Clifford Chance

Benchmarking Fund Managers' Anti-Corruption Compliance Programmes

21 November 2011

Fund Managers often wonder what others in the industry are doing to comply with applicable anti-corruption laws. A portfolio company under the spotlight of UK and US anti-corruption authorities can indeed put an investment firm at risk for liability, as well as the collateral consequences of devaluation, reputational damage, investigative costs, and management distraction. While there has been a great amount of speculation about the extent of the risks arising for private equity firms, hedge funds, and other investment companies under these laws, to date there have been few investigations and little definitive guidance provided by enforcement agencies. Nevertheless, unwilling to risk being the prosecution prototype, yet at the same time unhappy to forego legitimate business opportunities, firms are looking to "benchmark" their compliance programmes against industry standards.

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