Managers are testing the boundaries of the Securities and Exchange Commission's prohibitions on solicitations to unscreened, non-qualified investors by inserting disclaimers saying 'this is not an offer,' reports AIN sister publication Compliance Reporter. Lawyers say this may not solve the problem and the presentations may be interpreted as violations of the SEC's Regulation D, which requires hedge fund managers to verify suitability. "You can't avoid violating the laws by inserting a disclaimer," said Michael Caccese, partner in Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham." Any conversations with prospective investors must be on a very high level and not touch on specific funds or past performance, Caccese said. The compliance counsel for a New York-based hedge fund manager agreed that organizing presentations with unscreened prospects was a bad idea. "You could ruin your private offering exemption," he said.