Welcoming the SEC decision not to appeal the ruling against registration of hedge fund advisers, AIMA this week called for the removal of dual registration.

Florence Lombard, Executive Director of AIMA said: 'We are pleased to see that the SEC has decided to take a fresh look at its proposal for hedge fund regulation.'

'AIMA urges the SEC to ensure specifically, that it permanently remove the requirement for non-US hedge fund managers also to register in the USA if they are already fully regulated in efficient jurisdictions, such as the UK and France, which together account for over 80 per cent of the European industry. The requirement for dual registration, imposed by no other regulator worldwide, was unnecessary, expensive, lead to complex issues for managers having to comply with very different sets of rules and created an un-level playing field.'

AIMA will now engage in further discussions with the SEC and, should the requirement for dual registration still be considered, will actively enlist the support of the European Commission as per Recommendation 7 of the EC Hedge Fund Expert Group report (July 2006) to secure exemptions from SEC registration for its members regulated in Member States.

AIMA will also consult with its Asian Chapters to lobby for the same treatment for managers already regulated in the region as in Australia and Hong Kong.