Hedge Funds: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Alfred Winslow Jones started hedge funds in 1949. He was a pioneer of non-traditional investment strategies. "Non-traditional" categorizes hedge funds quite accurately. Hedge funds have the potential to make an investor quite a bit of money, but many do not understand the nature of hedge funds. Hedge funds have undergone skepticism because they do not have to disclose their activities to third parties.Hedge funds can be quite profitable if an investor uses the best techniques.
One technique is risk arbitrage. Basically, buying stocks in a company that is in the process of a merger and acquisition. Companies announce a specific price the day of the merger, so if the stock is under the stated value before the day of the merger, it is a relatively safe plan to buy and wait. This does pose some risk, because some mergers do not go through. Hedge funds are very secretive and do not have to disclose their activities to third parties.
This allows hedge funds to be free from the regulations that mutual funds have to adhere to. This can be considered as beneficial because fund managers will perform better because they see a direct profit from the success of the fund. In mutual funds, this is not so. Also, large companies can move undisclosed amounts of money and gain significantly without authorities noticing. Actual numbers are not known, but HFR (hfr.com) reported that at the end of the second quarter in 2003, there were 5660 hedge funds managing $665 billion dollars around the world.
The sheer magnitude of this number is shocking, but demonstrates the massive profits that can be made from successful hedge fund strategy. Unfortunately for secretive businesses that enjoy the secrecy of hedge funds, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is attempting to successfully implement the requirement that hedge funds be registered with the SEC. If this continues and is successfully implemented, then all of the advantages to secrecy will be lost. One negative aspect of the non-regulation of hedge funds is the fact that there are no official hedge fund statistics.
Most hedge fund holders are large companies and so little is knows about their financial movements. Hedge funds are based in offshore jurisdictions, making them seem even more suspicious. Unlike mutual funds that have a base in large cities like New York, Hedge Funds are based in places like Bermuda, Cayman Islands, and the Virgin Islands. It may seem strange to call your fund manager in Bermuda rather than to call someone in New York City. Another negative aspect of hedge funds is their high price tag.
Hedge funds seem to be more suited for large businesses and companies that are merging than they are suited for the average worker. Hedge funds usually require an extravagant amount of money for initial purchase. If someone does have the money, however, they can gain even more money with this sometimes high-risk venture. Hedge funds have the potential to help an investor gain quite a bit of money. However, hedge funds undergo a great amount of scrutiny because of the lack of regulations and the general secrecy surrounding hedge funds.
Hedge funds are based offshore and have been rumored to hold as much as $665 billion. Some reports even state that at one point, 39 firms were managing hedge funds worth $1.1 trillion. These startling numbers show that hedge funds can be quite lucrative..
Jenny Delinga writes about a variety of financial topics, but prefers to write about hedge funds.Smarsh Inc. Introduces Hedge Fund Email/IM Archiving Solution, Archive InSite?
Smarsh Inc., a privately held global provider of technology solutions for the financial services industry, announces the launch of a new version of its archiving solution designed specifically for small to mid-sized hedge funds, Archive InSite. The new solution satisfies the need for hedge fund managers to follow future hedge fund record retention requirements. A bundled package of services, Archive InSite allows compliance officers, and other authorized administrators to utilize all products in the Smarsh Inc. Web Compliance Toolkit. Administrators will now have access to Email and IM archiving, anti-spam and virus protection, encryption, and a host of other provisions which have been designed specifically for hedge fund compliance.
Financial managers now have a definite digital trail of all electronic communication, providing a fail safe and fully searchable archive which complies with new hedge fund regulations. Furthermore, Archive InSite has also been engineered to easily...
Smarsh Inc. Introduces Hedge Fund Email/IM Archiving Solution, Archive InSite?
Hedge funds > Smarsh Inc. Introduces Hedge Fund Email/IM Archiving Solution, Archive InSite?
New Energy Hedge Fund Center Online Seminar Announced ?Fundamentals of Energy Hedge Funds?
The Energy Hedge Fund Center (EHFC ? www.energyhedgefunds.com), the leading online source for news and information on hedge fund activities in the energy industry, has announced that its staff will be conducting an online seminar on "Fundamentals of Energy Hedge Funds" on March 15th, 1pm EST.
The online seminar will be conducted by EHFC Director's and co-authors of the first two comprehensive reports on energy hedge funds, Dr. Gary M. Vasey and Mr. Peter C.
Fusaro. They will share some of their latest research on energy hedge funds."Oil prices continue at record levels and there remains speculation in the media regarding the role played by hedge funds and other speculators," reports Dr. Gary M. Vasey, who is VP Trading & Risk Management Practice for energy industry analysis and consulting firm UtiliPoint International, Inc.
"Our online seminar will explain what an energy hedge fund is...
Hedge funds > New Energy Hedge Fund Center Online Seminar Announced ?Fundamentals of Energy Hedge Funds?
First Energy Hedge Fund Directory Now Available
Global Change Associates and Utilipoint International announce the completion of the first comprehensive study on energy hedge funds.
Additionally, the two companies have prepared the first directory of hedge funds active in energy with over 200 listings.
This electronic directory will be updated monthly as new funds continue to enter the market. Energy hedge funds are relatively new entrants into energy trading markets and are replacing the liquidity lost when Enron and other energy merchants left the market over the past 3 years. The funds trade crude oil on both the NYMEX and IPE as well as the OTC energy derivatives markets.
Similarly, they trade natural gas on both futures exchanges and the North American OTC markets. To round out their participation, they trade both gasoline and heating oil on NYMEX and gasoil on the IPE.The Directory, "Hedge Funds in Energy" is available as a Utilipoint Infogrid available on the company's website at
First Energy Hedge Fund Directory Now Available
Hedge funds > First Energy Hedge Fund Directory Now Available
Are Hedge Funds Right For You?
(ContentDesk) August 30, 2005 -- Hedge Funds have been a hot investment lately. Once reserved for the very wealthy, hedge funds now have minimum investments as small as $10,000. Should you jump on board the hedge fund bandwagon, or let this latest investment craze pass you by?Hedge funds are pools of private money that use specialized investment strategies in an attempt to earn greater returns for their investors. They can invest in just about anything in an attempt to make money. Usually, hedge fund strategies include the ability to short the market so they can profit by correctly timing market declines.Hedge funds have become popular because, historically, some have returned over 20% per year.
As a result, the number of hedge funds has grown dramatically the last few years. Many successful mutual fund managers have left fund companies and started their own hedge funds. Since hedge fund managers often receive as much as 20% of the gains, the managers can make a lot more money.Hedge...
Are Hedge Funds Right For You?
Hedge funds > Are Hedge Funds Right For You?
Energy Hedge Fund Center Now Tracking 330 Funds in Energy - New Trend is Emergence of Natural Resources Fund of Funds
The Energy Hedge Fund Center (EHFC) reports that it now lists more than 330 hedge funds active in the energy and energy-related industries with two to three new funds in formation each week. The Energy Hedge Fund Directory lists hedge funds that are either specialist energy funds or more diversified funds that have exposed more of their assets under management to the energy industry. The directory is actively maintained by EHFC staff and subscribers receive monthly updates.Currently, EHFC has identified more than 100 hedge funds active in energy commodities markets and more than 70 that are pursuing energy focused equity long/short strategies. Additionally, the directory now lists a growing number of alternative energy and environmental or ?green' hedge funds. About 90 of the listed hedge funds have a 100% focus on the energy industry while many more are active across commodities including electric power, natural gas, refined products, crude oil, metals and agricultural commodities....
Energy Hedge Fund Center Now Tracking 330 Funds in Energy - New Trend is Emergence of Natural Resources Fund of Funds
Hedge funds > Energy Hedge Fund Center Now Tracking 330 Funds in Energy - New Trend is Emergence of Natural Resources Fund of Funds
THE BIG SECRET THE MUTUAL FUNDS DON?T WANT YOU TO KNOW?INDEXING!
Non-indexed mutual funds try to keep it secret that actively managed mutual very funds rarely do better stock market indexes. The higher fees of the managed funds really make it hard for these funds to out compete indexed funds. Smart financial journalists occasionally rat out fund managers for not educating the public in this regard. When this happens the mutual fund managers make a feeble attempt at self defense by pointing to something called the 5% rule. This rule says that for a fund to market itself as diversified it cannot have more than 5% of 75% of the funds total assets in a single stock.
In other words, a fund can have 25% of its holdings in a single stock, but the remaining 75% must follow the 5% rule. The 5% rule was created by the Investment Company Act Requirement. Fund managers claim that this hampers their performance instead of admitting that they are in the business just to clip you for high fees while the mutual fund under-performs the general market. The truth...
THE BIG SECRET THE MUTUAL FUNDS DON?T WANT YOU TO KNOW?INDEXING!
Hedge funds > THE BIG SECRET THE MUTUAL FUNDS DON?T WANT YOU TO KNOW?INDEXING!
mortgages Hedge funds Hedge Funds: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
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There is a wide variety of carpet cleaning machines to choose from. The most commonly used is a vacuum cleaner. Most people prefer an 'upright' vacuum cleaner over a 'canister' for convenience. Some people also like to use a 'hand-held' for stairs and other carpeted areas that don't offer maneuverability.
An 'upright' vacuum cleaner can be used with one or two motors, depending on the type of dirt that accumulates and the type and frequency of cleaning required. Some people also like...
Hedge funds > Carpet Cleaning Machines
Hedge funds Hedge Funds: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly