ACA Compliance Group recently released the results of its 2015 Alternative Fund Manager Compliance Survey, which considered a variety of compliance issues faced by private fund managers, including hedge fund managers.  At a recent webinar, Colleen Marencik, a senior principal consultant at ACA Compliance Group, and Tessa Carbone, a consultant at that firm, discussed the survey results and offered comparisons of this year’s results with those of the firm’s prior surveys.  This article, the first in a two-part series, summarizes the key findings from the survey and the insights offered by Carbone and Marencik with respect to the survey demographics; SEC exam experiences; material nonpublic information; and restricted lists.  The second article will address expert networks and consultants, fund expenses and electronic communications.  For coverage of prior ACA surveys, see “ACA 2014 Compliance Survey Covers SEC Exams, CCOs, Compliance Reviews, Custody, Fees and Personal Trading,” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 7, No. 46 (Dec. 11, 2014); “ACA Compliance Survey Covers Current Hedge Fund Practices on Marketing, Trading, Counterparties and Valuation,” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 7, No. 23 (Jun. 13, 2014); and “ACA Compliance Report Facilitates Benchmarking of Private Fund Manager Compliance Practices (Part One of Two),” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 6, No. 38 (Oct. 3, 2013).