Jay B. Howard, Portfolio Manager & Chief Investment Officer of hedge fund Leonard Asset Management (LAM), has been elected to serve on the 2008 Board of Directors for the Hedge Fund Association (HFA).

HFA is an international not-for-profit association of hedge fund managers, investors, and service providers formed to unite the hedge fund industry and increase awareness of the advantages and opportunities in hedge funds. Members of the HFA Board of Directors are elected and chosen by other HFA members. As one of the HFA Directors, Howard will endeavor to further the HFA mission by increasing awareness of the HFA within the hedge fund community.

Howard is the founder of the alternative investment practice at LAM, his career in the investment and finance industry spans over ten years. He graduated with honors from the University of Dallas with a master's degree in business administration and graduated cum laude from Augustana College in Rock Island, IL with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He is an affiliate member of the CFA Institute, a member of the Financial Services Institute, and is a Registered Financial Consultant (RFC™). Active in the industry, he regularly attends and has spoken at alternative investment industry events.

Leonard Asset Management, Inc. is an SEC Registered Investment Advisor that specializes in alternative investments. LAM is under common ownership with Leonard & Company, a federally registered securities broker-dealer and an SEC Registered Investment Advisor. Founded in 1989, Leonard & Company is a regional investment firm providing full service brokerage services, with offices across Michigan in Birmingham, Grand Rapids, Grosse Pointe Farms, Sterling Heights, Troy, and in New York and Colorado.

John Paulson
$3.7 billion
George Soros
$2.9 billion
James Simons
$2.8 billion
Philip Falcone
$1.7 billion
Ken Griffin
$1.5 billion

From HedgeCo;The Midwest Chapter of Hedge Funds Care (HFC) announced its sixth annual benefit, "Open Your Heart to the Children". Organizers of the black tie gala hope to top the $900,000 which was raised at last year's event.

"This great event, with all of the very attractive auction items, will raise much needed funds to support children who are suffering from abuse and neglect which is a widespread national tragedy and a serious problem in our local communities," said Melinda Kramer, Co-Chairperson of the HFC Midwest Chapter. "Hedge Funds Care is doing its part to help children in these situations and to prevent them. Our industry members are very passionate about making a difference which is demonstrated by their generous donation of money, time and talent," she continued.

My CW blog came in at number 13 on Richard Wilson's top hedge fund blogs and HedgeCo at number 7. There are now over 15,000 hedge funds and well over 200 distinct investment strategies among those funds.

FBI Investigates Hedge Funds

Also in the hedge fund X-file news; "Calling agents Mulder and Scully. At a time when scrutiny of hedge fund and private equity activity is at record levels, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the primary investigative arm of the US Department of Justice, has joined the fray. It seems that the FBI may delve into the dealings of some alternative fund managers as part of a fraud investigation into the US mortgage meltdown."

UBS issued a Shareholder Report detailing the key facts relating to the firm's positions and losses through December 31, 2007. In the summary the Swiss bank says thats it's massive subprime losses were the result of excessive risk-taking and insufficient controls.

UBS said that three of its business units are principally to blame for the losses totaling $37.4 billion over the past nine months.

UBS pinpoints a series of failures that began with its now-defunct U.S.-based hedge fund Dillon Read Capital Management. "The closure of DRCM should have been a basis for a more comprehensive review and assessment of all subprime [debt] positions in the investment bank, and for a review of UBS's risk assessment processes in connection with the same," the bank said in the report. Other mistakes include a short-term investment outlook and a failure to appreciate the severity of the American housing crisis early on.

UBS made the summary of its report to the Swiss banking regulator public because of pressure from Ethos Fund, an activist shareholder.

More at; Hedgeco.Net

HedgeFund Intelligence says that global hedge fund industry assets have risen to $2.65 trillion (1.34 trillion pounds) at the start of 2008.

London is the dominant hedge fund centre in Europe with 75 firms, up from 72 last year, and New York still at the top with 144 hedge funds, up from 123 firms a year ago. As in the rest of the world, the bigger firms in Europe are becoming more dominant. The top 22 firms in Europe now run 44 percent of European assets, up from 37 percent a year ago.