Maybe it’s just pre-election talk aimed at not upsetting deep-pocket voters, but wasn’t it Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) who just a few months ago said he would be introducing a bill giving the Securities and Exchange Commission “clear authority to require registration and monitoring” of hedge fund advisers? The legislation came as a response to a court rejecting the SEC’s hedge fund rule, and was followed with speculation that if the Democrats sweep into office and Frank would become chairman of the Financial Services Committee, dark regulatory days would be ahead for hedge funds. That was then, but in an interview with Financial Times, Frank frankly sounds as if he’s singing a slightly different tune. He told FT that affordable housing would be a “high priority,” stressing that that would be the “biggest difference” between the Dems and the Republicans. As for the bravado on hedge funds? According to FT, Frank said he “did not have broad concerns about them,” saying, “I don’t care if you ride your motorcycle without a helmet,” though he expressed concern over whether public pension plans were “well enough equipped” to stomach HF investments. Private equity funds, according to FT, are not “high on [Frank’s] agenda” altogether. In general, it appears now that a change in party control will not result in a major overhaul in financial service regulation.
