G-7 looking at hedge funds?

Now this comes as a bit of a surprise. The topic of hedge funds has somehow caught the attention of the G-7 sherpas? This from Bloomberg:

“G-7 Will Likely Comment on Hedge Funds This Week, Official Says

April 11 (Bloomberg) — Finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s seven leading industrial nations will probably offer joint comments on hedge funds when they meet in Washington this week, a senior Canadian official said.

The lightly regulated industry will likely get a mention in the Group of Seven’s communique following a discussion on the issue, the finance ministry official, who asked not to be identified, told reporters today in Ottawa. G-7 deputy finance ministers also will meet with hedge fund managers on the sidelines of the April 13 meeting, the official said.

At a February meeting in Germany, G-7 finance ministers committed to talks with the financial industry about economic risks posed by the growing role of hedge funds.

Hedge funds are mostly private and unregulated pools of capital where managers can buy or sell any assets, participating substantially in the profits of the money invested.

The G-7 consists of the U.S., the U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.”

Am I the only one that’s surprised by this? What are the odds that the communique will say that hedge funds are a wonderful and riskless thing that don’t warrant any regulation whatsoever?

MRM