'Outrageous Slur On The Hedge Fund Community'

by the Editor, Investorsoffshore.com News, London

18 September 2001

Investorsoffshore.com publishes without comment this message and letter received from hedge-fund community site village.albourne.com which is critical of our coverage of the financial markets' response to the catastrophe in America last week. We will let our readers be the judge; if you have comments please send them to editor@investorsoffshore.com.

'Various articles in the press have suggested that hedge funds have been trying to profit from the recent atrocities. It has also been claimed that the major investment banks have been asked to collude in order to avoid such profiteering. We, at Albourne, believe that this is complete nonsense and all of our discussions with key market practitioners have echoed this belief. We are intending to send the letter below to those publications that have printed such stories. As members of the hedge fund community, we ask you either to give us any evidence to the contrary, or to join us as signatories to this letter. Please be assured that all signatories will be named as individuals, not as representing their firms.

Dear Sir,

Your publication has been amongst those who have suggested a collaboration between financial institutions to restrict hedge funds profiteering from the recent tragedies. As members of the hedge fund community, we feel obliged to point out that we are categorically unaware of any such collaboration, nor, more importantly, of the need for any such collaboration. We challenge you to present proof of these allegations. Should this not be forthcoming, we look forward to a full apology for the inaccuracy of your reporting. Hedge funds have been much vilified by the press in the past. For this to be repeated at this time, under these circumstances, and when so many involved in finance are facing the brunt of the human tragedy that continues to unfold, is as tasteless as it is inaccurate.

If you feel as strongly about this as we do, you may wish to forward this message to others. Please respond to sign-letter@village.albourne.com

Best regards
Simon Ruddick
Managing Director
Albourne Group'

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