By John Brynjolfsson, CIO Armored Wolf As markets reel in the wake of the failed German Bund auction that occurred earlier this week, our beliefs regarding financial security are rightly shaken down to their very foundation, and below! After all, 10-Year government bonds, at least as introduced to students in business schools over the past 70 years, [...]

The collapse of MF Global is proving significant for reasons other than its being one of the ten largest bankruptcies in U.S. history, according to attorneys at Teigland-Hunt LLP.   Liquidation of MF Global will require the unprecedented application of two vastly different bankruptcy and customer asset protection regimes that lack [...]

What's it all about, this alpha? And for that matter, where is it? Dr. Bob Swarup tackles the real meanings of alpha and beta.

Hedge fund indexes have been around for as long as there have been hedge funds to index. As the industry evolves, so too the way it is measured must change. The Hedge Fund Barometer intends to change the way we measure hedge fund performance.

Special to AllAboutAlpha.com by: Paul Cantor, CFA, portfolio manager and Diane Harrison, Managing Director, Hercules Trading Fund, LLC Investors looking for opportunities in the hedge fund market first need to consider an overall strategy approach. The typical ‘Big Three’ are: 1) Directional, 2) Market-Neutral, and 3) Event-Driven. Directional strategies seek to anticipate market movements, market-neutral approaches [...]

Sure it's hard to start a hedge fund these days. But for some that obviously doesn't matter.

By: Mikhail Iliev, head writer of Who’s In My Fund? Back in January, AAA asked whether the significant increase in proposed Securities and Exchange Commission examinations heralds a new era for hedge fund oversight. The question looks to be answered soon and most likely in the affirmative – at least in the context of insider trading. Headlines of [...]

Alpha doesn't always have to come from security selection - as today's guest contributor points out.

As alternative investors know, money does grow on trees after all. The trick is: how to harvest it.

At the very least, NASCAR and Formula One share two things in common with the alternative asset management industry...

Advocates of “short-extension” or “alpha-extension” strategies such as 130/30 funds often point out that traditional long-only managers are only able to bet against a stock by as much as that stock represents in the benchmark index.  After all, they argue, you can do no more than simply deciding not to hold a stock at all. [...]

The past few years have seen discontent about return-based hedge fund fees growing amongst investors. Here's a proposal from one manager that attempts to balance both risk and return.

There have been many studies on hedge fund manager return “persistence”.  Persistence, after all, is a necessary precondition for the existence of alpha.  Like alpha itself, you might expect that the persistence of a good Sharpe ratio may be possible in less mature (more informationally inefficient) markets.  But a new study by Siewling Lay, CAIA, [...]

The hedge fund space has become "contaminated", says this AllAboutAlpha.com reader.

In this month's "Alternative Viewpoints" column, BNY Mellon's Neil Kotecha explains one of the reasons why the Sharpe Ratio isn't so sharp after all.

Who knew "Value at Risk" calculation was an extreme sport? Sure, it's not base jumping...But at least one prominent mathematician turned investment researcher says it's not far off.

Emerging markets are emerging like crazy this spring. So why not just ride the (beta) wave? One expert finds that emerging market alpha can make life a lot more enjoyable.

Is the secret out when it comes to endowment returns?

As GAIM Ops comes to a close, Abdul Sheikh, CAIA, of State Street argues that independent fund administration is now a no brainer.

Heretics of Finance may not change the way readers see the markets, but it just might change the way we see those who read the markets.

In 1513, Niccolo Machiavelli warned Lorenzo d' Medici, ruler of the Florentine Republic about "the inconsistency of prosperity". Did "Black Swan" author Nassim Taleb go back in time to advise Machiavelli? Read this and make up your own mind.

What would life be like with full hedge fund transparency? For clues, you needn't look much further than the US requirement to submit "13F" filings.

The much ballyhooed topic of convergence between hedge funds and private equity has been bumped from the front pages recently by the convergence of financial sector workers and pink slips. But according to one academic (who has the ear of the US Congress), it's not going away any time soon.

The Indian economy has been in the news a lot recently. But what about alternative investments in the sub-continent?

Hedge fund industry watcher and alternative beta advocate Lars Jaeger of Partners Group provides us with his hedge fund predictions in this AllAboutAlpha.com exclusive.

Guest contributor Tommaso Sanzin, CAIA says that the natural ebbs and (asset) flows of the hedge fund industry will yield more untapped opportunities and fewer unskilled managers.

Peter Douglas, the widely-quoted hedge fund consultant and manager, forecasts golden times ahead for the hedge fund industry - at least, for those who survive.

Hedge fund replication using factor models is a balancing act between using so many factors that the model doesn't hold up in the future, and using so few factors that the model doesn't hold up at all.

GUEST CONTRIBUTION BY RONALD SOLBERG, MANAGING DIRECTOR, ARMORED WOLF LLC - The US dollar as measured against six major world currencies has appreciated approximately 19% during the last three months through end-October. In particular, the US Dollar index stands at 85, up from a recent low of 71.3. This trend reversal takes the US dollar’s [...]

With the insurance industry in enough trouble as it is, are "cat-bonds" the way forward?

With the commodities boom quickly coming to an end, what's in store for Canada's hedge funds? To help answer this question, one Canadian family office has crunched the numbers and given us permission to show you their full analysis.

Despite complaints about Henry Paulson, Alan Greenspan, and Ben Bernanke, the real problems in today's financial system began with German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck.

Hedge fund manager and author

2007 was a break-through year for so-called "hedge fund replication". But what's up with 2008?

Are your fund of funds "Granny Smiths" or "Golden Delicious"?

Thought beta was a pretty down-to-earth concept? That's what we thought too...

Like hedge funds, mutual funds are finding true alpha harder to come by. But you might be surprised to learn who is to blame.

If you're a traditional long-only asset manager, one expert has some advice for you.

There is little doubt that commodities are hot. But as Keith Black, CAIA, argues: investors must move well beyond simple "buy and hold" strategies.

Is 130/30 the same as "100" (an ETF) plus "30/30" (a market neutral fund)? On the surface it seems so, but research for and against this proposition is adding confusion.

We've all heard the old adage "Sell in May and go away". One academic determines if the weather is the source of this apparent market anomaly.

Lock-ups, redemption gates, notice periods...liquidity has become a major issue in the hedge fund industry - and a new study now tries to put a price on it.

Several surveys have probed investors and managers about 130/30. But a new poll of nearly 500 alternative investment professionals contains some new insights.

South Africa seems to be getting a lot of play recently - in part due to its position as the world's Fort Knox. But is there alpha in Africa? One reader says "yes!"

Identifying persistent returns can be done with the naked eye. But identifying persistent alpha? That's a different ball game according one researcher.

Last fall, we questioned whether alternative energy could produce alpha. Today, one leading environmental technology investor takes issue with that assessment.

Dr. William Shadwick, developer of the Omega Function used in risk management, warns that "over-modeling" has "negative consequences"

Recent research on the human brain reveals that the secret to alpha generation may not be facts and figures - but emotions & psychology.

In the latest in their ongoing debate, Harry Kat questions Lars Jaeger's reliance on modern finance - a field he calls "utterly disappointing".

In today's "Alternative Viewpoints...powered by CAIA" Konstantin Danilov proposes a new type of security that might address the illiquidity risks inherent in individual positions.