...DEFINITION of 'Hedge Fund' Hedge funds are alternative investments using pooled funds that may use a number of different strategies in order to earn active return, or alpha, for their investors. Hedge funds may be aggressively managed or make use of derivatives and leverage in both domestic and international markets with the goal of generating high returns (either in an absolute sense or over a specified market benchmark). Because hedge funds may have low correlations with a traditional portfolio of stocks and bonds, allocating an exposure to hedge funds can be a good diversifier. Hedge Fund Strategies Many hedge fund styles exist; the following classifications of hedge fund styles is a general overview. * Equity market neutral: These funds attempt to identify overvalued and undervalued equity securities while neutralizing the portfolio’s exposure to market risk by combining long and short positions. Portfolios are typically structured to be market, industry, sector, and dollar neutral, with a portfolio beta around zero. This is accomplished by holding long and short equity positions with roughly equal exposure to the related market or sector factors. Because many investors face constraints relative to shorting stocks, situations of overvaluation may be slower to correct than those of undervaluation. Because this style seeks an absolute return, the benchmark is typically the risk-free rate. (For more, see: Getting Positive Results With Market-Neutral Funds.) * Convertible...
Words: 1579 - Pages: 7
...Hedge Funds Instructor: Dr. F. Beer By: Vishal Pahuja | Angel Cardoz | Contents Introduction by Vishal Pahuja 3 History by Vishal Pahuja 4 Types of Hedge Funds by Vishal Pahuja 4 Key Characteristics of a Hedge Funds by Vishal Pahuja 5 Size and Market Statistics by Angel Cardoz 5 What is the Cost? by Angel Cardoz 6 Cost to manage 6 Cost to Economy 7 Risks and Returns by Vishal Pahuja 7 Hedge Fund Structure by Vishal Pahuja 8 A Success Story by Vishal Pahuja 9 Peer Evaluation 9 Pay for Hedge Fund Managers 9 A Failure Story by Angel Cardoz 10 Long-Term Capital Management 10 The Rise 10 The fall 10 The future of hedge funds by Angel Cardoz 11 Regulation 11 Markets 11 Bibliography by Vishal Pahuja 11 Quote Basically, I look at the trading screens all day and go with my gut. Hedge Funds Introduction S ince the early 1990s, hedge funds have become an increasingly popular asset class. The amount invested globally in hedge funds rose from approximately $50 billion in 1990 to approximately $1 trillion by the end of 2004 And because these funds characteristically use substantial leverage, they play a far more important role in the global securities markets than the size of their net assets indicates. Market makers on the floor of the NYSE have estimated that during 2004, trades by hedge funds often accounted for more than half of the total daily number of shares changing hands. Moreover, investments in hedge funds have become...
Words: 4009 - Pages: 17
...BEST PRACTICES FOR THE HEDGE FUND INDUSTRY ~~~~~ REPORT OF THE ASSET MANAGERS’ COMMITTEE TO THE PRESIDENT’S WORKING GROUP ON FINANCIAL MARKETS January 15, 2009 * * * THE ASSET MANAGERS’ COMMITTEE Eric Mindich, Chair (Eton Park Capital Management) Anne Casscells (Aetos Capital, LLC) Marc Lasry (Avenue Capital Group) William Von Mueffling (Cantillon Capital Management) Anne Dinning (D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P.) Jonathon S. Jacobson (Highfields Capital Management) James S. Chanos (Kynikos Associates LP) Daniel S. Och (Och-Ziff Capital Management) Daniel H. Stern (Reservoir Capital Group) Edward Mulé (Silver Point Capital, L.P.) COUNSEL TO THE ASSET MANAGERS’ COMMITTEE Sullivan & Cromwell LLP Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP * * * Table of Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................... i BEST PRACTICES ...........................................................................................................1 Disclosure and Investor Protection ..................................................................................1 I. II. Disclosure of Material Information to Investors ...................................................1 Ongoing Information Provided to Investors..........................................................5 A. B. V. I. II. Side Letters....................................................................................................10 Parallel Managed Accounts...
Words: 20543 - Pages: 83
................................. 2 Errata Sheet................................................................................................................................................. 2 The Level II Examination and Completion of the Program ................................................................... 3 Topic 1: Professional Standards and Ethics ......................................................................................... 4 Topic 2: Introduction to Alternative Investments................................................................................ 6 Topic 3: Real Assets .............................................................................................................................. 20 Topic 4: Hedge Funds ........................................................................................................................... 29 Topic 5: Commodities ........................................................................................................................... 48 Topic 6: Private Equity ........................................................................................................................ 54 Topic 7: Structured Products .............................................................................................................. 64 Topic 8:...
Words: 31020 - Pages: 125
...between for-profit businesses and not-for-profits including governments is that businesses have profit as their main motive whereas the others have service. A primary purpose of financial reporting is to report on an entity’s accomplishments — how well it achieved its objectives. Accordingly, the financial statements of businesses measure profitability, their key objective. Financial reports of governments and other not-for-profits should not focus on profitability, since it is not a relevant objective. Ideally, therefore, they should focus on other performance objectives, such as how well the organizations met their service goals. In reality, however, the goal of reporting on how well they have achieved such goals has proven difficult to attain and the financial reports have focused mainly on financially-related data. 2. Governments and not-for-profits are “governed” by the budget, whereas businesses are governed by the marketplace. The budget is the key political and fiscal document of governments and not-for-profits. It determines how an entity obtains its resources and how it allocates them. It encapsulates most key decisions of consequence made by the organization. In a government the budget is not merely a managerial document; it is the law. 3. Owing to the significance of the budget, constituents want assurance that the entity achieves its revenue estimates and complies with its spending mandates. They expect the financial statements to report on how the budget was...
Words: 5073 - Pages: 21
...desire for 130/30 strategies has grown largely out of the necessity for institutional investors to enhance portfolio returns in the face of declining long term return expectations for equities and bonds. In some cases this requirement is expressed as: “maximizing alpha within the available equity risk budget.” A number of key characteristics make 130/30 strategies attractive to institutions. The most oft-cited of these is the promise of enhanced alpha. In the traditional long-only equity space, a variety of constraints limit the ability of good managers to fully express their views in the construction of their portfolios. One of the most punitive of these is the “long-only constraint”.By relaxing the long-only constraint, a manager has the ability to increase his risk-adjusted return. 2By virtue of their construction and market exposure, 130/30 strategies fit easily into an institution’s equity allocation. Unlike investments in alternatives or hedge funds, significant capital can be allocated to 130/30 strategies without modification to the asset/liability and/or risk budget framework. Also, 130/30 strategies are typically more transparent than hedge fund investments, more easily benchmarked by consultants and more acceptable to trustees and investment committee members. Lastly, 130/30 strategies benefit from an established regulatory framework and from a friendly custodial environment. Market regulators allow leverage of up to two times in Europe, the US and Canada allowing...
Words: 448 - Pages: 2
...the operations of MNCs and issues surrounding these corporations. Hedging Transaction Exposure Four of the Hedging Techniques Available To MNCs Hedging simply means minimizing or mitigating the effect of the exchange rate exposure. This risk is of three types namely, translation exposure, economic exposure and transaction exposure (Luo, 2001). A transaction exposure is a form of foreign exchange risk which results to loss or gains when operations are carried out or denominated in foreign currency (Hill, 2005). It is a short-term exposure that arises as a result of fluctuations in exchange rates. To mitigate or hedge the effects of this risk, an MNC can use any of the following four techniques. When selecting the method to apply, MNCs compare the expected cash flow from each one of these. A).Futures Hedge- to lock in the future exchange rate, a futures hedge uses currency futures. For smaller amounts of money, standardized futures...
Words: 4490 - Pages: 18
...add value to a traditional portfolio of stocks, bonds and cash. Next, we determine the optimal weights of all asset classes in the optimal portfolio. This study adds to the literature by distinguishing ten different investment categories simultaneously in a mean-variance analysis as well as a market portfolio approach. We also demonstrate how to combine these two methods. Our results suggest that real estate, commodities and high yield add most value to the traditional asset mix. A study with such a broad coverage of asset classes has not been conducted before, not in the context of determining capital market expectations and performing a mean-variance analysis, neither in assessing the global market portfolio. JEL classification: G11, G12 Key words: strategic asset allocation, capital market expectations, mean-variance analysis, optimal portfolio, global market portfolio. This study has benefited from the support and practical comments provided by Jeroen Beimer, Léon Cornelissen, Lex Hoogduin, Menno Meekel, Léon Muller, Laurens Swinkels and Pim van Vliet. Special thanks go to Jeroen Blokland and Rolf Hermans for many extensive and valuable discussions. We thank Peter Hobbs for providing the detailed segmentation of the global real estate market that supplemented his research paper. Last, but not least, we thank Frank de Jong for his constructive comments and useful suggestions during this study. * Corresponding author, email: r.doeswijk@robeco.com, telephone: +31 10 2242855. ...
Words: 10998 - Pages: 44
...is an issue for institutional investors. For this purpose, we first show how model risk (which turns out to be equivalent to special cases of ambiguity) affects optimal portfolio allocation. Using average portfolio holdings for traditional and alternative asset classes of 119 institutional investors, we then calibrate our model to implicitly determine the ambiguity factors of different asset classes. We find that institutional investors are strongly ambiguity-averse, as documented by a Sharpe ratio that is only 60 percent that of an (unambiguous) efficient portfolio. In line with intuition, we document that equity and bond portfolios have a rather low ambiguity, while alternative investments such as real estate, private equity, and hedge fund investments exhibit a very high ambiguity. These results are robust with regard to the size of the expected returns supposed by the investors. Keywords: Ambiguity aversion; alternative investments; portfolio allocation; institutional investors. 1. Introduction One of the major contributions of the capital asset pricing theory (CAPM) is a simple optimal...
Words: 9356 - Pages: 38
...hunters and should be purchased by academic libraries for their career sections [and] university career centers.” – Library Journal “The granddaddy of worker sites.” – US News and World Report “A killer app.” – New York Times One of Forbes’ 33 “Favorite Sites” – Forbes “To get the unvarnished scoop, check out Vault.” – Smart Money Magazine “Vault has a wealth of information about major employers and jobsearching strategies as well as comments from workers about their experiences at specific companies.” – The Washington Post “A key reference for those who want to know what it takes to get hired by a law firm and what to expect once they get there.” – New York Law Journal “Vault [provides] the skinny on working conditions at all kinds of companies from current and former employees.” – USA Today HEDG FUND CARE VAULT CAREER GUIDE TO HEDGE FUNDS © 2007 Vault, Inc. HEDG FUND VAULT CAREER GUIDE TO HEDGE FUNDS ADITI A. DAVARE, HOLLY GOODRICH, MICHAEL MARTINEZ AND THE STAFF OF VAULT © 2007 Vault, Inc. Copyright © 2007 by Vault Inc. All rights reserved. All information in this book is subject to change without notice. Vault makes no claims as to the accuracy and reliability of the information contained within and disclaims all warranties. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Vault Inc. Vault, the Vault...
Words: 59940 - Pages: 240
................................ 1 INTRODUCING HEDGE FUNDS ............................................................................................................................................ 2 ORIGINS OF HEDGE FUNDS .................................................................................................................................................. 3 STRUCTURES OF HEDGE FUNDS ........................................................................................................................................ 6 ROLE OF PRIME BROKERS ................................................................................................................................................... 9 FEE STRUCTURES OF HEDGE FUNDS .............................................................................................................................. 11 MAJOR HEDGE FUNDS ......................................................................................................................................................... 13 BALANCE SHEET OF A HEDGE FUND .............................................................................................................................. 14 INCOME STATEMENT OF A HEDGE FUND .......................................................
Words: 22449 - Pages: 90
...Cayman Islands Guide to Hedge Funds Introduction From offices in the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dubai, Dublin, Hong Kong, Jersey, London and Singapore, Walkers provides legal services to FORTUNE 100 and FTSE 100 global corporations and financial institutions, capital markets participants, investment fund managers and middle market companies. Walkers' Cayman office has an international reputation as the leading hedge fund and private equity fund practice in the Cayman Islands, advising the best-known asset managers, promoters and institutional investors in the investment world for five decades. Our global presence means we are always open and accessible to our clients – in all time zones. The purpose of this Guide is to offer a comprehensive, commercial and concise guide to the key aspects of structuring and establishing an offshore hedge fund – starting with a broad overview of hedge fund structures, and concluding with a short section on listing. We have also addressed some of the defensive mechanisms that can be deployed to stabilise a hedge fund in difficult times, including a section on the use of synthetic side pockets and side letters. The Guide is not a substitute for seeking appropriate onshore and offshore commercial and legal advice and should not be relied on in this manner. Introduction to hedge fund vehicles The key constitutional features of hedge funds to address from an offshore perspective are three-fold: 1. 2. 3. the types of vehicle used;...
Words: 15709 - Pages: 63
...How Corporations use Risk Management to Influence Financial Decision Making Holman Skinner Keiser University Dr. Tim Drake Business Research Writing: DBA700 10/16/2012 How Corporations use Risk Management to Influence Financial Decision Making Introduction Corporations make financial decisions that pose a risk to the everyday operations of a business everyday. Risk management comes into play with financial decisions when it is important to enabling organizations to reduce exposures to financial decision making, and measuring risk throughout the organization (Lai, Wang, & Yu, 2009). This research study will focus on the topic of how corporations use risk management to influence financial decision making. This research will answer the research problem, research questions, address the theoretical framework. Statement of Problem The problem the study focuses is centered on focuses on how corporations can avoid making bad decisions when ultizing utilizing risk management in making financial decision making. For instance, some corporations not taking risk management seriously has resulted in inefficient use of capital, increased liabilities, and reputation risk (Chemobai, Jorion, & Yu, 2011). Furthermore, when a firm is not willing to go through risk management, this will create an uncertain atmosphere that leads to lack of guidance for the organization and poor decision making. Moreover, a lack of certainty can cause confusion as to what...
Words: 5215 - Pages: 21
...Variable Annuities—An Analysis of Financial Stability Ma rch 201 3 The Geneva Association (The International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics) The Geneva Association is the leading international insurance “think tank” for strategically important insurance and risk management issues. The Geneva Association identifies fundamental trends and strategic issues where insurance plays a substantial role or which influence the insurance sector. Through the development of research programmes, regular publications and the organisation of international meetings, The Geneva Association serves as a catalyst for progress in the understanding of risk and insurance matters and acts as an information creator and disseminator. It is the leading voice of the largest insurance groups worldwide in the dialogue with international institutions. In parallel, it advances—in economic and cultural terms—the development and application of risk management and the understanding of uncertainty in the modern economy. The Geneva Association membership comprises a statutory maximum of 90 chief executive officers (CEOs) from the world’s top insurance and reinsurance companies. It organises international expert networks and manages discussion platforms for senior insurance executives and specialists as well as policy-makers, regulators and multilateral organisations. The Geneva Association’s annual General Assembly is the most prestigious gathering of leading insurance CEOs worldwide...
Words: 30988 - Pages: 124
...Abbreviations IV 1 Overview of Hedge Funds Strategies 1 2 What are Emerging Markets and why are they so important? 2 3 Why do Hedge Funds invest in Emerging Markets 6 4 DWS Invest Global EM Equities LC 8 4.1 Inside the DWS Invest Global EM Equities LC fund 8 4.2 Performance of the fund 10 5 Hedge Funds Performance in EM scientific paper review 11 6 Hedge Funds Strategies in EM and Africa 12 6.1 Investment strategies in more developed EM. 16 6.2 Hedge Fund Strategies within Africa and Sub Saharan Africa 19 7 Risk exposures in emerging markets 23 8 Conclusion 25 References 26 Tables Table 1: Hedge Fund Strategies 1 Figures Figure 1: Emerging Markets vs. Developed Markets 2 Figure 2: Emerging Markets vs. Developed Markets GDP growth in percentage 3 Figure 3: Development of the working-age population 3 Figure 4: EM vs. US: Consumption levels 4 Figure 5: EM dept. has exceeded EM 5 Figure 6: MSCI World vs. MSCI Emerging Markets 6 Figure 7: CS Hedge Fund Index vs CS EM Hedge Fund Index 7 Figure 8: Country distribution 8 Figure 9: Industry Sectors 9 Figure 10: Equity Share Distribution 9 Figure 11: Perfomanc of the fund 10 Figure 12: EM performance 13 Figure 13: Performance of EM 14 Figure 14: Hedge Fund Strategies in Africa 17 Figure 15: Hedge Fund Strategies in Asian-pacific region 17 Figure 16: Brazil Asset Class Performance 19 Figure 17: Russia and Eastern Europe Focused Hedge Funds 19 Figure 18: African Market...
Words: 4991 - Pages: 20
