Hedge funds and private markets
How private investment funds are built, financed and policed. These guides cover fund structures and the rules behind them, the fees investors actually pay, the due diligence that precedes an allocation, the filings that reveal what managers hold, and the private credit market that now lends where banks once did.
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What is a hedge fund? A clear answer, with a worked example
What a hedge fund can do that a mutual fund cannot, who is allowed to invest, and what the fees take from a 100,000 dollar stake.
6.4%
net return to the investor when the fund returns 10% before fees
$200,000+
annual income that qualifies an individual as an accredited investor
Side pockets in hedge funds: how they work, what they cost and what to check
How a side pocket splits the NAV, who shares in it, how fees and valuation work, how it differs from a gate, and the SEC cases behind the red flags.
Managed futures: how CTA trend following works, its record and the ETFs
How CTAs turn price trends into long and short futures positions, what they returned in 2008, 2022 and since, how the CFTC regulates them, and what DBMF and other ETFs charge.
High-water mark and hurdle rate in hedge funds: worked examples in dollars
Five years of fees with and without a high-water mark, loss carryforwards, crystallization, series accounting, hard and soft hurdles, and what managers do below the mark.
Hedge fund vs index fund: returns, fees and risk compared
What each costs in dollars over 20 years, what hedge fund indices show once survivorship and backfill bias are removed, Buffett's bet, drawdowns and taxes.
Hedge fund IRA: custodians, UBTI, the 25% plan asset rule and RMDs
How a self-directed IRA buys into a hedge fund, what fund leverage costs it in UBIT at 2026 trust rates, why funds cap IRA money at 25%, and how valuation and RMDs work.
Hedge fund due diligence questionnaire (DDQ): sections, templates and answers
The AIMA, ILPA and PRI templates, what each section of a hedge fund DDQ asks, how evasive and specific answers differ, and how answers are checked against Form ADV.
Short selling explained: how it works, what it costs and where it goes wrong
A short sale followed trade by trade, with borrowing fees, the margin math, the GameStop squeeze, Regulation SHO and the delayed Form SHO rule.
Multi-manager hedge funds: how pod shops work and what they cost investors
How pod shops allocate capital and control risk, what pass-through fees take from investors, the five largest platforms and the crowding risk they share.
How to invest in a hedge fund with little money
The registered funds, replication ETFs, BDCs and listed shares open to non-accredited investors, with what each costs, how you get out and what it has returned.
Hedge fund vs private equity: how the funds, fees and careers differ
What each owns, how money goes in and out, how 2 and 20 is calculated in each, 20 years of returns, the exit backlog, carry taxes and careers.
Hedge fund vs mutual fund: how the rules, fees and liquidity differ
Who can buy each, what the law lets each hold, what the fees take in dollars, and how long it takes to get your money back.
Hedge fund salary: what analysts, portfolio managers and founders earn
Pay by level in 2025, how the bonus pool is funded, what pod shop managers keep, and what audited accounts show at Citadel and Balyasny.
Accredited investor: who qualifies in 2026 and how it is verified
The income, net worth and license tests, how the home and its mortgage are counted, what 506(b) and 506(c) issuers ask you to prove, and where reform stands.
Private credit explained: how it works, what it pays, and where the risk sits
How funds lend where banks retreated, what the returns look like net of fees, and why default rates differ by source.
How to become a hedge fund manager: the real routes in, from analyst to founder
The analyst ladder, what pod shops demand of a portfolio manager, which credentials matter, and how founders actually started.
Hedge fund fees explained: what "2 and 20" costs you in practice
How the management fee, the performance fee, high-water marks and hurdle rates combine, and what the industry now charges.
Real options: a practical guide to real options analysis
Why a project with a negative net present value can still be worth building, worked through on a factory that costs 10 million dollars.
A list of notable hedge funds, grouped by strategy
The firms that define each strategy, from global macro to convertible arbitrage, and what distinguishes one group from another.
How to start a hedge fund: a complete guide
The two realistic routes to launching a fund, what each costs, and the registration thresholds that decide which rules apply to you.
The best hedge fund books, organized by what you want to learn
Which book answers which question, from fund mechanics to trader psychology, with what each one actually covers.
How to read 13F and 13D filings to track what hedge funds are doing
What quarterly filings reveal about a fund, what they hide, and how the 2024 deadline changes altered the picture.
Hedge fund due diligence: what investors check before committing capital
The two questions every allocator answers before wiring money, and the documents, calls and reference checks used to answer them.