Archive for February 2010


“Alpha Extension” extended to emerging markets

Feb 28th, 2010 | By Guest | Filed under: Academic Research, Guest Posts, Today's Post

Advocates of “short-extension” or “alpha-extension” strategies such as 130/30 funds often point out that traditional long-only managers are only able to bet against a stock by as much as that stock represents in the benchmark index.  After all, they argue, you can do no more than simply deciding not to hold a stock at all. [...]

Asset managers rockin’ down the M&A highway…

Feb 25th, 2010 | By AAA Staff | Filed under: Institutional Investing, Today's Post

Merger and acquisition activity in the asset management space continues to rev up, according to a new report. But the reasons behind the activity aren't all positive.

Elephant in the Room: Washington’s giant hedge fund.

Feb 24th, 2010 | By AAA Staff | Filed under: Hedge Fund Industry Trends, Today's Post

Strain really hard and the IMF's recent announcements on commodities and gold almost appear as if they're talking up the markets ahead of deploying some sort of massive carry trade.

Islamic finance as an alternative investment

Feb 23rd, 2010 | By Alpha Male | Filed under: Hedge Fund Industry Trends, Today's Post

If the concept of interest is central to traditional notions of investing, then Islamic finance is about as alternative as it gets.

Global macro trend is your friend, alternative investors say

Feb 22nd, 2010 | By AAA Staff | Filed under: Hedge Fund Industry Trends, Today's Post

The latest quarterly survey of alternatives investors from Brighton House Associates is chock full of good news. So what's the bad news?

What exactly is a “sophisticated” investor anyway?

Feb 21st, 2010 | By Alpha Male | Filed under: Academic Research, Featured Post, Today's Post

How can you tell if a pension fund is "sophisticated"? Apparently, it may not be that tough...

Who said hedge funds don’t like chaos?

Feb 18th, 2010 | By Alpha Male | Filed under: Performance, Analytics & Metrics, Today's Post

A report from Moody's shows that hedge funds seem to hate volatility. But is this always true?

Despite regulators’ concerns about placement agents, third-party marketing industry alive and well

Feb 17th, 2010 | By AAA Staff | Filed under: Institutional Investing, Today's Post

A new survey points to new trends in the third party marketing space, most notably the re-emergence of third-party marketers.

Research from the other side: What happens before the birth and after the death of a hedge fund?

Feb 16th, 2010 | By Alpha Male | Filed under: Academic Research, Performance, Analytics & Metrics, Today's Post

A new academic study uses 13-F filings to peer before a hedge fund begins to report to a hedge fund database and to look beyond when those funds stop reporting.

What up with the Hedge Funds of Funds Index last year? Theories abound.

Feb 15th, 2010 | By Alpha Male | Filed under: Academic Research, Performance, Analytics & Metrics, Today's Post

Academics and researchers who study the hedge fund industry sometimes say that the best way to gauge the average performance of hedge funds is to look at an index of funds of funds (FoFs), not an index of hedge funds themselves.  The funds of funds, the argument goes, contain many funds that do not report [...]

Survey finds acrimony over fees may be subsiding

Feb 11th, 2010 | By Alpha Male | Filed under: Investment Management Fees, Today's Post

Sure, pension funds always want to pay lower investment fees. But a new survey reveals that many feel they are getting more value for money now than last year.

Proposed regulation means shorts going to the dogs?

Feb 10th, 2010 | By AAA Staff | Filed under: Hedge Fund Regulation, Today's Post

A new study addresses the impact of potential disclosure requirements on managers engaged in short-selling. The conclusion: It won't be pretty for anyone.

How you know it may be time to rip off the Band-Aid…

Feb 9th, 2010 | By AAA Staff | Filed under: Hedge Fund Industry Trends, Today's Post

Some hedge funds are still loathe to let go of their toxic and/or illiquid assets, the latest Hedgebay trading figures show. The question is: Why?

High Water Marks: The other hedge fund “lock-in”

Feb 8th, 2010 | By Alpha Male | Filed under: Academic Research, Investment Management Fees, Today's Post

An academic study finds that the presence of a high water mark can induce the kind of loyalty usually forced upon investors with redemption gates.

7 Questions for Adam Patti, CEO of IndexIQ

Feb 7th, 2010 | By Guest | Filed under: Alternative Beta & Hedge Fund Replication, Today's Post

By: Andrew Saunders, Member of the Editorial Board of AllAboutAlpha.com, & Director, EFX Prime Services In January the Wall Street Journal reported that ETF assets had crested $1 trillion. No longer is it simply another way to capture S&P 500 beta. It seems that every day there is an innovative new investment idea that is packaged [...]

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