究竟是什么造成了MFGlobal的戏剧性灭亡？这个问题引发了人们的热议，“傲慢自大”、“融资危机”、“不完善的风险控制”或“糟糕的主权债务押注”等词汇出现在人们的讨论中。WhatcausedthedramaticdemiseofMFGlobal?Thisissuesparkedheateddebate,"arrogant","financingcrisis","inadequateriskcontrol"or"badbetsonsovereigndebt,"andotherwordsinpeople'sdiscussions.但随着辩论的升温，另外一个词可能会进入人们的讨论范围：“透明度”。目前，在MFGlobal的话题里提到“透明度”这个词或许有些奇怪。毕竟，这家经纪商可能已经在不透明的环境下“损失”了12亿美元的客户资金。Butasthedebateheatedup,anothertermmaybecomingintothediscussion:"transparency."Atpresent,thetopicofMFGlobalinreferenceto"transparency"inthewordmightbeabitstrange.Afterall,thebrokermayhave"lost"$1.2billionofclientfundsinthisopaqueenvironment.然而，如果你抛开围绕该公司“后台办公室”(backoffice)的微观神秘性不谈，从宏观、市场的角度而言，“透明度”这个问题相当重要。尤其是，MFGlobal的破产表明，投资者对于悄悄潜近金融机构的一些宏观风险变得更为了解，并愿意做出反应。把这称为一种新的市场纪律约束吧，重要的是，这种约束正在提速。However,ifyouputthemicro-mysteryofthecompany’sbackofficeaside,fromamacro-marketperspective,theissueabout"transparency"isveryimportant.Inparticular,MFGlobal'sbankruptcyshowsthatinvestorsarequietlystalkingforsomemacro-risksoffinancialinstitutions,theybecomemoreunderstandableandwillingtorespond.Callthisanewkindofmarketdiscipline.itisimportantthatsuchconstraintisspeeding.要理解这点，让我们暂且回忆一下在2007年之前太平、自满的盛世时期，华尔街是如何运作的吧。回首当时，多数投资者都愿意把钱交给对冲基金、经纪公司和银行，从不费力去阅读托管规定中的小字条文。对冲基金也基于信任将资产存入银行。人们相信，经过审计的银行报表和对冲基金报告为它们的“优势”提供了良好指引Tounderstandthis,letusrecallthetimebefore2007,theflourishingandcomplacentperiod,WallStreetishowtooperateit.Lookingbackatthattime,mostinvestorsarewillingtogivemoneytohedgefunds,brokeragefirmsandbanks,andneverbothertoreadthesmallprintinthecustodyprovisions.Hedgefundsarealsobasedontrustandputassetsinthebank.Itisbelievedthatthebankstatementsandauditedreportsofhedgefundsprovideagoodguidefortheiradvantages.但过去4年，这种天真和信任已被严重挫伤。例如，在贝尔斯登(BearStearns)破产期间，在吃尽苦头之后，对冲基金突然发现，这些经纪商在持有客户资产时可以行使的权力有多大，特别是在追加保证金的时候。接着，当雷曼兄弟(LehmanBrothers)破产时，对冲基金艰难地认识到，英国破产法在清算期间不会保护客户资产。Butinthepastfouryears,thisinnocenceandtrusthasbeenseriouslyhurt.Forexample,BearStearns(BearStearns)theperiodofbankruptcy,inextremehardship,thehedgefundsuddenlyfoundthathowmuchpowerthesebrokershave,holdingclientasset,especiallywhenthemargin.Then,whenLehmanBrothers(LehmanBrothers)bankrupted,hedgefundsstruggledtounderstandthattheBritishbankruptcylawdoesnotprotectcustomersduringtheliquidationofassets.投资者也痛苦地发现，信用风险和资产价格波动并非唯一会损害投资组合的因素；交易对手风险和流动性风险也很重要。它们意识到，已发表的经审计的报表没有披露这些微妙的次级交易对手风险和流动性风险；对冲基金传统上提供给客户的报告也没有透露这些风险。theinvestorsarePainfultofindthatcreditriskandassetpricevolatilityisnottheonlyfactorsthatundermineinvestmentportfolio;counterpartyriskandliquidityriskisalsoimportant.Theyrealizedthatthepublishedauditedstatementsdidnotdisclosethesubtlesecondarycounterpartyriskandliquidityrisk;hedgefundstraditionallyavailabletotheclient'sreportdidnotdisclosetheserisks.
