Why Hedge Fund Hot Shots Finally Got Hammered – David Stockman’s Contra Corner 09-06-15

Salient to Investors: David Stockman writes: A growing chorus of investors blamed last week’s stock market sell-off on esoteric but increasingly influential trading strategies pioneered by hedge funds like Bridgewater. Hedge fund performance has benefited from broken capital markets rigged by the Fed. Thesecasino gamblers bought every one of the

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Hedge Fund Losses From Commodity Slump Sparking Investor Exodus – BloombergBusiness 08-06-15

Salient to Investors: Cargill, the world’s largest grain trader, shut its commodities hedge fund last month, a sign that commodity speculators are in trouble. Donald Steinbrugge at Agecroft Partners said hedge funds are supposed to make money in both bull and bear markets but managers bias towards rising prices. Steinbrugge

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James Says Use Buyouts to Shoot Lights, Not Hedge Funds – Bloomberg 09-18-14

Salient to Investors: Tony James at Blackstone said hedge funds are a way to play the stock market with lower volatility and lower returns – shoot-the-lights-out returns are best left to private equity and real estate. Neil Chriss at Hutchin Hill Capital said Calpers’ hedge-fund allocation was not big enough to

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Texas Pension Cuts Hedge Fund Exposure by 1 Percentage Point – Bloomberg 09-18-14

Salient to Investors: The Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its hedge fund allocation to 8% from 9%, cut equities by 4 percentage points and fixed-income by 2 percentage points, and increased risk parity – a strategy based on allocation of risk and private equity and real assets – and

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The Dumb Money Is Getting Smarter Every Day – Bloomberg 09-17-14

Salient to Investors: Amateur investors are giving up on trying to beat the market, while even the most sophisticated investors are rejecting strategies that require advanced math and managers with million-dollar salaries. ICI reports the average expense ratio on an equity mutual fund is down 25% in 10 years. Boston Consulting

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Calpers Is Done With Hedge Funds; Paid $135 Million in Fees Last Year for 7.1% Return – Bloomberg 09-16-14

Salient to Investors: Ted Eliopoulos at Calpers said their small hedge fund allocation did not effectively diversify or hedge any meaningful portion of their total portfolio and their decision to divest the entire allocation was unrelated to its performance. Keith Brainard at National Assn of State Retirement Administrators said Calpers is often

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