As 2008 enters the history books, we look back at the top ten most popular posts at AllAboutAlpha.com over the last 12 months.  As you can guess, most have a decidedly negative tone – redemption gates, shrinking AUM, warnings over quant models, securities lending problems, terrible monthly performances…

Thankfully the year is just about over.  If you are in the office today, here is a walk down memory lane that will make you especially happy to welcome in a new year.  (We have temporarily granted free access to all of these archived posts.)

1. Securities lending starting to dry up a little?: The hedge fund industry relies on short-selling. Short-selling relies on securities lending. And securities lending relies on the willingness of institutional investors to temporarily part with their stocks. So what happens if those lenders get nervous?
2. Hedge funds discovered not to be an “asset class” after all: When is an asset class not really an asset class?
3. Stigma of redemption gates fading fast: Back in the old days (like, in August), shutting a “redemption gate” used to be a form of punishment. Now it’s more like “tough love”.
4. Exactly how much of the hedge fund industry is about to get chopped anyway?: Recent estimates about the imminent shrinkage of the hedge fund industry have varied widely. So we asked one expert to help us cut through the confusion.
5. Replicating Hedge Funds: Traditional beta or alternative beta?: In this guest post, Partners Group’s Lars Jaeger says that although you could have replicated hedge funds using equity beta over the past 4 years, “alternative beta” is still where it’s at.
6. Exactly how bad was September for hedge funds?: If hedge funds beat equity markets in September, then what’s all the fuss about? For a visual answer to that question, just take a look at these charts.
7. Shadwick to Quants: “Financial models should come with health warnings!”: In this guest post, Dr. William Shadwick, developer of the Omega Function used in risk management, warns that “over-modeling” has “negative consequences”.
8. Asness: Quant funds not actually “HAL 9000? black boxes: In an article by Alpha magazine, AQR’s Clifford Asness says that quant funds can still profit from new opportunities and that they are actually far more transparent than most fundamentally-driven funds (or than the “HAL 9000″, for that matter).
9. Alternative Viewpoints: Commodities not about “buy and hold”: There is little doubt that commodities are hot. But as Keith Black, CAIA, argues in this guest post, investors must move well beyond simple “buy and hold” strategies.
10. Morningstar’s Deutsch: 130/30 “not monolithic” but does represent a “convergence” in money management: In this guest post, Morningstar’s Steve Deutsch has a bird’s-eye view of the burgeoning 1X0/X0 field. Today, he shares this perspective, concluding that money managers are stealing a page from the telecom playbook.