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Benedicte Gravrand, Opalesque London: Most people in the City of London are inclined to vote for the UK to remain in the European Union (EU) on 23 June. However, some are not so keen, as they have bitter memories of the way the last financial crisis was handled – and the way the European Commission targeted hedge funds, which it saw as responsible. It went on to draft the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) in 2009.
So wrote Paul Marshall, founding partner and CIO of Marshall Wace, in the Financial Times a while back. "The commission largely ignored the issue of bank leverage, focusing instead on hedge funds," he wrote. "Why did Brussels indulge in such a great act of displacement activity? One hedge consultant received the explanation from a Belgian MEP. "It is simple," he said. "If you are in a bar and a fight breaks out, you do not hit the person who started the fight but the person you have always wanted to hit.""
Since then, 110 executives from Britain's financial services industry, including hedge fund managers Crispin Odey of Odey Asset Management and Marshall, have signed a letter backing Britain's withdrawal from the EU.
"There is scant evidence that the EU will foster or support the kind of innovation which is essential if Europeans are to compete with the rest of the world," the ...................... To view our full article Click here
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