Kathy Valentine
+1 (434) 951-5348
kathy.valentine@cfainstitute.org
Jessica Galehouse
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jessica.galehouse@cfainstitute.org
Byron R. Wein, Chief Investment Strategist for Pequot Capital Management, Examines the Current State of the Hedge Fund Business and Explores its Future
Wein’s presentation from CFA Institute Hedge Fund Management 2007 conference available in CFA Institute Conference Proceedings Quarterly
Charlottesville, Va., June 27, 2007 — Whenever an investment approach enjoys success as the hedge fund industry has — particularly after the capital raised in 2006 — it is natural to question whether its good fortune will continue or whether its best days have passed.
Byron R. Wein, chief investment strategist for Pequot Capital Management, contended in his presentation at the CFA Institute Hedge Fund Management 2007 conference that “although some investors may believe that hedge funds are in a bubble, the hedge fund business has been a great business and may become an even greater one.”
Wein’s presentation, “Hedge Fund Management at a Tipping Point?” (PDF), along with the question and answer session, is available on www.cfapubs.org free of charge and appears in the June 2007 issue of CFA Institute Conference Proceedings Quarterly.
CFA Institute conference proceedings provide presentations in an edited, easy-to-read format that let the reader experience the flavor of a conference without actually being there. These diverse insights from leading practitioners and academics address topics from risk management to wealth management, to cutting-edge portfolio concepts.
Wein suggested in his presentation that if a decline in the hedge fund industry occurs, it will likely be because investors will determine that hedge fund fees are excessive and, as a result, cause hedge funds to underperform their benchmarks. Investors may invest new money in hedge funds at a slower rate or move money out, according to Wein.
But Wein countered that the wide range of investment strategies presented by hedge funds could offset this effect. Emerging markets and energy have been the place to be for two years, he said, but hedge funds offer so many investment choices that there will always be some place that will generate strong returns.
Prior to joining Pequot Capital Management, Wein served as a managing director in the Investment Strategy Group at Morgan Stanley, first as chief of the U.S. effort and later as senior strategist. He is a supervisory director of George Soros’ Quantum Endowment Fund and a member of the investment committees of Lincoln Center, the Pritzker Foundation, and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. He holds an AB from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
To access online complete versions of CFA Institute Conference Proceedings Quarterly and other CFA Institute publications (including the Financial Analysts Journal, CFA Magazine, and CFA Digest), credentialed members of the press may request a press token from publicawareness@cfainstitute.org.
CFA Institute
CFA Institute is the global membership association that
administers the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certificate in
Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) curriculum and exam programs
worldwide; publishes research; conducts professional development
programs; and sets voluntary, ethics-based professional and
performance-reporting standards for the investment industry. CFA
Institute has more than 92,000 members, who include the world’s 78,000
CFA charterholders, in 133 countries and territories, as well as 134
affiliated professional societies in 55 countries and territories. In
2007, CFA Institute celebrates the 60th anniversary of “the founding
of a profession.” CFA Institute has offices in Charlottesville, Va.,
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