Session 1: Introduction to the Hedge Fund industry

• What are they exactly? Generic characteristics to look for

• Industry origins. Why are some Funds ‘hedged’ and some not?

• How large is the overall Hedge Fund Universe? The numbers in context

• Asset Class performance or Manager value-added? The search for Alpha

Case Study - How do Investors choose their Hedge Fund Managers?

Session 2: Hedge Fund Tactics, Counter-Parties

• Counter-parties - Fund Administrators and Prime Brokerage

• Leverage & investing on margin.

• Short Selling explained. Stock lending – by who?

• Waiter! There’s a Hedge Fund on my Share Register, what do I do?

• Contracts for Difference – obtaining exposure to movement in the Share price without having a position in the underlying, Long or Short

Session 3: Issues for Hedge Fund Investors

• Who is investing in them?

• Pension Funds & now Sovereign Wealth Funds

• Rationale for Hedge Funds in an Investors’ Portfolio

• The non-correlated Asset Class

• Attrition rates and Survivorship Bias, Drawdown

• Institutionalisation of Hedge Funds, Index Providers – Benchmark problems

Case Study – Exclusion criteria in the due diligence process

Session 4: The Regulator’s view of and Risk Management for Hedge Funds

• The FSA standpoint. Short Selling disclosure rules

• Market , leverage and Credit risk, Gap and liquidity risk, Mark-to-market risk

• Tools for the Analysis of Financial Risk – From VAR to Stress Testing

• Do not forget Operational Risk – the story of Tradewinds

Case Study – Information requested by Intermediaries

Session 5: Sovereign Wealth Funds

• What are they exactly & what do they do?

• Where they are and how much money do they manage?

• Transparency and Investment Strategies. Risks of financial protectionism

• Implications for Global Financial stability in the markets

• Relationships with Corporates and their shareholders

Course Close