Hedge funds in the U.K. got a vote of confidence from the Financial Services Authority regarding their valuation practices. Thomas Huertas, FSA director of wholesale of firms told a Reuters conference that after looking at hedge fund valuation practices since earlier this year, the agency “is about to write to the International Organization of Securities Commission...relaying what we have found to be good practice in this area.” That’s good news for the industry, which often is attacked on a wide variety of issues regarding its practices. “We have found,” continued Huertas, “that third party administrators can provide a level of protection, though there have been instances where the minimum standards have not been achieved.” Still, Huertas praised hedge funds for their success. “For some complex illiquid instruments, finding a fair value is a difficult task, with a wide disparity between bid and ask and low levels of trading,” he said. “In that case it’s difficult to get an accurate price, so it’s necessary to get an indicative quote from several parties.”