Peter Lazaroff, CFA, is the Director of Investment Research and a Wealth Manager at Plancorp, LLC based in St. Louis. Peter is a CFA Charterholder and CFP® certificant. He holds a BA in economics and management from DePauw University.
Hedge fund exposure fails to deliver for investors due to exorbitant fees, high competition, the ineffectiveness of active management, and a general misunderstanding of the underlying exposures and correlations (i.e., hedge funds don’t hedge). But the purpose of hedge funds from the perspective of the manager, parent company, consultants, and brokerages is to collect fees. In that sense, hedge funds have been a huge success each and every year.
Using global equities as part of a diversified portfolio still makes sense.