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Preface
B
usiness bookstores contain many different books on the general topic of
hedge funds. Most of these books are written for potential investors.
These books focus primarily on the investment characteristics of hedge
funds, admittedly the most important topic related to this investment alter-
native. Some of these texts are little more than marketing devices designed
to encourage greater use of hedge funds in investor portfolios. An investor
considering an investment in a hedge fund for the first time should read one
or two of these books before making an investment.
To reach a large market, these investment books are mostly written at a
very simple level. They generally do not presume any prior knowledge of
investments, finance, mathematical methods, accounting, or the law. The
authors develop a survey that usually leaves the reader less than an expert
after reading the text. After getting a general background, the investor will
likely need to hire some combination of investment professionals, tax ad-
visers, accountants, and lawyers before making an investment.
A small number of books have been written for professionals. Usually,
these books are not sold commercially. Instead, they are distributed by law
firms and accountants to their customers, and most readers cannot get
copies of them. Even if available, these books, while they are extremely
valuable to professionals, should provide little value to most readers be-
cause of the highly technical treatment of narrow topics.
The academic research on hedge funds is accumulating. The ambitious
student can read a survey of the important papers concerning hedge funds
and develop a good understanding of this important investment product.
But few people have the time or background to learn about hedge funds
from academic papers.
Some books have been written for the entrepreneur who wants to start
a hedge fund. I wrote one of these for John Wiley & Sons a couple of years
ago and have discovered that there is considerable demand for a book that
bridges the gap between the nontechnical texts written for mass appeal and
the technical books and academic papers. Although the previous book was
a bit more technical than most others on the market, it also included infor-
mation needed by hedge fund venture capitalists.
This book serves to bridge another gap. It provides an extensive survey
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