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What a hedge fund charges is *actually* irrelevant - all that matters is your net return as an investor. You'll find that most professional fund allocators tend to agree. If your choice is a 20% return with a fund that charges 5 and 50 versus a 10% return with a fund that charges 1 and 20...

The term "hedge fund" doesn't describe what a fund is, only what it is not : It's not compliant with the Investment Act of 1940. Outside of that Act, if you deal with securities you are a "hedge fund". So you can go long, short, buy baseball cards or golf courses, yen or zimbabwe dollars...

I think EricP mentioned how a book on programming ideas/principles for developing trading strategies might not have enough of an audience to make it an economic proposition. This is likely to be true. However, another reason why people write books is advertising. If you can explain...

I've looked at the numbers before, and while you can expend a great deal of effort on unneccessary precision in minor costs, like homeowners insurance, tips to the doorman ..... etc ... the big shifts in the numbers occur with your estimates of where housing is going as an asset class within...

Most people also don't spend too much time figuring out the opportunity cost on funds used to make the deposit if you buy. It might be important if you are trader. A lot hinges on two assumptions : the expected horizon return on real estate and the expected opportunity cost on funds.

ym, I trade systematically as well and it was difficult initially taking trades as they come. After a while, and much examination of trading results, I eventually convinced myself that I add little value in the trading decision process and stuck to the program. It's a human urge to...

If you lease/buy the seat in the name of a corporate entity, does it have to be a non-pass through in order to avoid SE tax? Assuming you have a single member LLC treated as sole proprietorship for tax purposes, if you lease the seat in the name of your LLC, are you still liable for SE tax?

What can I say Ross, I think you've nailed it. The other thing statistics is good at picking up is undercurrents and imperfections created by artifacts in the market I think.

PhilC, It sounds like what you really want is a practical education in global macro. If studying the cocoa market is the kind of thing that makes you tick, what you need to do is clear. Go find a job in sell or buy side research. A quality hedge fund wants to hire people it can use...

Last I looked, S&P's hedge fund components show long-shorts in the red and global Ex-US long-shorts deeply in the red. As a group they are mostly net long, so it's no surprise they tracked the market. The other crowd deep in the red are managed futures, given the mad swings in copper, crude...

"Non-diversification Risk – UltraShort 500 Fund is considered non-diversified and may invest a relatively high percentage of its assets in the securities of a small number of issuers. In such circumstances, the Fund’s performance may be susceptible to economic, political or regulatory events...

It only seems that way because of .... survivorship bias :) ie - those that go on to lose all your money get erased from databases. Incidentally, David Beach is a fine and very successful manager.

I think David Beach's 3x Discretionary fund on IASG recorded a drawdown more than 50% last year. Investors abandoned the sinking ship and then lo and behold, he finished the year positive. http://www.iasg.com/SnapshotPT.asp?ID=54

You can be sure the commodity index funds, which caused much of this contango to begin with, are looking into this problem of negative carry. I suppose these funds are already spreading their book over longer dated futures or are taking correlated positions that have less of a contango problem.

surf, glad you agree. It is like the race track and the casino - the public is not playing to make money, the public is playing mostly for entertainment utility. electon - People like to dream of getting rich while doing little or nothing. That's why they buy lottery tickets, or play the...

I've met LW and been to one of his seminars as a guest - he's a stand up guy. Look - there is a huge public interest in get rich quick ideas. Everyone wants the keys to the kingdom for $19.95. No one wants to be told hard work and talent are the only sure paths to success. Like other...

I think measured standard deviation in the SPX was lower in 1995 ... so maybe lowest volatility in one decade.

This is a real shock. I've met Larry and he is a nice guy. I am not usually one for trading gurus or their products, but I must admit that his lectures had an unusually high level of integrity.

Since NTB was so generous with his examples, I thought I should add a few. Edges also come from other people not doing their job eg 1) mutual funds not bothering to squeeze out the last penny in a merger situation, leaving it to the arbs, leaving behind a profitable business. Once they...

It's worth kicking back after work with a beer in your hand. Entertaining stuff. More or less a history of the Black Scholes model. Nice footage of all the people involved.