The fall and rise of a trillion-dollar industry Just three years ago, hedge funds were at the top of the investment world. Years of unparalleled growth had pushed assets to nearly $3 trillion. Leverage was used so aggressively that total long and short investments approached an astonishing $10 trillion. Thousands of new funds had sprouted in every corner of the market, and managers, enjoying an almost unimaginable pool of fees, were dubbed the new “masters of the universe.” Then came 2008.The industry suffered its worst performance ever, losing $600 billion or roughly 20% in a single year. Multibilliondollar hedge funds collapsed overnight, epic frauds were revealed, and assets plummeted as spooked investors scrambled to get their money back. The near collapse of the industry is one of the most dramatic stories of the global economic meltdown. It’s also among the most instructive—because hedge funds are still alive and, if managed wisely, will emerge stronger than ever in the coming years. In Hedge Funds Humbled, industry insider Trevor Ganshaw provides a detailed primer of the industry and explains how the people who earned more than $100 billion in fees during their short but happy heyday planted the seeds of their own destruction. He paints a vivid picture of how the industry leaders’ major mistakes destroyed hundreds of billions of investor capital; Ganshaw calls them the “seven deadly sins” of the hedge fund industry: Out-of-control leverage Inadequate risk management Flawed fee structures Overcrowded strategies The Peter Principle of too much capital Capital instability Fraud, enabled by lax controls Ganshaw examines the future of the industry and shows investors what to look for and what to avoid. There’s still money to be made in hedge funds and, in his estimation, the industry is poised for a comeback. “As all good hedge fund managers know, greed is good,” he writes. “Humility, it seems, may now be an essential part of keeping it that way.” More dramatic than fiction, Hedge Funds Humbled is a timely work that provides a critical look at an industry gone bad—and an optimistic look at its future.

Wealthy, powerful, and potentially dangerous, hedge-find managers have emerged as the stars of twenty-first century capitalism. Based on unprecedented access to the industry, More Money Than God provides the first authoritative history of hedge funds. This is the inside story of their origins in the 1960s and 1970s, their explosive battles with central banks in the 1980s and 1990s, and finally their role in the financial crisis of 2007-9. Hedge funds reward risk takers, so they tend to attract larger-than-life personalities. Jim Simons began life as a code-breaker and mathematician, co-authoring a paper on theoretical geometry that led to breakthroughs in string theory. Ken Griffin started out trading convertible bonds from his Harvard dorm room. Paul Tudor Jones happily declared that a 1929-style crash would be 'total rock-and-roll' for him. Michael Steinhardt was capable of reducing underlings to sobs. 'All I want to do is kill myself,' one said. 'Can I watch?' Steinhardt responded. A saga of riches and rich egos, this is also a history of discovery. Drawing on insights from mathematics, economics and psychology to crack the mysteries of the market, hedge funds have transformed the world, spawning new markets in exotic financial instruments and rewriting the rules of capitalism. And while major banks, brokers, home lenders, insurers and money market funds failed or were bailed out during the crisis of 2007-9, the hedge-fund industry survived the test, proving that money can be successfully managed without taxpayer safety nets. Anybody pondering fixes to the financial system could usefully start here: the future of finance lies in the history of hedge funds.

"An excellent and comprehensive source of information on hedge funds! From a quantitative view Lhabitant has done it once again by meticulously looking at the important topics in the hedge fund industry. This book has a tremendous wealth of information and is a valuable addition to the hedge fund literature. In addition, it will benefit institutional investors, high net worth individuals, academics and anyone interested in learning more about this fascinating and often mysterious world of privately managed money. Written by one of the most respected practitioners and academics in the area of hedge funds." —Greg N. Gregoriou, Professor of finance and research coordinator in the School of Business and Economics at Plattsburgh State University of New York "This is a landmark book on quantitative approaches to hedge funds. All those with a stake in building hedge fund portfolios will highly profit from this exhaustive guide. A must read for all those involved in hedge fund investing." —Pascal Botteron, Ph.D., Head of Hedge Fund Product Development, Pictet Asset Management "François-Serge Lhabitant's second book will prove to be a bestseller too - just like Hedge Funds: Myths and Limits. He actually manages to make quantitative analysis 'approachable'- even for those less gifted with numbers. This book, like its predecessor, includes an unprecedented mix of common sense and sophisticated technique. A fantastic guide to the 'nuts and bolts' of hedge fund analysis and a 'must' for every serious investor." —Barbara Rupf Bee, Head of Alternative Fund Investment Group, HSBC Private Bank, Switzerland "An excellent book, providing deep insights into the complex quantitative analysis of hedge funds in the most lucid and intuitive manner. A must-have supplement to Lhabitant's first book dealing with the mystical and fascinating world of hedge funds. Highly recommended!" —Vikas Agarwal, Assistant Professor of Finance, J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University "Lhabitant has done it again! Whereas most books on hedge funds are nothing more than glorified marketing brochures, Lhabitant's new book tells it how it is in reality. Accessible and understandable but at the same time thorough and critical." —Harry M. Kat, Ph.D., Professor of Risk Management and Director Alternative Investment Research Centre, Cass Business School, City University "Lhabitant's latest work on hedge funds yet again delivers on some ambitious promises. Successfully bridging theory and practice in a highly accessible manner, those searching for a thorough yet unintimidating introduction to the quantitative methods of hedge fund analysis will not be disappointed." —Christopher L. Culp, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor of Finance, Graduate School of Business, The University of Chicago and Principal, Chicago Partners LLC

Learn to apply the strategies of top hedge fund managers to your personal investment portfolio The most successful hedge fund managers and superstar investors outperform the markets impressively, while most fund managers—and individual investors as well—usually underperform the market averages. Based on the figures released by the Edgar System each quarter, this book analyzes the performance of hedge fund managers controlling at least $100 million in Assets Under Management to help other investors close the gap between themselves and the industry's top fund managers. With model portfolios that produced solid returns, examination of the tactics of the best fund managers, and a set of effective strategies for sound absolute returns, Profiting from Hedge Funds is the perfect guide for investors who want to improve their game by learning from the best. Includes fascinating insights into the investment styles of the most successful hedge fund managers Features model portfolios based on the holdings and activity of high-performing money managers Offers key lessons for success that work across all portfolios

The New York Times bestseller “The bright light shed by More Money Than God is particularly welcome. Mr. Mallaby . . . brings a keen sense of financial theory to his subject and a vivid narrative style.” —Wall Street Journal “Splendid . . . the definitive history of the hedge fund history, a compelling narrative full of larger-than-life characters and dramatic tales of their financial triumphs and reversals.” —The Washington Post The first authoritative history of hedge funds-from their rebel beginnings to their role in defining the future of finance, from the author of The Power Law Wealthy, powerful, and potentially dangerous, hedge fund moguls have become the It Boys of twenty-first-century capitalism. Beating the market was long thought to be impossible, but hedge funds cracked its mysteries and made fortunes in the process. Drawing on his unprecedented access to the industry, esteemed financial writer Sebastian Mallaby tells the inside story of the hedge funds, from their origins in the 1960s to their role in the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009—and explains why understanding the history of hedge funds is key to predicting the future of finance.