Investment Strategies of Hedge Funds

by Filippo Stefanini

One of the fastest growing investment sectors ever seen, hedge funds are considered by many to be exotic and inaccessible. This book provides an intensive learning experience, defining hedge funds, explaining hedge fund strategies while offering both qualitative and quantitative tools that investors need to access these types of funds. Topics not usually covered in discussions of hedge funds are included, such as a theoretical discussion of each hedge fund strategy followed by trading examples provided by successful hedge fund managers.

Genres: Finance, Textbooks, Reference

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Isaac Chan · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with every other finance book (especially the ones that seek to instruct, not just commentate or describe), this book suffers immensely from the shortfall that it's written before the GFC and is therefore heavily dated. The reader has to take every fact, every statistic and every opinion with skepticism and it brings chills when you see the author commenting on some trend that led directly to the implosion 2 years after this book was published. Some 'pictures taken moments before disaster' shit. Trends in the boom in MBS issuance, mortgage arbitrage lolll - classic. We all know where that led to, lmfao.

Written extremely drily, reads like a university paper. Throws bland statistics at the reader without much interpretation.

I like how the author takes the effort to clearly define his own take on the separation of alpha and beta, and further granulates the sub-divisions of alpha and beta. Also bases all analyses of the strategies around alpha and beta.

Didn't like how this guy cherry-picks successful case studies. Some stats also seemed a bit too good to be true - ALL strategies he presented magically turned out to be uncorrelated and condensed? Would be interested to do a deeper dive into his survey methods.

[p-adic vacation]

good for a first overview

[Digvijay Katoch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was a good start. Of course, it lacks depth which is expected since understanding each strategy warrants the author writing a separate book, but certainly covers everything breadth-wise. A 5 star book.