Just to add to our post on hedge fund regulation, here is a paper sent to the SEC in November of 2005. It outlinces potential problems with the Madoff funds in great detail. A simple inquiry to the fund accountants would have done the trick.
This was in your face type analysis: the SEC was fed the questions; they just had to ask them. So what exactly will the SEC accomplish with the new sweeping registration requirements? Has the agency really changed so much that now all of a sudden it will spot problems like these? How about listening to what investment professionals are saying? How about hiring a few investment professionals instead of just the securities attorneys? How about just looking at return profiles? The new financial regulation proposed by the administration is just not addressing these.
