The Chartered Financial Analysts, formerly the Society of Investment Professionals has come out in support of a consistent set of global standards for the hedge funds industry with greater emphasis on investor protection and ethical and professional conduct. The CFA’s Centre for Financial Market Integrity set up a hedge fund working group in June to examine the application of industry-wide standards, seeking to develop a self-regulatory template for the hedge fund industry. Charles Cronin, head of the Centre for the EMEA region, said: “We would encourage the HFWG to join others in working toward a single global standard reflecting consistent adherence to a full set of professional and ethical principles. This would include reconsideration of whether the ‘comply or explain’ approach would contradict the goal of having a consistent and comparable standard. One important example of how to effectively address that issue is the Global Investment Performance standards, which are now recognised as the industry standard in 28 countries including the UK, precisely because they are rigorous, require full adoption, and provide a consistent benchmark of comparison. The GIPS have become globally endorsed by the investment management industry and its stakeholders. There is no reason why the hedge fund industry should not aim for a similar solution.” Alan Brown, chairman of the CFA Centre Advisory Council and group chief investment officer of Schroder Investment Management, said: “The industry now has several competing sets of standards from AIMA, MFA, UAE, HFWG, CFA Institute and soon a set of proposals from the US Treasury to navigate. We don’t need six rule books. Creating a single global standard for hedge funds to address the key issues of stakeholders would be a pragmatic step forward for all.”