Hedge fund investors: Rules of engagement

“New rules of engagement are being written.” SEI, an investment services provider, reckons that an “investor empowerment movement” is underway among those that invest in hedge funds.

High net worth investors have accounted for some 80% of hedge fund redemptions in recent quarters, SEI estimates. The institutional investors that remain are using their increased clout to express growing dissatisfaction with funds that have not delivered the absolute returns or downside protection that they charge hefty fees for.

As hedge funds have benefited from the recent rally in asset prices, successive surveys of these investors have seen concerns about performance fade. Meanwhile, worries about transparency, liquidity and investment objectives are on the rise. As a result, investors are putting pressure on funds to “evolve their entrepreneurial operating style to a more institutional and transparent model,” SEI says.