Regulators around the world have hedge funds in their sights this week. The German government, which takes over the Group of Eight presidency next year, plans to make hedge funds a centerpiece of the finance minister meetings it chairs. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s coalition candidate – which includes hedge fund nemesis Frantz Müntefering, who last year called alternative funds “locusts” – is to discuss the agenda this week. Meanwhile, in Washington, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) is calling for greater transparency, telling Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that hedge funds pose grave risk to the nation’s pension funds. “I am deeply concerned about the lack of information regarding hedge funds,” Grassley wrote in a letter to Paulson. “The potential for significant losses at our nation’s pension funds due to hedge fund investments could put the retirement security of America’s workers in jeopardy.” Most worrying for hedge funds, potentially, was Grassley’s request for suggestions on how Congress could mandate greater transparency. Better news comes from across the pond, as the U.K. plans to ease the tax burden on funds of funds investing in offshore funds. Treasury minister Ed Balls will launch a consultation today, with the goal of new legislation in next year’s budget. Currently, the law seeks to put investors in both on- and offshore funds in similar tax positions, which can create problems for multi-tiered funds of funds, Reuters reports.