Alternative Market Briefing

Other Voices: Hedge fund investors gluttons for punishment? A reply to The Economist

Friday, May 22, 2009

This article was written by Bryan Goh, First Avenue Partners LLP, London, in reference to the recent Economist.com article 'Gluttons for punishment? Investors in hedge funds remain unexpectedly enthusiastic' (Source).

Hedge fund investors are gluttons for punishment. So says the economist in their May 14, 2009 article where they claim:

1. That hedge funds spectacularly failed to achieve the absolute returns that were supposed to justify their high fees.

2. That hedge funds ran liquidity mismatches between the assets in their portfolios and their volatile funding and investor terms.

3. That hedge funds suspended redemptions or gated investors attempting to redeem.

4. That funds of hedge funds were only marginally less useless than Madoff's auditor.

5. Yet, says the Economist, a recent survey of most of the world's big hedge fund investors conducted by Goldman Sachs, suggest that investors remain surprisingly happy. Also there is anecdotal evidence that redemptions are slowing and that money is actually flowing back into the industry.

6. The Economist also finds that there does not appear to be much appetite to reform the structure of hedge funds......................

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