A well-rounded hedge fund guide for the serious financial professional Alternative investment strategies-hedge funds in particular-have experienced a significant resurgence recently, largely in response to the dramatic downturn of the global equity markets. In response to this explosion in popularity, this book focuses on many of the best moneymaking strategies related to these alternative investment vehicles. IMCA (The Investment Management Consultants Association) is a professional association established in 1985, representing the investment consulting profession in the U.S. and Canada. Kenneth S. Phillips is a member of the IMCA Advisory Council and Managing Principal of Capital Partners, LLC. Ron Surz, CIMA, is a member of the IMCA Board of Directors and the President of PPCA Inc.

Key readings in risk management from CFA Institute, the preeminent organization representing financial analysts Risk management may have been the single most important topic in finance over the past two decades. To appreciate its complexity, one must understand the art as well as the science behind it. Risk Management: Foundations for a Changing Financial World provides investment professionals with a solid framework for understanding the theory, philosophy, and development of the practice of risk management by Outlining the evolution of risk management and how the discipline has adapted to address the future of managing risk Covering the full range of risk management issues, including firm, portfolio, and credit risk management Examining the various aspects of measuring risk and the practical aspects of managing risk Including key writings from leading risk management practitioners and academics, such as Andrew Lo, Robert Merton, John Bogle, and Richard Bookstaber For financial analysts, money managers, and others in the finance industry, this book offers an in-depth understanding of the critical topics and issues in risk management that are most important to today’s investment professionals.

The aim of the book is to provide practical guidance for the investor when compiling due diligence and deciding on an investment or against it. The focus of the book lays on the risk assessment and due diligence. It captures fund's internal and external risks and the investment style specific risks. The aim is to provide sound guidance to the alternative investment fund selection. The UCITS 3 directive widens investment tools for the traditional asset managers by allowing short selling of securities and diminishing the gap between the traditional and the alternative asset management industry and attracting traditional managers to the alternative investment universe. The author concentrates on three categories: Relative Value and Market Neutral, Event Driven and Opportunistic alternative investment funds. Whilst the industry is generally categorized into certain fund types it has to be stated that every fund is different and will have different risk attributes. Within the specific categories major risks will be the same, as the exposure towards the specific underlying will be similar. Still every single fund has to be examined on its own in detail, as it will have the specific alpha generating competitive advantage. Thus the author suggests a pre-selection of the potential fund manager or the management team by analysing the team and the fund's performance first. The analysis goes through the quantitative figures and the qualities of the management team. Detailed knowledge about the strategies and its fit into the portfolio is worthless unless the investor is able to select the performing manager. Without that skill the probability of ending up with an underperforming alternative investment fund or a blow-up is huge. The analysis of the management team qualities shows behaviour patterns helping to detect management teams, which are tending towards moral hazard. Secondly, the alternative investment fund style specific risks are examined. The author gives an overview

2011 Updated Reprint. Updated Annually. Hedge Investment Funds Handbook

The only title that focuses solely on hedge fund transparency and offers a balanced perspective that appreciates both the needs of institutional investors and hedge fund managers.

Praise for How I Became a Quant "Led by two top-notch quants, Richard R. Lindsey and Barry Schachter, How I Became a Quant details the quirky world of quantitative analysis through stories told by some of today's most successful quants. For anyone who might have thought otherwise, there are engaging personalities behind all that number crunching!" --Ira Kawaller, Kawaller & Co. and the Kawaller Fund "A fun and fascinating read. This book tells the story of how academics, physicists, mathematicians, and other scientists became professional investors managing billions." --David A. Krell, President and CEO, International Securities Exchange "How I Became a Quant should be must reading for all students with a quantitative aptitude. It provides fascinating examples of the dynamic career opportunities potentially open to anyone with the skills and passion for quantitative analysis." --Roy D. Henriksson, Chief Investment Officer, Advanced Portfolio Management "Quants"--those who design and implement mathematical models for the pricing of derivatives, assessment of risk, or prediction of market movements--are the backbone of today's investment industry. As the greater volatility of current financial markets has driven investors to seek shelter from increasing uncertainty, the quant revolution has given people the opportunity to avoid unwanted financial risk by literally trading it away, or more specifically, paying someone else to take on the unwanted risk. How I Became a Quant reveals the faces behind the quant revolution, offering you?the?chance to learn firsthand what it's like to be a?quant today. In this fascinating collection of Wall Street war stories, more than two dozen quants detail their roots, roles, and contributions, explaining what they do and how they do it, as well as outlining the sometimes unexpected paths they have followed from the halls of academia to the front lines of an investment revolution.