Once again the popular press has come out against hedge funds and the lack of performance year to date. Congratulations, Barron’s and Forbes, you are now part of the club of financial journalists writing the same story over and over again.
Whether performance is good, bad, or indifferent, hedge funds continue to be the evil that men and women do, according to these and other publications. I have two thoughts about this – first, yes, it is true the performance is poor – the numbers, you see, don’t lie – this is what makes investing great and, more important, transparent. The second is that investing is pure Darwinism – the strongest truly do survive. Managers who don’t perform will see their assets disappear and their investors with them. Those who do well will see assets grow. That again is what makes investing great. The numbers tell the story and allow investors to keep up to date on the score.
As for the fee argument, don’t get me started. As I have said before and I will continue to say, the only people who complain about fees are those who can’t charge them. The market dictates fees and when the market determines that hedge fund fees are too high, guess what? The fees will come down. It is really true that you get what you pay for and nothing but a free market proves this day in and day out.
We’re just two months away from Operations for Alternatives. The event is going to be held in Miami this time, February 1 and 2, 2016. The program is full of interesting sessions on the most-pressing issues facing the investment management industry. If you are interested in attending an event that is the largest gathering of operations professionals, I recommend you register today by clicking here – if not don’t.
THINGS THAT DRIVE ME CRAZY
I hate email that touts how committed people are to their respective communities and how much they give back. This week alone, five emails from law firms, banks/admins and accounting firms about how they give back and they are committed to doing this and doing that for the community. While I am all for doing good things in the community and believe in supporting charitable causes, I am also all about keeping it to myself. I think it is shameful for firms to promote their own greatness, so to speak. People should do good things because they want to and not because they are looking for a pat on the back. Or any recognition. Or worse, a tool to get more business.
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