Galleon is another black eye for Wall Street—but could it be argued that these are outliers? OK, you can bring up Bayou, but couldn't it be argued that most managers are ethical?
- Billionaire Among 6 Charged With Hedge Fund Insider Trading
I think that is true, but don’t expect anyone to argue that position. Cynics argue that the big traders of the world will always get the "first call" on something from a broker trying to make a name, that when you reach a certain level of success, greed is still the driver of actions, that fees and profits are too rich, the incentive to cheat is too great.
It will certainly renew calls for more regulation for hedge funds and tighter accountability, but will that make a difference? These insider trading accusations were accomplished with...a cell phone.
Still don't kid yourself--the government is coming down with a heavy hand because they were obviously embarrassed by the Madoff scandal.
Whatever happens, hedge funds should not be forced by regulation to reveal their trade secrets--don't force them to publish their holdings on a public site. That information is owned by the investors.
One last question that the Street is asking: who is the FBI's confidential witness?
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