Hedge Hunters: Hedge Fund Masters on the Rewards, the Risk, and the Reckoning | 
| Author: Katherine Burton
Publisher: Bloomberg Press
Category: Book
List Price: $27.95
Buy New: $16.68
You Save: $11.27 (40%)
New (34) Used (8) from $16.68
Avg. Customer Rating:  49 reviews
Sales Rank: 14805
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 206
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.4 x 5.9 x 1
ISBN: 1576602451
Dewey Decimal Number: 332.645
EAN: 9781576602454
ASIN: 1576602451
Publication Date: November 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Brand New. Delivery is usually 5 - 8 working days from order, International is by Royal Mail Airmail
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Product Description
The legends who created the trillion-dollar hedge fund world are brilliant at picking investments, astute at spotting talent--and notorious for secrecy. Now these top managers talk frankly about the challenges they face and how they enter, exit, and size their trades. They also name up-and-coming managers who are shaping the future of hedge funds. Katherine Burton, an acclaimed Bloomberg News reporter, has persuaded these giants of their industry to share their thinking as never before. Investors and market watchers will be intrigued and informed by an unprecendented look inside these highly successful funds.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 44 more reviews...
 Opportunity Lost July 19, 2008
I read this book carefully in its entirely, hoping for a contemporary analog to the classic Wizards trilogy so ably ushered into print by Jack Schwager (If you're interested in trading and haven't read these classics ~ even the weaker volume 3 ~ buy them now).
Perhaps having been influenced by the quality of Schwager's opus, I set the bar too high and became an easy mark for disappointment. I found myself grimacing again and again, and even saying to myself aloud, "Why didn't she ask the next, obvious question?"
Absent the probing questions that might have been asked of this glittering lineup of stellar performers, what we're left with is a series of personality profiles. The author's tepid prose skips like a stone across the placid surface of deep water. Untroubled by probing questions, the strategic and tactical aspects of hedge fund management remain undisturbed.
It's valid to point out that the author isn't a markets practitioner but a markets journalist. Perhaps she felt that digging deeply might ruffle feathers of those she might wish to approach at another time as sources or for interviews? In any event, the personality profiles wouldn't pass muster to appear in Bloomberg Magazine. The author is a Bloomberg reporter.
My wife purchased our copy of this book at one of the author's promotional appearances closely following publication. It was a professional forum, the room full of analysts and other practitioners. She commented that the author's replies to probing questions seeking elaboration were "uncertain, unsteady, and showed a lack of insight."
Go long Schwager's trilogy, between the covers of which you'll find a billion dollars worth of wisdom. Short this book by leaving it on the shelf.
 Time to trim the hedge June 26, 2008
Katherine Burton is a fine writer, who, for some reason not specified in this book, chose to apply her talents to a work that the back cover describes as a "page-turner...written in a wonderfully engaging style."
Translation: if you want to read upbeat profiles of men who all sound vaguely similar and if you don't care a whit about understanding how these high stakes games played in unregulated markets affect the global financial system, if you have never wondered why these men earned the big bucks or questioned whether they were worth those paychecks, then you will enjoy this book.
Under Burton's touch, these men are all rendered as kindly and wise souls, each with a pithy piece or two of advice to impart. They value the people who work for them, and they care about their clients. They are all brilliant and beneficent. In short, this is 200 pages of feel-good bedtime reading that will lull you into slumber with a smile on your face.
Hard-hitting investigative reporting this is not. Burton only lightly touches on the risks, and ignores the reckoning. Want to learn how Long-Term Capital Management, notorious hedge fund disaster of a decade ago, almost triggered financial armageddon? You're wasting your time, as Burton devotes only a few sentences, in passing, to LTCM. Nor does she explore the use of hedge funds as a tax shelter, or the fact that many hedge funds are incorporated outside the U.S., or that they engage in somewhat questionable investment strategies. And if she even mentions the fact that all her subjects are male, that you have to scour the book to find any women's names at all, I missed it.
This is a great book for developing a basic vocabulary of people and terms that you can drop when you're attending parties of other upwardly mobile fortune seekers. But if you want to find out what it's all about, there are many better sources.
 Very Interesting June 2, 2008
This is a reprint of the review I wrote for my book review website Letters On Pages (www.lettersonpages.com
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I am pretty interested in financial stuff, so when I got the opportunity to review Hedge Hunters: Hedge Fund Masters on the Rewards, the Risk, and the Reckoning by Katherine Burton, I jumped at the chance. I am glad I did, because the book is entirely fascinating! The book is basically a collection of mini biographies of the best hedge fund managers around. They give their keys to success, how they've avoided disaster (for the most part), and their favorite managers. But, maybe we should start at the beginning.
A hedge fund, according to Wikipedia, is a private investment fund that charges a performance fee and management fee. In order to invest with a hedge fund you must qualify. In order to qualify you must have A LOT of money. Hedge funds manage billions of dollars, so they don't mess around with small time investors. As the book shows, there are a lot of different styles of hedge funds based on the level of risk/reward you (assuming you have millions and millions already!) are looking for.
Hedge Hunters is really interesting because it gets inside the office and gets personal with the managers. Why are these money managers so successful? As I said before, there are a wide variety of styles that these managers employ. Some are very conservative and don't promise huge returns. Some are far more willing to take risks in order to obtain massive returns. One consistentcy between all of the managers is that they aim to make money no matter what direction the market is going. Up or down...if they aren't profiting then they aren't happy.
Another consistency between all of these managers is how much time they take researching the companies and management. There are a lot of money managers out there on Wall Street and around the country/world...but it seems to me that the best ones are the ones who take their time and make the extra effort to really analyze a company. That is where they find the under and over valued companies to bet on. And that is where they make their money.
Burton does a fantastic job of keeping the book interesting and not just listing the record of the managers. Not all of their advice is meaningful to the normal investors of the world, but the basic premise of research and patience rings out throughout the book.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in investing and personal finance. You will learn something if you read this book!
Brief, interesting interviews with geniuses that don't spill any secrets May 12, 2008
Nice book of short interviews with Hedge fund stars. Some of them are quite recent stars, with funds only open for the last 5 years, and you get the sense that a lot has changed since the book was written. Others, like Julian Robertson, are long-time legends of the game. Interesting parts usually deal with the personality of the manager and their story of starting their own firm, rather than their investment ideas. Most of them hold their cards too close to the vest in this book to offer any investing tips. But for getting a feel for who these people are and how they think, the book is worth the read. Felt like I was just getting a teaser, a small sample of the goods.
Some of my favorite parts:
The difference between career analysts and those who will become portfolio managers: "The manager will come into your office and say "absolutely. You've got to buy it: there's no question" The analyst wil say "Here's the reason you should, and here's the reason you shouldn't." They will never, ever give an opinion.
Makes no sense for PM in NYC to call analyst in NYC about the asphalt business in Arizona. Why doesn't the PM just get on a plane and check it out himself?
Uber-Short-Seller Chanos on Netflix: "Look at NFLX. Consider the concept of having little old ladies in warehouses stuffing envelopes with DVDs. That might be a business for the next 2 or 3 years, but then it won't work. Why anyone would pay 27x earnings for that is beyond me"
 Learn from the Masters of Money Management April 22, 2008
This book is about what it takes to be a money manager. Through 19 chapters of interviews, Hedge Hunters gets up close and personal with the best hedge fund managers in the business.
Each interview is unique; every chapter contributes something new and explores a huge diversity of backgrounds and styles through each manager. Some managers come from a traditional Ivy League financial background. Others, like Boone Pickens, start out from more unlikely places like geology. A few are even Tiger Cubs, analysts who started at Julian Robertson's legendary Tiger Capital Management and later ventured to start their own firms. Contrary to what you might think, starting from a non-finance background seems to be advantageous.
What I found most interesting was that no magic formula exists for succeeding as a money manager. Each fund has its own culture and unique set of rules, which works for that organization alone. Some managers cut losses early, while a few like Dwight Anderson stomach tough losses for a longer term view. Each manager has different views on using leverage and diversifying the portfolio.
Most of the interviews focus on equity investors, but a few cover hedge funds that deal in fixed income and commodities. My favorite interviews include Boone Pickens and Jim Chanos, the legendary bear of Wall Street.
The book explores much more than just the technical aspects of managing money. Each chapter sets an atmosphere by describing the manager's personality, background, and a little bit about the firm's culture. Some chapters focus on the difficulties of starting an operating a fund's back office, such as Marc Lasry's adventure in starting Avenue Capital.
The great thing about this book is that it proves anyone with the drive and discipline can win at this game. It is terrific for young, enterprising individuals with the dream of someday getting a piece of the action.
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