Key Facts
Key Information
About
The Managed Funds Association (MFA) is a prominent trade association representing the global alternative asset management industry, including hedge funds, private equity, private credit, and managed futures. Founded in 1991 and headquartered in Washington, DC with additional offices in New York, London, and Brussels, MFA serves as an advocacy, education, and communications organization for over 180 fund managers employing diverse investment strategies. The association enables its members to participate in public policy discourse, share best practices, and communicate the industry's contributions to the global economy while supporting institutional investors such as pension plans, university endowments, and charitable organizations by helping them diversify investments, manage risk, and generate returns throughout economic cycles. MFA actively engages with regulators and policymakers across regions including Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Australia to address regulatory, operational, and business issues, advocating for sound industry practices and public policies that promote efficient, transparent, and fair capital markets. Key focus areas include alternatives in 401(k) plans, strong capital markets, private credit, U.S. Treasury market structure, manager regulations, access to foreign expertise under frameworks like AIFMD, market research, tax policy, market structure, market data, and short selling. The organization convenes stakeholders through events, publishes resources like 'Hedge Funds 101,' comment letters, videos, and testimony, and conducts research to support the industry's growth and resilience. MFA's influence extends to shaping post-financial crisis reforms, such as those under the Dodd-Frank Act, EMIR, MiFID, and AIFMD, while emphasizing the role of alternative investments in complementing traditional lending and strengthening financial systems. The organization has been involved in discussions on hedge fund risk management, market infrastructure resilience, and innovations like circuit breakers and enhanced oversight to mitigate systemic risks, as seen in historical cases like the Amaranth Advisors collapse.