Warren calls for more oversight, transparency after Archegos fire sale

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) called for more oversight and transparency of hedge funds after Archegos Capital Management’s fire sale of assets.

“Archegos’ meltdown had all the makings of a dangerous situation — largely unregulated hedge fund, opaque derivatives, trading in private dark pools, high leverage, and a trader who wriggled out of the [Securities and Exchange Commission’s] enforcement,” Warren said in a statement emailed to The Hill on Tuesday.

“Regulators need to rely on more than luck to fend off risks to the financial system: we need transparency and strong oversight to ensure that the next hedge fund blowup doesn’t take the economy down with it,” Warren said.

Archegos was forced to sell off around $30 billion in assets after it was unable to maintain minimum asset values for accounts that invest with borrowed money. Among the firm’s brokers were Credit Suisse, Nomura, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

The sell-off flooded the market with stocks and brought down prices. 

Credit Suisse and Nomura both warned on Monday of significant losses this quarter as a result of the sale.

CNBC reported that Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley had finished unloading their positions prior to Credit Suisse’s and Nomura’s announcements.

Bloomberg News reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission met with the banks on Monday to discuss what triggered the sale.