEC, more than a third (36%) said they spent between 50 and 100 hours preparing and filing for SEC registration; a quarter spent between 100 and 500 hours; 7% spent more than 500 hours.
