"In the short-term it's really annoying for my clients, but in the long-term it's a good thing for the industry," she said.
An employee at a small Shanghai hedge fund said the qualification requirement was causing headaches.
"At the moment we only have one person who has taken the test, but now one of my colleagues is rushing to take it," she said. "Thankfully the test is not hard."
AMAC did not respond to requests for comment, but one person familiar with its thinking said staff felt the association had approved too many funds and did not have proper oversight of the market.
This person confirmed AMAC, a state-run body supervised by China's securities regulator and civil affairs ministry, had slowed approvals and was considering further restrictions.
Although the rules are aimed at domestic funds, they are also hitting foreign fund managers that have set-up onshore entities through special cross-border investment schemes, as well as foreign firms hoping to partner up with domestic funds.
One executive at a multi-billion dollar overseas hedge fund looking to set up such an arrangement said his firm had had to delay its launch plans following the rule changes.
"While attacking illegal entities, the restrictions are also impacting those funds that want to do real business," said Elva Yu, a partner at Llinks Law Offices in Shanghai.