Has The Hedge Funds Industry Lost Its Way?

Has The Hedge Funds Industry Lost Its Way? by Knowledge@Wharton

For months, the news for the hedge fund industry has been grim. Funds racked up abysmal results last summer, with August showing the biggest monthly loss since October 2008.

Then the prominent Bain Capital Absolute Return Capital hedge fund announced in early October that it would close, having lost money for three years. Soon after, the well-known Fortress Investment Group said it would shut its flagship fund after losing 17% for the year through September. The two funds used a “macro” investing strategy that bet on things like economic trends, currency moves or central banks’ interest rate policies – and trends had been unkind.

At the end of October, Carlyle...