Managed Funds Association (MFA), the association of the alternative investment industry, will launch an initiative to gather information from hedge funds, funds of funds and managed futures funds, for use in its industry education and advocacy efforts using the PerTrac P-Card. P-Cards are secure email attachments that can contain an array of manager-designated data such as strategy descriptions, investment terms, portfolio exposure data and investment returns.
As the primary source of industry information for policy makers, the media and the public, its important that we collect and aggregate data in a confidential and timely manner from as many managers as possible, says Richard H. Baker, MFA President and CEO. Following a lengthy search, MFA has selected PerTrac Financial Solutions as its partner in order to collect basic industry data, such as assets under management, the number of existing funds and number of industry-wide employees, while allowing managers to retain confidentiality. PerTracs P-Card is a secure tool that we will use to gather and aggregate information that will allow us to better understand and represent the global alternative investment industry. In addition, P-Cards have utility outside of MFAs efforts, allowing for and encouraging increased and more frequent communication and transparency between managers and investors, which is a key goal of MFA.
MFA will share information on the industry solely on an aggregated basis in an effort to educate policy makers, the media and the public and to advocate for appropriate regulation and industry growth. MFA will use a third-party accounting firm to collect the data on its behalf. No fund-specific information collected via PerTrac P-Card, including fund names, will be released under any circumstances.
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