SEC’s Atkins Eyes Limits on Data Collected From Hedge Funds (1)

US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said Wednesday that he wants agency staff to consider narrowing the scope of data that private fund advisers would have to provide the regulator under upcoming rules.

Atkins also announced that the deadline for complying with the new data reporting requirements would be delayed to Oct. 1 from June 12. But more limited data collection could be a bigger win for hedge funds and private equity firms.

Private fund advisers pointed to challenges, including technical ones, in meeting this week’s deadline. Many funds would have had more than two months before they ...