The Securities and Exchange Commission is examining hedge funds for signs of insider trading, demanding information about relationships between managers, employees, family members and public companies.

SEC officials told hedge funds to list clients and workers who serve as officers or directors of publicly traded companies, along with the names of any relatives who hold such posts, according to a 27-page letter sent to industry executives.

"The SEC is really drilling down, trying to get very specific information that might give them leads on insider trading," Nora Jordan, a lawyer who represents hedge funds in SEC examinations, said Tuesday. "Some of the information that they have asked for has never been asked for before, and many clients are not keeping it."

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