欧盟对冲基金面临薪资限制

Some fund managers in Europe could be caught by unexpectedly strict pay curbs when the first EU attempt to regulate the hedge fund and private equity industry becomes a reality next year.

欧洲一些基金经理可能受到意外严格的薪资限制。欧盟监管对冲基金和私人股本行业的首次尝试将在明年成为现实。

There is increasing industry alarm that draft guidance on how to implement the law could see restrictions such as bonus deferrals and clawbacks – which are already enforced in the banking sector – imposed on a wider range of big funds than first thought.

该行业越来越多的人警告称，有关如何实施这一法律的指南草案，可能会对数量超过最初想象的大型基金实行各种限制措施，如奖金延期和收回——银行业已经实行了这些限制措施。

These measures, which if strictly enforced would overhaul the sector's prevailing pay practices, are included in the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), a highly contentious EU law that must be enforced by July 2013.

这些举措如果得到严格实施，将彻底改革该行业通行的薪资惯例，这些举措已被纳入另类投资基金经理指令(Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive, AIFMD)，这一极具争议的欧盟法律必须在2013年7月之前实施。

Some investment firms were technically covered by similar remuneration rules when they were introduced for banks last year. However, UK guidelines spared almost all investment firms from the most prescriptive curbs.

从技术上来说，在去年实施银行薪酬规定时，一些投资公司也在限制范围之内。然而，英国的指南让几乎所有投资公司免受多数规定的限制。

Hedge funds expected the Financial Services Authority, the City watchdog, to apply the same principles to AIFMD – sparing them from deferring at least 40 per cent of variable pay for three to five years or inserting clawback provisions for "subdued" performance.

对冲基金原本期望伦敦金融城监督机构——英国金融服务管理局(FSA)对另类投资基金经理指令实行同样的原则，不让它们将浮动工资的至少40%推迟3年至5年领取，或为"糟糕"绩效纳入奖金收回规定。

But draft guidance from the European Securities and Markets Authority last month includes no explicit means for national authorities to effectively exempt categories of funds from the toughest curbs. While the requirements are tailored to firms according to size and risk, the lack of a broad exemption would mean more managers are hit.

但欧洲证券及市场管理局(ESMA)上月出台的指南草案，没有就国内监管机构如何在实际上让某些基金免受最严格限制提出明确方法。尽管这些要求将根据公司的规模和风险进行调整，但缺乏广泛豁免将意味着更多基金经理将受到冲击。

Jon Terry, a partner at PwC, said there was now "considerable uncertainty" over rules that could have "a major impact" on affected funds. The curbs are also potentially problematic for the "carried interest" model used in private equity.

普华永道(PwC)合伙人琼•特里表示(Jon Terry)表示，可能对受影响基金产生重大影响的规则存在重大不确定性。这些限制措施对私募股权基金所用的利润分成模式同样构成潜在问题。

Regulation of pay is an extremely sensitive topic for the hedge fund industry, which has long awarded its members sums far in excess of those found elsewhere in finance.

在对冲基金行业，对从业人员收入水平的监管是极为敏感的话题。长期以来，对冲基金向其成员支付的薪酬水平一直高于金融行业的其他领域。

Many managers insist that the sometimes eye-watering payouts are necessary to attract and retain the best talent. Hedge funds are typically partnerships that derive most of their earnings by taking a 20 per cent cut of all profits from their trading.

很多对冲基金经理坚持认为，有些时候这种令人眼红的薪酬水平是吸引并留住最佳人才的必要手段。对冲基金通常采取合伙人制度，他们的绝大部分盈利来自对其交易利润的20%提成。

"Pay is one of the things this industry has got right. We only make money if our clients are making even more money," said the head of one London-based hedge fund.

一家位于伦敦的对冲基金主管表示："薪酬制度是对冲基金行业做对了的几件事情之一。我们赚钱的前提是我们的客户赚到更多的钱。"

Joe Seet of Sigma Partnership, a specialist advisory firm to fund managers, said imposing deferral and clawback rules was "wholly unreasonable".

为基金经理服务的专业咨询公司Sigma Partnership的乔•希特(Joe Seet)表示，奖金延期发放以及收回条款"完全不合理"。

Esma is holding a consultation on the guidelines but the agency is limited by the text of AIFMD. When the draft guidance was unveiled, Steven Maijoor, the Esma chair, said it aimed to "ensure consistency of the rules for remuneration across financial sectors".

ESMA目前正在就指导条例进行意见征询，但该机构受到另类投资基金经理指令明文规定的限制。ESMA主席史蒂芬•迈耶尔(Steven Maijoor)在指导条例草案公布时指出，其目的是"保证金融行业各领域的薪酬规则一致"。