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Hedge Fund Regulation and Fund Governance: Evidence on the Effects of Mandatory Disclosure Rules

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  • COLLEEN HONIGSBERG

Abstract

This paper uses three alternating changes in hedge fund regulation to study whether regulation reduces hedge funds’ misreporting, and, if so, why regulation is effective. Relative to public companies, hedge fund regulation is relatively light. Much of the regime is a “comply‐or‐explain” framework that allows funds to forego compliance with governance rules, providing that they disclose their lack of compliance. The results show that regulation reduces misreporting at hedge funds. Further analysis suggests that the disclosure requirements led funds to make changes in their internal governance, such as hiring or switching the fund's auditor, and that these changes induced funds to report their financial performance more accurately.

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  • Colleen Honigsberg, 2019. "Hedge Fund Regulation and Fund Governance: Evidence on the Effects of Mandatory Disclosure Rules," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 57(4), pages 845-888, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:joares:v:57:y:2019:i:4:p:845-888
    DOI: 10.1111/1475-679X.12270
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    2. Pierce, Andrew T., 2024. "Capital-market effects of tipper-tippee insider trading law: Evidence from the Newman ruling," Journal of Accounting and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(2).
    3. Alper Darendeli, 2025. "How do retail investors respond to summary disclosure? Evidence from mutual fund factsheets," Review of Accounting Studies, Springer, vol. 30(2), pages 1222-1266, June.
    4. Lee, David, 2024. "Hedge Fund Investment Returns and Performance," MPRA Paper 120350, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    5. Subhan Ullah & Sardar Ahmad & Saeed Akbar & Devendra Kodwani & Jane Frecknall‐Hughes, 2021. "Governance disclosure quality and market valuation of firms in UK and Germany," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 5031-5055, October.
    6. Christine Cuny & Omri Even‐Tov & Edward M. Watts, 2021. "From Implicit to Explicit: The Impact of Disclosure Requirements on Hidden Transaction Costs," Journal of Accounting Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 59(1), pages 215-242, March.

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