Hedge funds gain in September The Hennessee Hedge Fund Index, which tracks the performance of more than 900 managers overseeing about half the capital in the industry, climbed 1.7% in September, the firm said in a statement. That beat the performance of equity benchmarks such as the Standard & Poor's 500 Index, which climbed 0.8%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index, which lost 0.02% in September, Hennessee added. Hedge-fund gains also topped the bond market, which declined 0.85% in the month, as measured by the Lehman Brothers Intermediate Government Corporate Bond Index. Hennessee's hedge fund index has climbed 6.2% so far this year, while the S&P 500 has advanced 2.8% and the Lehman bond index is up 1.05%, the consultant said. ----------- Looks like they're having a good year afterall.
I wonder when these jokers will blow up? It's just funny. They look like an advertising agency! http://www.superfund.com/downloads/...magefilm_EN.wmv
http://money.cnn.com/2005/10/11/markets/wood_river/index.htm Wood River fund woes run deep Alarmed investors in hedge fund can't get money back; firm faces lawsuit from Lehman. October 11, 2005: 12:03 PM EDT by Amanda Cantrell, CNN/Money staff writer NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Investors in Wood River Capital Management started running for the exits around the same time Lehman Brothers sued the hedge fund firm over a stock transaction, but the firm is having a hard time giving investors their money back, according to a person familiar with the situation. Lehman Brothers, the hedge fund's broker, said it lost $8 million after buying shares on Wood River's behalf in a micro-cap telecommunications company, Endwave Corp (down $0.43 to $13.06, Research)., but was never paid for the shares, according to a complaint filed Oct. 3 in California Superior Court in San Francisco. Investors began requesting their money in late September and early October, but not everyone who asked has been able to get money back, as the estimated $265 million onshore fund sunk a large chunk of capital into shares of Endwave Corp. Wood River now holds 4.3 million shares of Endwave, valued at about $60 million, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Such a large, concentrated position in one stock violates the terms of Wood River's offering memorandum, which said individual long positions would typically be capped at 10 percent of the portfolio, according to a person who has seen the documents. Scott Berman, an attorney with Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman who is representing some investors in Wood River's offshore fund, whose size wasn't immediately available, said he began hearing from investors last week. Berman said that right after his clients subscribed to the fund, they found out the management team had resigned, that the SEC had subpoenaed the fund's administrator, and that Wood River had not issued a statement of the fund's net asset value, among other things. "As soon as they learned of these things, they sent a cancellation of their subscription, which they were entitled to do, but which has not been honored," Berman said. Lehman said in its complaint that it agreed to act as Wood River's agent in a stock transfer that would have moved Endwave stock from a Merrill Lynch account controlled by Wood River to another of its accounts at Wedbush Morgan Securities. Lehman bought the shares, but Wood River did not arrange for the Endwave securities to be transferred to Wedbush, leaving Lehman holding the bag on more than $20 million of Endwave stock, the complaint alleges. Lehman also said it believes Wood River, based in San Francisco and Ketchum, Idaho, has shut down. In its complaint, Lehman Brothers says it was unable to reach the firm's founders. Wood River's offshore fund opened in July. The onshore fund opened in February 2003; according to a person who has seen the firm's offering documents, the firm's portfolio typically has 40 to 50 long positions. This is the second high-profile hedge fund drama in recent months. Last month, two executives of Bayou Group turned themselves into authorities and pleaded guilty to felony fraud charges. Investors in that fund are still trying to recover the $450 million they invested. John Whittier, Wood River's managing partner, started telling investors within the last month about the fund's large position in the stock, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Endwave's share price has plunged from $54 in July to its close Monday at $13.49. The rapidly declining stock price caused investors to start asking for their money back; other investors became alarmed when they had difficulty reaching Whittier, according to the report. The Wall Street Journal reported separately Monday that the Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating the firm. The SEC declined to comment. Whittier did not return a call for comment, nor did his attorney. Lehman Brothers declined to comment. -----------------
Have no fear of the newbies, they are the lifeblood of the game. We all were a newbie, wannabe at one time, some make it, most do not. After all the heartache you endured to become a winner it is time to take their money and enjoy it.
http://today.reuters.co.uk/Funds/Fu...01_NOA127073_RTRUKOC_0_HEDGE-FUNDS-TALENT.xml Hard to find talented hedge fund managers, say experts Tue Oct 11, 2005 8:33 AM BST By Pratima Desai LONDON (Reuters) - Finding top hedge fund managers is harder than it used to be because heavy flows of money into the industry have attracted a lot of mediocre talent, panellists at a hedge fund event said on Monday. Over the last 5 years assets managed by the industry have doubled to around $1 trillion. Most of that new money has come from investors looking for capital preservation and a way to diversify away from stocks after the 2000 crash. High annual management fees of 2 percent and performance fees of up to 20 percent persuaded many proprietary traders at investment banks to try their luck and the number of managers has jumped to around 8,000 from around 4,000 in 2000. "It's not easy to find talent," said Peter Fletcher, management director of Swiss-based Parly Company, which invests in hedge funds. "We think of hedge funds as predators in the jungle, except these days the prey has been eaten." Too-much money chasing too-few profit opportunities has left many hedge funds nursing negative or flat returns over the last couple of years. Part of the problem has been a lack of volatility which creates mispriced assets. Weak returns are expected to have slowed flows of capital to hedge funds, but hedge fund assets are still growing. "The average quality is going down," said Joel Katzman, who was president and chief executive of JP Morgan Alternative Asset between 1995 and April 2005. Distinguishing good and bad managers is a problem because banks' prime brokers -- which sometimes act as intermediaries between investors and hedge fund managers -- rehearse the managers' new business pitches, Katzman said. "Managers are much better scripted," he said. Years ago it was possible to meet managers and make a decision to invest with about 20 percent of them straight away. About 20 percent you wouldn't bother with and the remaining 60 percent you couldn't work out, he said. "Today those numbers are 10-10-80, he said at the event organised by IRC Conferences.