Case Against Hedge Funds
No transparency. You have no idea what the fund is doing or holding.
Leverage is a two way street. Excessive leverage is now exacerbating losses.
Exit restrictions. You cannot get out when you want to.
Whopping fees. Hedge finds take 2% off the top plus 20% of profits. That 20% of profits encourages excessive risk taking. If the fund blows up the manager just starts another one.
Hedge funds are supposed to make money no matter which way the market goes, or so they claim. To collectively be down 18%, they had to have been making one sided bullish bets on something.
Where's the hedge?
A massive and long overdue consolidation in hedge funds is coming in 2009-2010. I concur that a 30% reduction in the number of funds may be optimistic. A far bigger reduction in assets under management is nearly guaranteed.
(Mike Shedlock - 07.11.08)
No transparency. You have no idea what the fund is doing or holding.
Leverage is a two way street. Excessive leverage is now exacerbating losses.
Exit restrictions. You cannot get out when you want to.
Whopping fees. Hedge finds take 2% off the top plus 20% of profits. That 20% of profits encourages excessive risk taking. If the fund blows up the manager just starts another one.
Hedge funds are supposed to make money no matter which way the market goes, or so they claim. To collectively be down 18%, they had to have been making one sided bullish bets on something.
Where's the hedge?
A massive and long overdue consolidation in hedge funds is coming in 2009-2010. I concur that a 30% reduction in the number of funds may be optimistic. A far bigger reduction in assets under management is nearly guaranteed.
(Mike Shedlock - 07.11.08)