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The Big Picture For The Week Of February 15, 2009

Roger Nusbaum — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:40:00 +0000

No video this week.br /br /A reader asked the following question about advisers using actively managed mutual funds;br /br /blockquote(could you) discuss a little about Planners using funds that are actively managed, but really only out perform 3% or so as opposed to "real" investors that go off script. I have viewed this as a business risk v. doing what you should for your clients./blockquotebr /br /I'm not entirely sure what is being asked so I'll just wing it. Broad based, actively managed funds are very problematic. There are of course the statistics about actively managed funds lagging the market. That seems like the sort of thing that while probably true there might be more to the story like risk adjusted returns and maybe even data mining.br /br /From my point of view the problems arise in constructing the portfolio. If you own a bunch different funds you may still have all sorts of overlap. Many fund companies honing in on the same areas and then those being the wrong areas to favor is far from an outlying event. Additionally if you own several funds from the same fund company the chances of the same names showing up (it's the same research department after all) in funds with seemingly different objectives is also far from an outlying event.br /br /Another issue is never knowing what you own. Most funds disclose holdings two or four times a year. You're always several months behind knowing what is in your funds. Also there is no way to do any forward looking analysis with an actively managed fund. How many times have you heard someone from Morningstar say something along the lines of "well the fund had a bad year but we think the manager will turns things around so we like the fund." That could turn out to be true of course but it is a guess. There is no way to do forward looking analysis on a fund, no way to know what a manager will do six months from now.br /br /This is not to say that active fund managers are bad or whatever, some are obviously better than good, some are mediocre and some are lousy. The issues above regarding holdings and overlap apply to whatever mutual fund you think is the best one. It may not be a problem very often but it is always an issue.br /br /This is not, in my opinion, necessarily the same type of obstacle for narrower funds. A domestic financial sector fund is always going to own domestic financial stocks--maybe the right stocks or maybe not but it will always be a narrow proxy for, in this case, domestic financials.

Wall Street Garage Sale Produces Closed End Fund Bargains

Steve Selengut — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 14:51:51 +0000

There’s a bright light at the end of the tunnel— finally. Most of the really well respected, long term investors are advising their audiences to hang in there, to stop the panic selling, and to look for the great companies that have withstood the economic downturns of the past. Buffet, Bogle, Gross, [...]

Hedge Fund San Francisco

Richard C. Wilson — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 17:33:31 +0000

San Francisco Hedge Fund Guide

Hedge Funds in San Francisco

Here is a short guide collection of articles on the hedge fund industry in San Francisco. I am always looking for more valuable online tools and resources to add to these geographical hedge fund guides to the hedge fund industry. If you have a white paper or PowerPoint that I can include here please send me an email and I will post it for everyone's benefit.

San Francisco chapter of Hedge Funds Care
Interesting articles about two San Francisco hedge funds and their recent success
Global turmoil effecting hedge funds everywhere, including San Francisco
San Francisco firm pays $30 Million in settlement
Article: “The Best Investment Advice you’ll ever get”
CFA Society of San Francisco Society Events
Jobs in the hedge fund industry in San Francisco
An interesting article about San Francisco’s very own Farallon Capital Management
Another article about Farallon Capital Management and its new unique investment
Farallon’s huge investment in India
Hedge Fund World events in San Francisco
Students seek greater disclosure from San Francisco hedge fund

- Richard

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Email Newsletter Tool

Richard C. Wilson — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 16:21:02 +0000

Email Newsletter Tool

Start A Hedge Fund Related Newsletter

Even though almost everyone uses email now not many firms in the hedge fund industry provide a consistent weekly, monthly or even quarterly email newsletter. Why? Because it takes a little bit of trial and error and some consistent work to produce the fresh content for each new issue.

Providing an email newsletter can provide a competitive advantage for your firm as you are able to keep on top of minds of prospects, be seen as a thought leader in your space, have your newsletter forwarded on to other prospects and show your level of niche expertise. I have found email newsletter by the best way to keep in touch with everyone that I have met through this hedge fund blog, my Hedge Fund Blog Book downloads and Hedge Fund Group (HFG).

One of the leading email newsletter management firms is Aweber. Aweber is used by over 1,000 firms worldwide and I have been satisfied with their easy-to-use service and quick online customer service. It is relatively easy to get started. After playing around with settings for 20-30 minutes most people would be ready to test sending out their own email newsletter using one of their graphical templates or just using traditional plain text formatting:

Click here now to see what they offer: Aweber Email Newsletter Services

Note: Certain restrictions apply to email advertisements or newsletters if you are a hedge fund manager or offer certain types of investment advice, recommendations, etc. Please consult a legal expert or in-house compliance counsel for advice before starting your email campaign.

- Richard

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Small Hedge Funds

Richard C. Wilson — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 03:39:01 +0000

Small Hedge Funds

Interview on Small Hedge Funds

I recently completed two interviews. One with the Financial Times and another short interview for an article being written on small hedge funds with less than $100M in assets under management.

Here is a short excerpt of this second article and link to the full article:

The storm over Wall Street has abated somewhat, but the tide of bad news is receding slowly, complicating life for hedge fund managers and the rest of the financial industry. “The credit crunch continues,” said Ed Grebeck, CEO of Tempus Advisors in Stamford, Conn.

While large institutions have endured round after round of pain, scores of small, relatively unknown hedge funds, or largely unregulated pools of investments, have quietly worked through the turmoil. These smaller funds continue to score better returns than their bigger, more-seasoned peers, which control the majority of hedge fund assets.

The average return of small funds was 11.74 percent through last December, according to a hedge fund index compiled by New York-based PerTrac Financial Solutions. Medium- and large-sized funds returned 10.27 percent and 10.22 percent respectively.

“Smaller funds have historically been more profitable than big hedge funds,” said PerTrac Managing Director Meredith Jones from Nashville. The study defined small funds as those with less than $100 million in managed assets. Medium-sized funds were defined as those with $100 million to $500 million in managed assets, with anything over the $500 million mark considered large.

“There are thousands of hedge fund managers out there managing between $10 million and $100 million,” said hedge fund consultant Richard Wilson in an email. “Lots of hard work entrepreneurs who are rarely mentioned.”

Full Article Link

- Richard

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Texas Hedge Fund

Richard C. Wilson — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 18:03:40 +0000

Texas Hedge Fund

Guide to Hedge Funds in Texas

Texas continues to grow as a hub of hedge fund activity. It is one of the top 10 states in terms of hedge fund assets under management and total number of hedge funds in operation.

Here is a short guide collection of articles on the hedge fund industry in Texas. I am always looking for more valuable online tools and resources to add to these geographical guides to the hedge fund industry. If you have a white paper or PowerPoint that I can include here please send me an email and I will post it for everyone's benefit.

The Texas Hedge Fund organization, a good starting place
One of the largest and most influential hedge funds in Texas
Another excellent resource, starting point, for hedge funds and their energy ties
Excellent broad, comprehensive overview to Hedge Funds in Texas
Article: Texas hedge fund manager faces tough justice
Excellent New York Times article about a Texas bankruptcy case
Another story of a Texas hedge fund facing the justice system
Very interesting article about “a homespun hedge fund”
Hedge fund seeks $100 Million in investments
Texas Hedge Fund MBA Symposium
Hedge Fund jobs in the Texas area
Hedge funds make for painful bankruptcies
Another article detailing the rise of an Austin-based hedge fund
Calling out Carl Icahn

- Richard

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Russia Hedge Fund Guide

Richard C. Wilson — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 15:27:54 +0000

Russia Hedge Fund Guide

Guide to Russian Hedge Funds

Here is a short guide collection of articles on the hedge fund industry in Russia. I am always looking for more valuable online tools and resources to add to these geographical guides to the hedge fund industry. If you have a white paper or PowerPoint that I can include here please send me an email and I will post it for everyone's benefit.

Excellent New York Times article about a Russian multimillionaire, his hedge fund, and America
Russia dominates the list of leading hedge funds
Good summary from Hermitage Capital Management about hedge funds in Russia
Russia Hedge Funds 2008 Event in Switzerland
“Russia’s hedge fund managers: The long, the short and the tall”
Informative June 2008 Russian Hedge Fund analysis
A link to one of the largest and most influential hedge funds based out of Russia
“Russia Diversified: Hedge Funds Hone In On Growth Story”
New Russian-focused hedge fund launched by UFG Asset Management
Green light coming to hedge funds in Russia
“Russia-focused fund becomes first listing on London’s Specialist Fund Market”
Another Russian Hedge Fund Event
An Explosion of Business Schools in Russia
Alternative Investment Summit Russia 2008
Singapore-based hedge fund with $1 billion assets to invest in Russian infrastructure
Article titled “Hijacking the Hermitage Fund"
Good and informative Question and Answer with Russian hedge fund manager
DFJ launches the first US-Russia venture fund

- Richard

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Hedge Fund Forum

Richard C. Wilson — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 21:01:17 +0000

Hedge Fund Forum

Hedge Fund Forum - HedgeFundMessageBoard.com

As many of you already know there is a growing hedge fund forum connected to this hedge fund blog. To make it easy for you to get there I have purchased HedgeFundMessageBoard.com for this forum and you may now use that domain name to reach this message board on hedge funds.

Since we live in a time of much hedge fund regulation please do not post any performance figures or advertisements on this forum - it should be used to network, share resources, ask questions, announce events and provide feedback for the Hedge Fund Group (HFG) and this blog.

Here are some of the most popular posts on the hedge fund forum to date:

A List of Hedge Fund Recruiters
Hedge Fund Group (HFG) Member Introductions
Hedge Fund Conferences
Third Party Marketer Requests From Hedge Funds
Hedge Fund Job Openings
Largest Hedge Funds Question
Hedge Fund Marketing Networking
List of Hedge Fund Seed Capital Groups
Hedge Fund Internships
Hedge Fund Sales Question
Family Office Lists
Hedge Fund Happy Hour
Prime Brokerage Resources
Chartered Hedge Fund Associate (CHA) Designation Discussion
Hedge Fund Group (HFG) Invitation to Join Link
Discussion Related to Starting a Hedge Fund
A Debate on fee structures for a hedge fund
Hedge Fund Education Options
Investment PR Discussion

- Richard

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Middle Office Jobs

Richard C. Wilson — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 19:29:52 +0000

Middle Office Jobs

Middle Office Job & Operations Jobs Available

Just a short note that I've posted two new open hedge fund positions to the Finance and Accounting Job section of my Hedge Fund Job Listings page.

The first is a Hedge Fund Operations Associate position and the other is a Hedge Fund Middle Office Associate position. To view both please see this page: Finance and Accounting Jobs.

- Richard

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Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Richard C. Wilson — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 20:21:57 +0000

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games

Beijing 2008 Olympic Games & Hedge Fund Events

I've been watching the Olympics in Beijing this week between consulting meetings and blogging and the number of cultures which all come together for the games in Beijing is impressive. It is truly unique and inspiring.

Watching the Beijing Olympic Games has inspired me to get my ducks in a row and schedule the first series of Hedge Fund Group (HFG) events. I met with a group today over lunch who will be helping me organize and market these to the industry and I hope we can make it valuable to all who attend. These quarterly Hedge Fund Group (HFG) events will be held in Boston and New York (not Beijing, yet).

To begin with these will be relatively low key, meet-and-great cocktail hour platforms for networking. If you would like to be involved in helping choose a location, market the event through your website or invite all the members of your firm please send us an email at Richard@HedgeFundGroup.org and let us know how you would like to get involved. Official event dates will be published both here and on http://HedgeFundGroup.org.

- Richard

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Financial Advisor Marketing

Richard C. Wilson — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:58:46 +0000

Financial Advisor Marketing

Financial Advisor Marketing Differences Q & A

Today I received this question from a New York based hedge fund marketer.

Question:When marketing to financial advisors for your hedge fund, what necessary steps do you need to take dealing with these guys? Is it any different that dealing with family offices?

Answer: Marketing to financial advisors is much different than marketing to single and multi-family offices. Here are the main differences between the two that I have noticed:

Family ffices have more established due diligence procedures, often involving consultants or internal analysts which do nothing but look at hedge funds or alternative investment products.
Financial advisors have lower minimum asset levels for what they will consider investing. 90% of family offices only seriously consider investing in hedge funds with at least $75M-$100M, and many require $250-$300M or even $1B in assets under management.
Family offices are more tight lipped. It will take more effort to develop a relationship, meet in person and get clear feedback on why or why a hedge fund is a good fit for what they are looking for.
Family offices are harder to identify in the first place. Financial advisors are easier to find, there are more of them and they advertise more openly. Some family offices advertise but many stay below the radar and some purposefully don't even have a website.
While family offices service to high net worth investors almost exclusively many financial advisors work with a broad spectrum of client types - this might require more caution by them and your fund in marketing products to them. It might also mean sorting through more financial advisors to find one with several HNW clients.
In my experience financial advisors seem much more sensitive and motivated by how they will earn a commission or income from the transaction whereas many family offices charge rich enough fees that this is less of an issue.
While some financial advisors may take 16-24 months to really get "on board" with a relevant hedge fund manager, understand your investment process and possibly invest most will come to terms a bit before then. Family offices on the other hand often take 18-24 months just to complete their due diligence and committee meetings, it is a very long sales process.
Both family offices and financial advisors require genuine relationship-building efforts and tenacity
From a legal standpoint there may be other precautions your fund should take but I am not a legal expert so I can't provide any guidance within that space.

I recently published a blog post which provided more tips on marketing hedge funds to financial advisors here: Marketing Hedge Funds to Financial Advisors and I have 30 additional articles within the Hedge Fund Marketing Guide section of my blog.

Finally, I run small websites on both third party marketing and family offices which may be of use.

- Richard

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Due Dilligence Process

Richard C. Wilson — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 14:18:32 +0000

Due Diligence Process

Due Diligence Process Tips by Experts

A panel of hedge fund industry experts gathered at Bloomberg to discuss hedge fund due diligence and educate hedge fund investors on lesser-known difficulties. The discussion emphasizes that there is inherent risk involved in hedge funds, but due diligence can minimize this risk. Barry A. Wintner (director of research at Asset Alliance) says that investors must understand the volatility and danger to avoid worst-case scenarios.

Wintner advocates for choosing seasoned hedge fund managers and thoroughly examining the manager's past strategies and experiences. He lists important questions to ask when considering a hedge fund manager. The panel discusses operations due diligence, an area that many investors neglect but are critical for hedge fund investors. Another aspect discussed is a thorough method of conducting a background check.

This resource outlines often overlooked due diligence aspects and gives simple tips to correct this. Click here now to view this resource.

- Richard

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Analyst & Due Diligence Positions

Richard C. Wilson — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 00:09:47 +0000

Analyst & Due Diligence Jobs

Open Analyst and Due Diligence Positions

Please see below for open analyst and due diligence jobs within the hedge fund industry:

Open Position #1: Operational Due Diligence Analyst (New York Tri-State Area)
A New York Tri-State area hedge fund of fund specializing in global investments is seeking an Operational Due Diligence Analyst to assess operational risks and identify potential control weaknesses of hedge funds and private equity funds that the firm intends to invest in. The position requires a good understanding of hedge fund and private equity fund structures, operational processes, controls and service providers.

Job Description: Research, analyze, and document the operational process and controls of investment advisors. Coordinate, prepare, and conduct due diligence site visits/calls with potential and existing investment advisors to evaluate their processes, policies, procedures and controls. Coordinate problem resolution with colleagues in related functional disciplines including Legal, Compliance and Product Management. Continuously benchmark and upgrade our processes to adjust for industry developments and improvements in best-practices
Required Skills: 3-5 years of Alternative Investment audit experience from BIG 4 or current due diligence experience from a FOF or Hedge Fund
Compensation: Base $90K-$110K before bonus

Apply: If you meet the required experience and skills for this position and would like to apply please send your resume and relevant background details to Ross Weil at RWeil@BOCStaffing.com

Open Position #2: Coming Soon - Please email Richard@HedgeFundGroup.org to add your open portfolio management position here now.

Not interested in these positions but interested in looking at other open hedge fund jobs? Please see HedgeFundBlogger.com's Hedge Fund Job Listings page.

- Richard

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Sales Motivation

Richard C. Wilson — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:51:24 +0000

Sales Motivation

Sales Motivation Video

Here is a great video from Gitomer on Life Long learning. I agree with him that if you are not in a job you love or are passionate about you will lag behind everyone else, only put in what is required and never excel or reach your full potential. It also seems to be true that a daily commitment to investing one hour a day to reading, learning and improving yourself pays off within a very short amount of time.

If you are viewing this by email via my daily daily hedge fund newsletter please click here now to view this video.

Tired of reading articles? Watch more videos like this one above within the Hedge Fund Videos Directory.

- Richard

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Hedge Fund Contacts

Richard C. Wilson — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 15:35:29 +0000

Hedge Fund Contacts

Hedge Fund Industry Contacts

The list below was put together from this blog's directory of hedge fund services. If you are a hedge fund startup or established hedge fund manager looking for additional industry contacts these individuals might be able to help you build your business.

Hedge Fund Administrators

Polina Tsikman - BGT Fund Administration PTsikman@BGTConsulting.com
Nottingham Investment Administration http://NCFunds.com

Hedge Fund Auditors

Maurice Berkower - ACSB, Maurice@acsbco.com

Prime Brokers

Lance Baraker - Saratoga Prime Services, LBaraker@Saratogaprime.com
Larry Goldsmith - Triad Securities, Press@TriadSecurities.com
Darren Day - Alaris Trading Partners, info@alaristrading.com

Commercial Real Estate Brokers

Robert Kluge - NAI Global, RKluge@nainyc.com

Investment Research

David Gurwitz - Charles Nenner Research, DGurwitz@earthlink.net
Rob MacArthur - Alternative Research Services, rmacarthur@altresearch.com

Hedge Fund Marketing & Public Relations

Richard Dukas - Dukas PR, Richard@DukasPR.com
Michael Sakraida - Advisor Based Sales Consulting, M.Sakraida@att.net
Mitch Ackles - Hedge Fund PR, Mitch.Ackles@HedgeFundPR.net

Hedge Fund Recruiters

Marc Goormastic - Goormastic Executive Search, marcus@goormastic.com
Sameer Vishwanathan - Markle Wis,ameer@marklewisinc.com
Anthony Solazzo - Masonboro Partners, anthony@masonboropartners.com
Howard Ross - BOC Staffing Solutions, HRoss@BOCStaffing.com
Ken Murray - Mercury Partners, kenmurray@mercurypartner.com

If you would like to be added to this list please email me at Richard@HedgeFundGroup.org.

- Richard

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Stock Market Blog

Richard C. Wilson — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:37:01 +0000

Stock Market Blog

Links to a Stock Market Blog

I sometimes get requests to provide links out to other well developed investment and stock related blogs. Last week I connected with a blogger through a blog network called The Wild Investor. A site dedicated to try and find different ways of increasing wealth other than or in partnership with the typical 9-5 job. The site covers areas such as: stocks, real estate, entrepreneurial spirits, and other parts of the personal finance realm.

Here are a few of the most popular articles currently running over at The Wild Investor:

- Richard

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Samuel Israel Bayou Capital Group

Richard C. Wilson — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:11:16 +0000

Bayou Capital Group

Samuel Israel - Bayou Capital Group Videos

Here are a series of 3 videos documenting Samuel Israel's faked suicide, arrest and attempt to plead guilty in court. Mr. Israel was a hedge fund manager who ran Bayou Capital, he was accused of fraud and taking over $450M from his investors.

If you are viewing this by email via my daily daily hedge fund newsletter please click here now to view this video.

Tired of reading articles? Watch more videos like this one above within the Hedge Fund Videos Directory.

- Richard

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Market Profits

Richard C. Wilson — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:56:00 +0000

Market Profits

Hedge Funds Pull Down Record Profits

Here is a short video describing how 2007 helped create more wealth for individuals within the financial sector than any other year in history. The average market profits for the largest and highest performing hedge fund managers topped $800M last year.

If you are viewing this by email via my daily daily hedge fund newsletter please click here now to view this video.

- Richard

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Hedge Fund Industry Awards

Richard C. Wilson — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 21:01:38 +0000

Hedge Fund Industry Awards

Hedge Fund Industry Awards Dinner Video

Here is a short video showing a series of pictures from the recent Hedge Fund Industry Awards Dinner.

If you are viewing this post via email my daily hedge fund newsletter please click here now to watch the video.

Tired of reading articles? Watch more videos like this one above within the Hedge Fund Videos Directory.

- Richard

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Stock Market Timing

Richard C. Wilson — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 20:31:29 +0000

Stock Market Timing

Stock Market Timing Interview - Steinhardt

Here is a short 10 minute interview with Michael Steinhardt from Wisdom Tree Investments. Within this interview he talks about how the stock market from a technical point of view looks poised for a rally yet at the same time shows many signs of a bear market. He believes that for the next year or two the write offs will continue. He would like to see the fed raise the rates and he believes that this time things are really going to be different this time. If he is right that could mean a prolonged period of low or even negative hedge fund industry returns. I'll be publishing a hedge fund performance article next week with an update on how different sectors are performing.

- Richard

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Articles related to Stock Market Timing:

1. US Economy Recession
2. Hedge Fund Collapse
3. Hedge Funds Failing or Thriving?
4. Hedge Fund Jobs
5. Hedge Fund Managers
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8. Citigroup Hedge Fund
9. Citigroup Hedge Fund
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Tags: Stock Market Timing, Timing the stock market, stock market timing system, timing of the stock market, stock exchange timing, oil prices, stock timing signals, stock timing signs

Investment Book

Richard C. Wilson — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 21:24:14 +0000

Investment Book

Investment Book on Hedge Funds

In 1 week I will be updating my free investment book on hedge funds - The Hedge Fund Blog Book. So far this book has had over 7,000 downloads. Once it reaches 100,000 I will publish a "real book" in paper back form.

I am looking for more tips and short interview pieces with industry experts. If you have been in the industry for 7 or 10+ years I could appreciate any lists of:

Top 10 hedge fund marketing tips
Top 10 tips for gaining employment in the hedge fund industry
Top 10 tips for starting a hedge fund

To submit these or other pieces of wisdom please email me at Richard@HedgeFundGroup.org and I will include most submitted pieces here on my blog and then also within the next version of the Hedge Fund Blog Book.

To download the book for free now please visit http://hedgefundsbook.com

- Richard

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1. Top 10 Hedge Fund Books
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6. Hedge Me by Claude Schwab
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10. Rainmaker

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Tags: Investment Book, Investments Book, Investment Books, Book on investments, Investment e book, Investment e-book, free investment book, free book on investmetns

Hedge Funds Job

Richard C. Wilson — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:02:23 +0000

Hedge Funds Job

Getting Your Foot In The Door

I'm constantly getting asked: "How do I get my foot in the door and get my first hedge funds job?" Everybody wants to get in, especially ex-mortgage people. The perception is of astronomical pay, glamor, Hickey Freeman suits, Ferragamo shoes. Here are 3 tips to wedge your foot in that door...

1) Work for free. Industry switching usually means taking a cut in pay. To get your foot in the door, be willing to start commission-only or at a very low pay rate. Once you prove yourself valuable there will be plenty of opportunity.

2) Improve your pedigree. While there may be a few people involved with hedge funds who didn't graduate from a good college - they are either unusually experienced or unusually brilliant. For most of us, pedigree matters. Consider going back for an MBA at a "name school". Full-time programs are more fashionable than executive programs if you're making an industry switch. Consider industry-specific training program and designations such as the CAIA, CHA, CPA or CFA.

3) Have friends on the inside. Getting hired off the street into a hedge fund, even for an entry-level job, is pretty hard. Getting hired at a hedge fund where one of your good friends works is not so hard. Keith Ferrazzi's book "Never Eat Alone" is a new classic. Read it and then read it again.

Remember that the financial market is pretty tough right now. A lot of folks are sitting on the sidelines with their money and hedge funds, like everyone else, are trying to run lean and mean. Top performers with track record, pedigree, and "know how" are prized. Random people who washed out of other industries are in LOW demand. To get your foot in the door you'll need to go the extra mile. That's not what everyone wants to hear, but it's the truth.

Marc Goormastic of Goormastic Executive Search

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6. Hedge Fund Pay
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8. Hedge Fund Recruiters
9. Hedge Fund Work
10. Get a Job at a Hedge Fund

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Tags: Hedge Funds Job, Hedge Funds Jobs, Fund of Hedge Funds Jobs, Hedge fund of funds jobs

Hedge Fund Links

Richard C. Wilson — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 22:25:46 +0000

Hedge Fund Links

Hedge Fund Blog Links

There are only 5-10 bloggers who consistently write articles and publish new daily content on the hedge fund industry. One of these individuals is Alex Akesson. Alex runs a hedge fund news blog, the hedge fund weblog and contributes to a blog over at HedgeCo.

Here are some of Alex's recent blog entries:

If you also write or blog about hedge funds each day or week please let me know to see how we could work together. Richard@RichardCWilson.com

- Richard

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Hedge Fund Expert

Richard C. Wilson — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:38:23 +0000

Hedge Fund Expert

A Hedge Fund Expert?

A couple members of the Hedge Fund Group (HFG) and avid readers of this blog in the industry have suggested that I disclose more about who I am and where my "expertise" on hedge funds comes from.

First, I am not an all knowing "hedge fund expert." I am not a gray haired sage who manages a $10B fund, I am not 50 years old with war stories on how the hedge fund industry started from nothing in the 70's. I am a hedge fund consultant, providing hedge fund marketing services, exclusive resources to hedge fund managers, and promotional services for a few service provider firms in the industry.

I am a student of the hedge fund industry while working inside of it. I spend at least an hour a day learning and writing on hedrge funds and this is how my blog has grown to what it is today. I find valuable resources online, conduct interviews, provide definitions, link to white papers and share stories of working in the industry where my experience can provide some additional insight.

My background includes a Bachelors in Business Administration, an M.B.A. in Marketing and soon my ALM Masters degree from Harvard University. My thesis for this masters program is being focused on the Psychology of Influence (sales). My experience includes risk management consulting and raising capital from high net worth, consultants, broker-dealers, platforms, financial advisors, fund of funds and family offices.

I love writing here in the blog on hedge funds but don't want to appear as if I'm attempting to pass myself off as someone I am not. I hope this clears up a few things and provides a bit more detail on the perspective from which I am writing.

- Richard

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Tags: Hedge Fund Expert, Hedge Fund Experts, Hedge Funds Expert, Hedge Funds Experts, Fund of Funds Expert, Fund of Hedge Funds Experts, Hedge Fund Consultants, Consultants Hedge Funds

Geographical Guide to Hedge Funds

Richard C. Wilson — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:45:55 +0000

Hedge Fund Guides

Geographical Hedge Fund Guides

While conducting research for this hedge fund blog I have had a hard time learning about the hedge fund industry within certain regions of the world such as China, Australia, Brazil and Canada.

To help solve this problem for others looking to learn about hedge funds within these markets I have started to publish geographical guides to the hedge fund industry. These guides each provide links to 15-30 online resources which in total can provide a decent introduction to what it would be like to conduct business or work in that region or city. I will be publishing at least one new geographical guide every two weeks.

Here are the geographical hedge fund guides which already exists:

We will be developing far more of these in the future. Please let me know if you have a request for a specific region or city and I can add it to my list of projects. Richard@HedgeFundGroup.org. To keep updated on new guides coming out soon please subscribe to this blog via the blue link below.

- Richard

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Tags: Geographical Guide to the Hedge Fund Industry, International Hedge Fund Guide, Foreign Hedge Funds, Hedge Fund Guide, Guide to Hedge Funds, Hedge Fund Guides, Alternative Investment Guide

Hedge Fund Survey

Richard C. Wilson — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:15:06 +0000

Hedge Fund Survey

Hedge Fund Investor Survey

A recent survey of hedge fund investors showed that many of them, over 50% are satisfied with their alternative investment or hedge fund investments right now. Only 30% of this same group were satisfied with their stock and bond investments.

I thought this would be interesting to post here and important because it cuts through the bias placed upon the reporting on hedge fund blow ups, billion dollar take downs and locks ups that we have seen a lot of in the mainstream news outlets.

Here is an excerpt from another blog posts on this subject:

The survey, of 400 clients with $3 million or more in investible assets, found that more than half of those with hedge-fund investments were “satisfied” with the funds’ performance.
That compares with an approval rating of just 30% for traditional investments such as stocks and bonds. Other alternatives also fared better than stocks and bonds: a 41% approval rating for venture capital, 41% for real-estate, and 35% for private equity.

What gives? Haven’t hedge funds had one of the worst years in history?

According to Hedge Fund Research, the hedge-fund industry was down 3.2% for the month through July 24. That’s the worst July performance since the research firm starting tracking the business in 1990, and the worst monthly performance since 2000.

Yet stocks have fared even worse. The S&P is down 16% for the year, and the Dow is down about the same. Hedge funds also offer a greater opportunity to play the downturn with distressed funds.
Source: WSJ Wealth Report

Special thanks to Rick at FinancialAwakenings.com for alerting me to this survey.

- Richard

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Articles related to Hedge Fund Survey:

1. Hedge Fund Services
2. Hedge Fund Databases
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7. European Hedge Funds
8. CFA vs. CAIA
9. Financial Public Relations
10. Intellectual Property Licensing

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Tags: Hedge Fund Survey, Hedge Fund Investment Survey, Hedge Fund Investor Survey, Hedge Fund Investors Survey, Hedge Fund Investments Survey, Fund of Hedge Funds Survey

Latin America Funds

Richard C. Wilson — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 12:57:35 +0000

Latin American Funds

Latin American Funds Remain Strong

Here is a guest article by Naveen Kumar on hedge funds in Latin America and Brazil.

The HFN Latin American Average (LatAM) was launched in early 2007 and since then it’s exhibited tremendous growth. The benchmark has increased by almost 30%, blowing away every strategy specific HFN benchmark. Only the HFN benchmarks for Brazil, Middle East, North America, and China have outperformed the LatAM index.

This tremendous growth can be attributed to the large increase of investments in the region’s equity markets. To give you a sense of this, out of the 115 composite funds, 46 focus solely on equities. This is 24 more than in December of 2006. Many of the funds in LatAM focus solely on Brazil, a country whose own benchmark has risen 40%. Luckily funds invested in Brazil have been sheltered from the recent damage as a result of the weakened global prospects suffered by funds invested in India and China.

Total assets for funds invested in Latin America rose quickly in Q1 2008 to a little over $21 billion. This represents a nearly 30% rise in assets in this quarter alone. Rebounding from a slow period between 2004 and 2006, assets between 2007 and 2008 showed an increase of $14.5 billion. Most of this growth was due to new allocations and not simply performance gains.
One point of potential concern is that a rapid influx of capital to a country’s hedge funds is sometimes followed by a drop of in the country’s equity market. This happened in Russia, India, and China and resulted in a fall of assets. In the long term, however, growth prospects look to remain strong.

- Richard

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Articles related to Latin America Funds:

1. Australian Hedge Funds
2. New York Hedge Funds
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5. Hedge Funds in Chicago, IL
6. Hedge Funds in New York
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8. Japanese Hedge Funds (Report)
9. Singapore Hedge Funds
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Tags: Latin America Funds, Latin America Fund, Latin America Hedge Funds, Hedge Fund in Latin America, Latin America Market, Latin American Investment, Latin American Capital

Fidelity Inflation-Linked Bond Fund

Wayne Koh — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 04:39:00 +0000

Announcement from FIL Investment Management (Singapore) Limited - 7th Jul2008 ============================================================ Don't let Inflation eat your lunch ! Inflationary pressures are beginning to re-emerge around the world. As a result of energy, food and commodity price surges, consumers are facing a global concern - that inflation is reducing their purchasing power. We are

Legg Mason “Partners Appreciation Fund” Top Picks

CEO Blogger — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 02:15:59 +0000

- Harry Cohen took over the Legg Mason Appreciations Fund in 1979; he is a value investor who tries to take a longer view of stocks. His partner is Scott Glasser, who joined him as a co-portfolio manager at the very end of 1995. They’ve guided the fund (ticker: SHAPX) to a solid [...]

Short post today: Barclays and fraudulent hedge funds

John Hempton — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:58:00 +0000

This is just a short post - to tie in some loose ends I have.I wrote yesterday about Barclays Global Capital. I have written twice about a fraudulent hedge fund (New World Capital management) - see here and here. Barclays has developed quite a business...

You must forgive me my tactlessness: New World Capital Management – a follow up

John Hempton — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:06:00 +0000

Short post - and an apology. I previously posted on Fun and games in hedge fund land. That post was about a fraudulent (and now disappeared) hedge fund.The title of the post was needlessly offensive. What New World Capital did was not fun and games....

Highest Yielding Stocks Under $5 a Share

Fred Fuld — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 07:07:00 +0000

Many investors think that the perfect stock is one that sells for a low price and pays a high yield. It may be hard to believe but there are actually several stocks, including closed end funds or CEF's, that sell for less than $5 a share and pay a dividend, with five of the stocks with yields in excess of 6%.

All of the following stocks pay quarterly unless otherwise specified. Also, all of the following have market caps above $265 million. Just remember that the yields are based on historical payments, and the dividends can be adjusted or terminated at any time.

Zweig Fund ( ZF ) is a CEF with an objective of capital appreciation primarily through investment in equity securities. The stock has a PE of 12. The stock has a yield of 10.4 %.

Zweig Total Return Fund ( ZTR ) is a CEF with an objective of capital appreciation and current income, with equity investments in technology, energy, industrials, consumer staples, and financials. The stock has a PE of 13. The stock has a yield of 10.3 %.

Dreyfus High Yield Strategies Fund ( DHF ) is a CEF which invests in fixed-income securities which are generally below investment grade credit quality. The stock has a PE of 12. The stock has a yield of 9.1 %.

Qwest Communications International ( Q ) is a provider of wireline and wireless voice, data, Internet, and video services. The stock has a PE of 3 , and a PEG of 4.66 . The stock has a yield of 6.8 %.

Colonial Bancgroup Inc ( CNB ) is a commercial bank holding company which serves Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Texas. The stock has a PE of 5 , and a PEG of 1.21 . The stock has a yield of 6.4 %.

United Microelectronics Corp ( UMC ) is a Taiwan based semiconductor manufacturer. It pays dividends annually. The stock has a PE of 19 , and a PEG of 1.8 . The stock has a yield of 3.2 %.

Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd. ( MTE ) is an India based provider of fixed line telecommunications services in Delhi and Mumbai. I pays dividends semi-annually. The stock has a PE of 6 , and a PEG of 5.01 . The stock has a yield of 5.6 %.

Quest Capital Corp ( QCC ) is a Canadian real estate mortgage financing company. They recently announced a dividend of $0.045 per share which is an 80% increase over the previous dividend. The stock has a PE of 13. The stock has a yield of 5.1 %.

UCBH Holdings Inc. ( UCBH ) is a San Francisco bank holding company which owns United Commercial Bank. The stock has a PE of 5 , and a PEG of 0.67 . The stock has a yield of 3.7 %.

Transportadora de Gas Del Sur S.A. ( TGS ) is an Argentina based transporter and marketer of natural gas. The stock has a PE of 12. The stock has a yield of 0.9 %.

If you like high yield stocks, you should review high yield electric utility stocks, high yield gas utilities, and oil royalty trusts that have high yields.

Author does not own any of the above.

By Fred Fuld at Stockerblog.com

Banks: Systematic & Non-Systematic Risk

Richard Shaw — Thu, 29 May 2008 13:23:15 +0000

Large banks are way down in the past 12 months, and as a consequence their trailing yields are well above normal. That potentially creates substantial long-term equity income opportunity, but the big question is whether the dividends that make those yields will hold or be cut. If you subscribe to the “buy it when [...]

Fun and games in hedge fund land (or what does it take to go to prison?)

John Hempton — Sun, 25 May 2008 05:01:00 +0000

Forgive me for a non-stock post. But it will cover the dubious goings on off Wall Street - and is fun.A while back I went looking for a new name for a fund. In passing I came accross New World Capital Management - the most intriguing hedge fund you h...

The First Four Billion Were The Easiest

Asif Suria — Thu, 15 May 2008 18:06:15 +0000

ETF provider WisdomTree ( WSDT.PK ) and Dreyfus Corporation announced the launch of four currency income ETFs yesterday based on the Chinese Yu...

Global stock markets – return and valuation scorecard

Prieur du Plessis — Fri, 09 May 2008 06:13:11 +0000

Global stock markets have experienced a relatively strong recovery since the middle of March. Although markets in general are still well below previous highs, it makes for interesting reading to reflect on the extent of the correction and subsequent ra...

Mid Morning

Roger Nusbaum — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:07:00 +0000

Another ETF filing with a hat tip to IndexUniverse.

WisdomTree has filed for the Middle East Dividend Fund that will include Bahrain, Dubai, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

The prospectus has no info on country weightings (none that I found anyway) but surprisingly 54% of the companies have market caps greater than $2 billion.

WisdomTree has an awful lot of very interesting funds on the shelf that I'd love to see list but thus far have not. Some of the filings are so old now that I doubt they will list so we'll see if this middle east fund ever lists or not.

One thing seems pretty clear to me, frontier markets will open up to investors one way or another pretty quickly. PowerShares has a frontier fund in the works which takes in a few other countries but given the role of middle eastern countries and investment funds are now playing on the global stage a narrower fund like the one WT filed for is inevitable even if it is from another provider.

As I was working on this post the following comment came in on this morning's post that deserves a follow up.

I sure wouldn't attempt the kind of sophisticated trades that you're positing. For me, it's just enough to know that they're out there if I ever get to that point.

I mentioned the potential of trading the spread between platinum and gold or AUD/NZD. No argument from me on the reader's point. I would add though, is that a dynamic exists between many different things like Oz and New Zealand. As it becomes possible to more easily trade off of these dynamics means that people will submit articles to places like Seeking Alpha. And while you may never trade AUDNZD via ETFs you might equity exposure to Australia and understanding the dynamic might make you more knowledgeable about the country you own.

Now apply that to other exposures in your portfolio like maybe gold.

Thursday Tidbits

Roger Nusbaum — Thu, 08 May 2008 12:29:00 +0000

Speaking of Romania the Slovakian koruna will be no more as Slovakia has been accepted into adopting the euro starting Jan 1, 2009 (save for a potential snag or two). I don't know a lot about Slovakia but the bigger macro for these countries is smaller, faster growing, cheaper labor, younger population than the European old gard makes them generally attractive as an investment destination.

IndexUniverse is reporting that there will be two platinum related ETNs from ETRACS listing very soon, one will go long platinum and have ticker PTM and the other will go short platinum with ticker PTD.

This chart compares the platinum product from ETF Securities in the UK versus GLD (client holding). The basic case for platinum as I understand it is there is less of it than gold and it gets consumed for industrial purposes.

Van Eck launched a double long euro ETN, ticker URR, and a double short euro ETN, ticker DRR. These look a little funky to me as there are more moving parts to the calculation than you might think. IndexUniverse explains it here.

According to the IndexUniverse article the index for URR is up 12.8% YTD through April 30. According to Yahoo Finance the Rydex Euro Fund (FXE) is up 6.9% so despite my perceived funkiness that seems pretty reasonable. DRR YTD through April 30 is down 10.68%.

Rydex has filed for new currency ETFs; Russian ruble, Hong Kong dollar (this is an odd one, HKD is pegged to the greenback), South African rand and Singapore dollar. Hat tip to 24/7 Wallstreet for this info.

All of these new products, which I just heard about yesterday, tie in with the ongoing thread of more products allowing for more sophisticated portfolios. For do-it-yourselfers who are inclined to learn about them and proceed with moderation (this comment assumes the products all work which remains to be seen) I think this is a big positive.

Anyone saying they can't keep track of all of them, I hear you. There have been a slew of double long and double short commodity products that I cannot keep straight. For my tastes commodities are volatile enough that single exposure is good enough for me.

As more things come it creates some interesting sorts of pairings like trading the spread between platinum and gold or the AUDNZD rate (once/if the WisdomTree New Zealand ETF lists). Even if you have no plans to make these sorts of trades learning about them may offer some utility for what you are comfortable doing.

Of the products mentioned in this post I am most interested in the Sing dollar. I have been interested in it for a while, hopefully they follow through with it.

One commodity ETF or ETN I'd like to see is coffee. I am of the opinion that coffee consumption in Asia could skyrocket yet still have virtually no market share but if correct that could have a meaningful impact on the supply and demand equation for coffee. To be clear coffee will never be the drink of choice in Asia.

And finally from the hey that farm in Uruguay doesn't look so bad file is this rather lengthy look at the state of the US power grid. Yikes.

Interesting Reader Question

Roger Nusbaum — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 13:39:36 +0000

A Mr. Richard Feder from Fort Lee, NJ left a comment asking how a lazy ETF portfolio I wrote about for TSCM in April, 2007 has done. The nature of compliance and this being my blog means I can’t really say it was up or down X%. For anyone who cares [...]

‘Rising Tide Growth’ vs Mid Cap Growth Mutual Fund Peers

Trader Mark — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:38:25 +0000

I am going to start posting monthly results versus my peer group of mutual funds, now that the fund is approaching 9 months old. Obviously shorter term time frames could be attributed to luck, randomness, or other things… hence why I want to look at a minimum of 1 year time frame, and when I [...]

“You’re Bumping Me From Career Day?”

Roger Nusbaum — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:29:22 +0000

Back in mid-March I had the longest email interview I’ve ever given with Money Magazine for their May issue and I think I got bumped. Yesterday after my workout I drove over to Barnes & Noble with the excitement I used to feel as a kid opening that first pack of baseball cards for the season [...]

Fund Positions by Market Cap – Mid April Update

Trader Mark — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 13:54:29 +0000

I haven’t done one of these updates in a long time [Nov 13: Fund Positions by Market Cap - Mid November] but here is a comprehensive look at all fund positions by market capitalization (which is a fancy word for “size”). Essentially a company has X number of shares and $X stock price. By multiplying [...]

Managing Sector Funds in Portfolio Design

Richard Shaw — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:32:11 +0000

If you intend to pursue US sector rotation investing with ETFs, you probably want to be sure that your choice of funds covers the entire US market without unintended gaps or overlaps in your exposure. There are many funds with sector focus that pose a bewildering menu. On top of that is inconsistent labeling of levels [...]

Dave’s Daily

David Fry — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:25:24 +0000

SPIN DOCTORS IN THE LAB Before leaving town the market had moved higher on some pretty flimsy “cherry-picked” news while ignoring some awful inflation news. Like I was saying yesterday, bulls will find a way to “spin” news to suit them. So they chose to ignore new highs in oil prices and headline PPI while focusing [...]

Worldwide Mutual Fund Assets

Richard Shaw — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 23:02:42 +0000

The Investment Company Institute reported $26 trillion worldwide mutual fund assets from 26 reporting countries for the year 2007. They reported assets for 2002 – 2007 which shows a 5-year average increase in total assets of 18.3% (net new money + performance), and a 2007 asset increase of 23%. It is interesting to see how investors worldwide [...]

Country Bets Are Also Sector Bets … and more

Richard Shaw — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 21:36:59 +0000

Country equity funds differ in a number of ways. They vary in sector weights, currency exposures, political risks, stock market liquidity risks, interest rate and inflation risks, and other factors. To illustrate the point, let’s look at the different sector weights in six passive country index ETFs from Barclays for the Americas. ILF (Latin America) EWZ (Brazil) ECH (Chile) EWW [...]

Core and Explore More Core

Roger Nusbaum — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 13:17:14 +0000

Vanguard filed for an All-World ETF, iShares already has one with ticker ACWI and Northern Trust has one in the hopper. The underlying indexes have US, developed foreign and emerging foreign. This is probably the purest index exposure one could have. Like any other index fund of course this type of product will have flaws and [...]

Och Ziff Funds report performance losses in 4th Quarter

Agustin Gonzalez — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:53:24 +0000

Och Ziff Capital Management (ticker: OZM) repoted that all four of its funds experienced losses in the firsdt quarter. The OZ Master fund, which is the firms flagship fund, is down 0.85% year-to-date while the Europe Master Fund has fallen 1.75% YTD, the Asia Master Fund is down 2.58% YTD, and the Gobal Special [...]