A UNITED States Congressional panel questioned five of the world's richest hedge fund managers on Thursday as lawmakers sought to determine how much blame they could assign the US$1.7 trillion (S$2.5 trillion) hedge fund industry for the global financial collapse. Committee chairman Henry Waxman asked them a key question:

Should regulators look more closely into how this secretive industry makes its money?

YES'

'YUP'

Mr James Simons, hedge fund manager and director of Renaissance Technologies

'I AGREE'

Mr Philip Falcone, senior managing partner of Harbinger Capital Partners