Tuesday, November 3, 2009

What is a Hedge Fund?

An Intro to Hedge Funds>

Imagine an investment where money managers target attractive positive returns in both bull and bear markets. Now envision that same investment with higher returns than the market over time.Sounds rather enticing, doesn't it? To top it off, this investment also has lower volatility risk than the overall market. Now imagine that this investment were available in the financial marketplace; ready for those accredited investors willing, able and ready to make an investment. Of course, what I am talking about is hedge funds. Yes what you just read is very true about Hedge Funds from a macro point of view. Research has shown that hedge funds have outer performed the overall market in terms of long term performance with less volatility risk. Moreover, hedge funds' primary objective is to generate attractive positive returns on a consistent basis regardless of how well or poorly the market is performing. This is an aim most other investments cannot accomplish. These are some of the primary reasons why hedge funds have been gaining in popularity over the years.
For investors looking to gain a performance edge, hedge funds could be the answer. Hedge funds are a powerful way for investors to build wealth. But what exactly is a hedge fund? In simple terms, a hedge fund is an actively and alternatively managed private investment fund that seeks to generate attractive positive returns in good and bad markets. To accomplish this aim, hedge funds employ many different strategies, financial instruments, and tools of the trade. Some strategies are aggressive, and some are conservative. Hedge funds are managed by professional investment managers and are limited to a small number of 'Accredited Investors.'Hedge fund managers receive a percentage of the profits earned by the fund as an incentive to generate performance and drive investor wealth. Unlike most traditional investment managers, hedge fund managers usually have a significant amount of their own wealth invested in their hedge fund. This minimizes conflicts of interest and gives a substantial amount of comfort to the investor in knowing that the manager's interests are aligned with the investor's interests for protecting and growing the investment.