As the probes into hedge funds by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the US and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in the UK draw to a close, hedge fund managers are waiting anxiously to hear exactly what regulatory measures will eventually be introduced.

In light of this heightened regulatory interest in what has, until now, been a relatively shaded valley on the financial landscape, some will perceive the recent warning by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) in the US as an attempt to show the SEC that it was not asleep at the wheel.