Guide to Hedge Funds: What They Are, What They Do, Their Risks, Their Advantages

by Philip Coggan

In 1990 hedge funds managed some 39 billion of assets and were almost unknown. By 2008 that figure had grown to almost 2 trillion and hedge funds were being blamed by some for contributing to the credit crunch and demonised by others for their greed. The rise of the industry has created a new bunch of billionaires, who have made themselves rich by managing other people's money.
Nowadays most people have heard the term 'hedge fund' but few are clear about what exactly a hedge fund is or what it does. This guide aims to put them in the picture with the clarity and lively prose that The Economist is famous for. It provides a succinct survey of the industry for all those who think they should know about hedge funds, but do not. It is aimed at all those who might want or have to deal with a hedge fund: private investors, trustees of a pension fund, directors of a listed company, lawyers and accountants who may be interested in working in the industry. It is also aimed at those who happily criticise hedge funds without really knowing what they do.

Genres: Finance, Business, Nonfiction, Economics

165 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 31, 2008

About the author

Philip Coggan is a British columnist and author of books on economics. He currently writes for The Economist. Previously, he worked for the Financial Times for 20 years.

Reviews

[Balhau · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting book about the world of trading. For those (well this includes me) who think that people with a bunch of milions (like 5 or 10) dollars are rich people say hello to corporations that manage billions of dollars in assets. Well this is capitalism at the highest level. I must confess that I felt a little depressed when reading about this world. But, regardless the feelings you might have, this is a very educational book. The contents here presented offer you an oportunity to review your concept of money and how the big financial corporations work. This is, however, a very taxonomical work. You'll be injected with a plethora of concepts and financial instruments and respective variations. For this reason is to hope that you might feel the need for a second reading (as in my case, as my academic formation is not economics).

[Saul Shimmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great primer for anyone interested, or working in the periphery of, the hedge fund sector. The book provides a decent background to hedge funds, the existing strategies, typical fund structure and how hedge funds are changing.

It would be interesting to read Coggan’s thoughts after this year as the book seems to be have been written in the post 2008 period.

[bookreader]

Anything Coggan writes is worth reading; he's one of the best financial journalists in the world. (I still rue his departure from the FT.) If you're new to hedge funds, this is a lucid, balanced overview. If you work in the industry, you may glean a fact or two (though not more), but will certainly appreciate his uncanny intimations of the hedge fund cataclysm of 2008.

[Tenio Latev · Rating 3 out of 5]

tenio latev
a well structured lecture on the mysteries of hedge fund investing! good indight in some of the commonly used strategies!