Most Popular AllAboutAlpha.com Posts of 2008
| Dec 29th, 2008 | Filed under: Featured Post, Today's Post | By: Alpha Male |
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As 2008 enters the history books, we look back at the top ten most popular posts at AllAboutAlpha.com over the last 12 months. As you can guess, most have a decidedly negative tone – redemption gates, shrinking AUM, warnings over quant models, securities lending problems, terrible monthly performances…
Thankfully the year is just about over. If you are in the office today, here is a walk down memory lane that will make you especially happy to welcome in a new year. (We have temporarily granted free access to all of these archived posts.)
- Securities lending starting to dry up a little?: The hedge fund industry relies on short-selling. Short-selling relies on securities lending. And securities lending relies on the willingness of institutional investors to temporarily part with their stocks. So what happens if those lenders get nervous?
- Hedge funds discovered not to be an “asset class” after all: When is an asset class not really an asset class?
- Stigma of redemption gates fading fast: Back in the old days (like, in August), shutting a “redemption gate” used to be a form of punishment. Now it’s more like “tough love”.
- Exactly how much of the hedge fund industry is about to get chopped anyway?: Recent estimates about the imminent shrinkage of the hedge fund industry have varied widely. So we asked one expert to help us cut through the confusion.
- Replicating Hedge Funds: Traditional beta or alternative beta?: In this guest post, Partners Group’s Lars Jaeger says that although you could have replicated hedge funds using equity beta over the past 4 years, “alternative beta” is still where it’s at.
- Exactly how bad was September for hedge funds?: If hedge funds beat equity markets in September, then what’s all the fuss about? For a visual answer to that question, just take a look at these charts.
- Shadwick to Quants: “Financial models should come with health warnings!”: In this guest post, Dr. William Shadwick, developer of the Omega Function used in risk management, warns that “over-modeling” has “negative consequences”.
- Asness: Quant funds not actually “HAL 9000? black boxes: In an article by Alpha magazine, AQR’s Clifford Asness says that quant funds can still profit from new opportunities and that they are actually far more transparent than most fundamentally-driven funds (or than the “HAL 9000″, for that matter).
- Alternative Viewpoints: Commodities not about “buy and hold”: There is little doubt that commodities are hot. But as Keith Black, CAIA, argues in this guest post, investors must move well beyond simple “buy and hold” strategies.
- Morningstar’s Deutsch: 130/30 “not monolithic” but does represent a “convergence” in money management: In this guest post, Morningstar’s Steve Deutsch has a bird’s-eye view of the burgeoning 1X0/X0 field. Today, he shares this perspective, concluding that money managers are stealing a page from the telecom playbook.
Elegant articles throughout 2008 – neatly presented. I love your adoption of Branford Magazine theme and a very subtle top menu. I have bookmarked your site and keep coming again and again. Keep it up.