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December 2, 2008 7:18:48 AM CST

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Hedge Funds

The shadowy kings of capital who move markets with the push of a button

Greenwich, Connecticut, is their capital. Money is their politics. Hedge funds use leverage, sophisticated computer modeling, and the occasional hunch to create wealth for their investors—and earn fat fees for their managers. In spite of the occasional spectacular meltdown (think Long-Term Capital Management), the money keeps rolling in. And the houses get larger, and the boats longer.

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 59

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  • November 2008

    • Hedge Funds Bleed Assets as Investors Flee Risk

      Wall Street Journal  |  Nov 22, 08 10:27 AM CST

      Hedge Funds Bleed Assets as Investors Flee Risk

      (Newser) - Hedge Funds have never had a year this bad, and it's getting worse. Investors are pulling so much money from the once-prized investment vehicles, the Wall Street Journal reports, that redemptions are expected to claim 25% to 40% of hedge fund assets by March 2009. Add investment losses, and assets are expected to be down 50% from their peak by the middle of next year, forcing many funds to shut down. More »

    • Hedge Fund Selloffs Behind Swooning Dow

      Wall Street Journal  |  Nov 7, 08 9:25 AM CST

      Hedge Fund Selloffs Behind Swooning Dow

      (Newser) - Hedge funds are increasingly to blame for the swooning Dow, the Wall Street Journal reports, as demands from investors to withdraw funds have sparked a securities selling frenzy in recent days. The rush to withdraw comes as investors—endowments and  pension funds as well as wealthy individuals—see other investments shrink and need cash to cover their obligations. More »

  • October 2008

    • VW Gamble Nets Porsche $20B, Wallops Hedge Funds

      Independent (UK)  |  Oct 29, 08 10:09 AM CDT

      VW Gamble Nets Porsche $20B, Wallops Hedge Funds

      (Newser) - Hedge funds that bet on a dive in Volkswagen shares are nursing some pretty stiff hangovers—to the tune of a possible $20 billion in losses—after the shares soared when rival Porsche announced over the weekend it had secretly acquired a 74% stake in its fellow German automaker, reports the Independent . The losses could push some of the firms into bankruptcy. More »

    • Tanking Hedge Funds Take Chunk Out of Market

      Bloomberg  |  Oct 25, 08 1:45 PM CDT

      Tanking Hedge Funds Take Chunk Out of Market

      (Newser) - Now is not a good time to run a hedge fund. Panicking investors are pulling out of the underperforming funds, and that alone could cost the industry 15% of its assets by year’s end, Bloomberg reports. Hedge funds aren't seen as a primary cause of the global financial crisis, but the selloffs are contributing to huge market swings and raising the prospect of greater oversight. “Even the healthy hedge funds are being forced to sell,” said one investment manager. More »

    • Times Tough for I-Bankers, in 'Marie Antoinette' Kind of Way

      New York  |  Oct 20, 08 3:26 PM CDT

      Times Tough for I-Bankers, in 'Marie Antoinette' Kind of Way

      (Newser) - With Wall Street in free fall, many of its elite I-bankers are seeing the status quo turned upside-down, Vanessa Grigoriadis writes in New York . Once at the top of the heap, working for companies that praised them as smartest people out there, some are fighting to survive on the Street, while others have reversed course, taking jobs with—gasp!—the government. More »

    • Not Quite Main Street's Fantasy Football

      Wall Street Journal  |  Oct 17, 08 2:28 PM CDT

      Not Quite Main Street's Fantasy Football

      (Newser) - While the world suffers through financial meltdown, some of the world’s wealthiest money managers are easing the mood by competing in one of Wall Street’s most exclusive boys clubs: A $1 million fantasy-football league. Hedge-fund titans predominate among owners, who pay $100,000 annually for their teams—and there’s a waiting list to score one of the 10 squads, the Journal reports. More »

  • September 2008

    • Hedge Funds in Hot Seat After Market Plunge

      Wall Street Journal  |  Sep 30, 08 10:19 AM CDT

      Hedge Funds in Hot Seat After Market Plunge

      (Newser) - At a time when markets need their money more than ever, the $2-trillion hedge fund industry could fall victim to bad timing, as yesterday's plunge coincides with today’s deadline for many investors to withdraw before year’s end, the Wall Street Journal reports. Funds may be forced to sell off stocks before they have a chance to recover, to compensate fleeing investors. More »

    • Hedge-Fund Exodus May Add to Woes

      New York Times  |  Sep 29, 08 9:43 AM CDT

      Hedge-Fund Exodus May Add to Woes

      (Newser) - Hedge funds are bracing for a major test of wills tomorrow, the deadline for investors to withdraw from the funds for the rest of the year, the New York Times reports. A spate of withdrawals could cause a cascade of flight from the $2 trillion industry, which has seen its worst year ever, with the average fund down 10%. More »

    • Wolfe: Stars Went to Hedge Funds Long Ago

      New York Times  |  Sep 28, 08 1:35 PM CDT

      Wolfe: Stars Went to Hedge Funds Long Ago

      (Newser) - Tom Wolfe has been fielding a lot of questions about where the Wall Street crisis leaves the Masters of the Universe now, writes the author of the seminal book about the excesses of 1980s traders in the New York Times . But, he notes, the real investment banking superstars left for hedge funds 6 years ago, long before the banks failed. And they've been comfortably ensconced in hedge funds ever since as the New York Stock Exchange emptied out. More »

    • Pickens' Own Energy Funds Down $1B

      Wall Street Journal  |  Sep 24, 08 8:47 AM CDT

      Pickens' Own Energy Funds Down $1B

      (Newser) - T. Boones Pickens' energy plan might need some tweaking —at least when it comes to his own investments. Even as the billionaire campaigns for his energy independence proposal, his energy-focused hedge funds have lost about $1 billion this year, the Wall Street Journal reports. “It's my toughest run in 10 years,” says Pickens. “We missed the turn in the market, there’s nothing fun about it.” More »

    • New Wall Street: Less Risk, Less Innovation, Lower Pay

      Wall Street Journal  |  Sep 23, 08 1:49 PM CDT

      New Wall Street: Less Risk, Less Innovation, Lower Pay

      (Newser) - When Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley ditched the investment banking model, it didn’t just mark the end of an era, it marked the end of Wall Street as we know it, the Wall Street Journal declares in an editorial today. And with investment banks gone, the US financial system will become sturdier, but a lot less innovative. More »

    • Hedge Funds Poised to Profit as Banks Shun Risk

      Wall Street Journal  |  Sep 23, 08 1:05 PM CDT

      Hedge Funds Poised to Profit as Banks Shun Risk

      (Newser) - With the last two large US investment banks going commercial in an effort to stay afloat, private-equity and hedge funds are stepping into the void, the Wall Street Journal reports. Taking on roles previously filled by the likes of Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, hedge funds like Citadel and private-equity groups like Blackstone are "stepping further into the risk-taking fold," the Journal notes, and are positioned to profit handsomely. More »

    • Hedge Funds in Panic on Volatility, Short-Selling Ban

      New York Times  |  Sep 22, 08 11:44 AM CDT

      Hedge Funds in Panic on Volatility, Short-Selling Ban

      (Newser) - Hedge funds have been caught flatfooted as the stock market’s volatility and a ban on short selling has made it more difficult to predict swings, the New York Times reports. Many funds, which generally have flourished amid market turbulence, are reporting their worst year ever, fueling speculation that some of the highest rollers might not survive. More »

    • Tough Times Ground Hedge Fund High-Fliers

      New York Times  |  Sep 12, 08 12:41 PM CDT

      Tough Times Ground Hedge Fund High-Fliers

      (Newser) - The recent market turmoil has taken a good deal of the shine off of hedge funds, as managers are unable to reproduce their heretofore exemplary results in poor market conditions, the New York Times reports. The average hedge fund lost 4% this year, the worst overall results in the industry’s short history, and 2008 has seen some high-profile collapses. More »

  • August 2008

    • Even Hedge Funds Start to Feel the Crunch

      Wall Street Journal  |  Aug 4, 08 1:30 PM CDT

      Even Hedge Funds Start to Feel the Crunch

      (Newser) - Hedge funds, usually known for beating the wider market, are taking a hit in the general financial slump, the Wall Street Journal reports. Though they're still outperforming the market for the year, early data suggest that trend might have reversed last month: One study of 60 funds shows them off 2.8%, worse than the S&P 500’s 1% July fall. More »

  • July 2008

    • Demonizing Shorters Won't Save the Likes of Lehman

      New York  |  Jul 19, 08 9:34 AM CDT

      Demonizing Shorters Won't Save the Likes of Lehman

      (Newser) - Short-sellers have the power to utterly crush Lehman Brothers, as they did Bear Stearns, writes James Cramer in New York , but it's largely Lehman's own fault. Lehman shares much of the "mismanagement, arrogance and recklessness" that brought down Bear, Cramer opines in a piece that says excoriating short-selling hedge funds for running down Lehman stock, and accusing them of manipulation, misses the point. More »

    • SEC Will Limit Short Sales of Finance Stocks

      Wall Street Journal  |  Jul 16, 08 9:48 AM CDT