Does size matter? How about age? An annual study indicates it was best to be a "tenured" hedge fund, but not a "large" hedge fund in 2009.

What exactly are "absolute returns" anyway? Ask 10 different investors and you'll probably get 10 different answers.

When assets are beating a path to their door, hedge fund managers will take their lumps. But when investors are starting to revolt, a negative return can really ruin their day.

It would be great to survive on a diet of only chocolate cake. The reality, as most know, is to go for a more balanced and well-rounded diet to avoid tail risk.

Researchers have always known that some hedge funds seem to exercise a certain degree of "flexibility" with regard to valuing less liquid positions. But a new study of hedge funds' publicly-traded positions suggest some managers may be a little too flexible.

After the financial crisis - indeed after any crisis - pundits invariably proclaim a "new normal". But is the "new" normal really that different from the old one? At least one academic says "no".

Alpha doesn't always have to come from security selection - as today's guest contributor points out.

As researchers discover new genes that influence hedge fund returns, new medicines are possible - and new questions need to be raised.

Sometimes just kicking back and watching TV is the best thing your portfolio manager can do for you.

How do you calculate the "average" leverage in a portfolio of hedge funds when some funds shun borrowing while others are leveraged to the hilt?

Do hedge funds like chaos? Some do and some don't according to our guest author today.

The Depository Trust and Clearing Corp., with the help of some of the better-known names in the clearing and custody industry, is planning on creating a FundServ for alternative investments that hedge funds and others can list on, abide by and theoretically rise to.

The first week of May was one for the ages. When the volatility lion roared, long-short mutual funds seem to have scattered in all directions.

A recent study of dedicated short biased hedge funds reveals that when markets go up, their managers still have a trick or two up their sleeves.

Active managers aren't just overpaid dart-throwers who close their eyes and hope for the best, according to researchers. It turns out they actually peek - which may explain their apparent out-performance.

A study of seven hedge fund strategies concludes that there is an uncomfortably high level of "consistency" among their returns. So much for non-correlation...

What can you do if you don't have any information on a hedge fund manager's regulatory record? Turns out you can divine a lot by looking for "performance flags."

Despite clearly failing in their reported "promise" to generate positive returns, long/short equity funds were actually successful in achieving their primary goals in 2008/09.

On April 6th, 2010, the only team remaining in the NCAA Men's basketball tournament will have a record of 6-0. Imagine trying to extrapolate that team's record across all 65 tournament participants.

Thought there was no such thing as a free lunch? For hedge fund investors, there apparently is, according to a new research study, especially if they're looking to avoid a little kurtosis.

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

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.

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 [...]

A new paper suggests that just because your manager has trailed the index in the past three years doesn't mean she's going to trail in the future - particularly if you have your own expectations for the direction of markets.

Researchers have adjusted for a reporting bias in hedge fund databases for many years. But a new study suggests these biases run both ways.

Leave it to the investment practitioners to come up with, well, "practical" tools...