Hedge funds

When hedge funds, long known for their exclusivity and secret-sauce approach to investing, go public, it takes a lot of planning and some cultural adjustment, too, according to a web-based presentation hosted by Deloitte & Touche last week.

Alpha magazine dropped its first shoe when it released the salaries of the top 100 hedge fund managers, with the top master of the universe, James Simons, earning an astonishing $1.7 billion in 2006 and the top 25 an average of more than half a billion. In 2006, the compensation of this top 25 soared 57% from the year before and 127% from 2004.

Alpha magazine dropped its first shoe when it released the salaries of the top 100 hedge fund managers, with the top master of the universe, James Simons, earning an astonishing $1.7 billion in 2006 and the top 25 an average of more than half a billion. In 2006, the compensation of this top 25 soared 57% from the year before and 127% from 2004.

Call it trickle-down economics. As the hedge fund industry continues to grow, its distribution channels are shifting, and its aim is getting lower when it comes to the net worth of investors, according to a report from Tiburon Strategic Advisors.

The hedge fund industry will consolidate through mergers and acquisitions, as the funds continue to proliferate and gain popularity among institutional investors, experts predict.

NEW YORK-Hedge funds can't run or hide from regulators, and the accredited investor, anti-fraud and insider trading rules will be three of the key issues the Securities and Exchange Commission will focus on this year, Bruce Karpati, assistant regional director at the SEC told attendees at the National Investment Company Service Association's "Alternative Investments Conference" here last week.

With the stratospheric salaries that hedge fund managers are earning these days, there may be more to mutual fund managers' interest in employing hedge fund strategies than performance. Sure, they claim they're turning to riskier tactics to deliver better returns and distinguish themselves from the competition. In fact, many experts believe that mutual funds' use of hedge fund strategies is a growing trend and that the lines between institutional and retail investment strategies will blur.

With the stratospheric salaries that hedge fund managers are earning these days, there may be more to mutual fund managers' interest in employing hedge fund strategies than performance. Sure, they claim they're turning to riskier tactics to deliver better returns and distinguish themselves from the competition. In fact, many experts believe that mutual funds' use of hedge fund strategies is a growing trend and that the lines between institutional and retail investment strategies will blur.