Compliance matters have helped reshape the business style of hedge fund managers, according to Jim Volk, chief accounting officer and chief compliance officer of SE Investments’ Investment Manager Services. In the old days, he writes, hedgies “thrived on being entrepreneurial, agile and free-spirited,” often making “decisions on the fly when needed.” That’s all changing, writes Volk, as hedge fund advisers now “consciously adopt a more deliberate, even bureaucratic style,” which could hamper how investments strategies are implemented and even affect the kinds of strategies they follow. “The crucial thing to recognize,” says Volk, “is that compliance considerations must now be factored into any business decision, as opposed to being an afterthought.” In his paper, Volk offers a mini refresher course on compliance, stressing the importance of implementation. These include putting “a solid employee training program in place,” always scanning for conflicts of interests, periodically revisiting and refining policies, and setting the right “tone at the top.”