Quote from hedgefunds:
If the manager doesn't do well, they don't earn incentive fees. Management fees cover overhead- unless it is a huge fund the managers are not getting rich off of it. Therefore, the interests of the manager are aligned with the investor- i.e. the investor makes money, the manager makes money. Most PMs manage risk very well, occasionally you have a blowout or bad trade, same as you daytrading guys, but on a larger scale....
Quote from Cache Landing:
I agree to a certain extent. But there is an inherent conflict of interest there, which is why hedge funds are restricted to accredited/sophisticated investors. True, management fees won't make any significant money, but the managers have a lot to gain and very little to lose by taking too much risk. I think that for the most part they want to perform well, but the way the fee schedules are setup promotes excessive risk taking to a certain extent.