A Practical Guide To Hedge Funds

Hedge fund investing is growing at a faster rate than any other kind of investing. While once only available to the rich and super rich, hedge funds are now becoming more widely available. There are between 6000-7000 hedge funds worldwide, with assets of approximately $650 billion. Industry predictions are that assets will exceed $1 trillion in the next 5 to 10 years as individual investors and pension plans seek to diversify their holdings. A Practical Guide to Hedge Funds will give you a basic understanding of what hedge funds are, how they work, how they compare to mutual funds and traditional investments, and what the results will likely be if you invest in them. This is one of the few books where you will read interviews with hedge fund investors and their investment experiences. If you're tired of depending on the traditional equity markets for your portfolio returns. A Practical Guide to Hedge Funds will help you discover what investing in hedge funds can do for you.

Written by the Founder and CEO of the prestigious New York School of Finance, this book schools you in the fundamental tools for accurately assessing the soundness of a stock investment. Built around a full-length case study of Wal-Mart, it shows you how to perform an in-depth analysis of that company's financial standing, walking you through all the steps of developing a sophisticated financial model as done by professional Wall Street analysts. You will construct a full scale financial model and valuation step-by-step as you page through the book. When we ran this analysis in January of 2012, we estimated the stock was undervalued. Since the first run of the analysis, the stock has increased 35 percent. Re-evaluating Wal-Mart 9months later, we will step through the techniques utilized by Wall Street analysts to build models on and properly value business entities. Step-by-step financial modeling - taught using downloadable Wall Street models, you will construct the model step by step as you page through the book. Hot keys and explicit Excel instructions aid even the novice excel modeler. Model built complete with Income Statement, Cash Flow Statement, Balance Sheet, Balance Sheet Balancing Techniques, Depreciation Schedule (complete with accelerating depreciation and deferring taxes), working capital schedule, debt schedule, handling circular references, and automatic debt pay downs. Illustrative concepts including detailing model flows help aid in conceptual understanding. Concepts are reiterated and honed, perfect for a novice yet detailed enough for a professional. Model built direct from Wal-Mart public filings, searching through notes, performing research, and illustrating techniques to formulate projections. Includes in-depth coverage of valuation techniques commonly used by Wall Street professionals. Illustrative comparable company analyses - built the right way, direct from historical financials, calculating LTM (Last Twelve Month) data, calendarization, and properly smoothing EBITDA and Net Income. Precedent transactions analysis - detailing how to extract proper metrics from relevant proxy statements Discounted cash flow analysis - simplifying and illustrating how a DCF is utilized, how unlevered free cash flow is derived, and the meaning of weighted average cost of capital (WACC) Step-by-step we will come up with a valuation on Wal-Mart Chapter end questions, practice models, additional case studies and common interview questions (found in the companion website) help solidify the techniques honed in the book; ideal for universities or business students looking to break into the investment banking field.

Hedge funds are typically thought of as highly risky investments. Not so. In fact, some hedge funds are among the most conservative investments you can make. While speculative, high-flying hedge funds make the headlines, others quietly go about the work of crafting unique investment strategies and hedging portfolios against market risk. This much-needed book shows why affluent investors who want to be financially secure through retirement should know about hedge funds. Its blend of facts, practical tips, and personal insights takes the mystery out of this often misunderstood investment vehicle and reveals the critical questions to ask before you invest. James P. Owen (Santa Barbara, CA) has more than 30 years of experience in the investment management industry and is Senior Vice President of Broadmark Asset Management. Previously he was President of JPO Inc. and a partner with NWQ Investment Management Company. He is co-founder of the Investment Management Consultant s Association (IMCA); author of the financial bestseller, The Prudent Investor: The Definitive Guide to Professional Investment Management; and was associate producer of the PBS television series,Beyond Wall Street: The Art of Investing

One-stop-guide to the hedge fund industry, investment and trading strategies adopted by hedge funds and the industry's regulation. For anyone with an interest in investing or managing funds, it presents everything practitioners need to know to understand these investment vehicles from their theoretical underpinnings, to how they work in practice.

How to diagnose and monitor key hedge fund operational risks With the various scandals taking place with hedge funds, now more than ever, both financial and operational risks must be examined. Revealing how to effectively detect and evaluate often-overlooked operational risk factors in hedge funds, such as multi-jurisdictional regulatory coordination, organizational nesting, and vaporware, Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence includes real-world examples drawn from the author's experiences dealing with the operational risks of a global platform of over 80 hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, private equity, and real estate managers.

Private investment funds are currently investing more capital than ever and the funds themselves are larger than ever. This practical guide features contributions by leading industry specialists on a wide range of issues arising at all stages of a private investment fund's life cycle.

This overview of a complex and often misunderstood subject takes the reader through the issues that are faced throughout the life cycle of a private equity investment, from the identification of an opportunity, through the various stages of the transaction and the lifetime of the investment, to the eventual exit by the investor. The analysis of key documentation and legal issues covers company law, employment law, pensions, taxation, debt funding and competition law, taking into account recent legal developments such as the Companies Act 2006, the recent emergence of private equity in the UK and the challenges faced by the industry as a result of the financial crisis.

This book is designed to provide an overview and introduction to the hedge funds industry.Hedge funds are also known as alternative investments that are suited to institutional investors or wealthy investors with significant experience and knowledge in investment. They are used to hedge different types of risk by using derivatives products. Hedge fund managers use call and put options, commodity futures, forward contracts, index, currency and fixed income options and futures to hedge credit risk, market risk, country risk, sector risk, company risk, interest rate risk and currency risk. Thus, in addition to stocks and bonds they use their derivatives product to hedge or speculate according to the investment strategy, the market and political trend. Hedge funds are divided in several categories according to the investment strategy that is adopted by the fund manager. They use leverage through derivatives products, long and short position on securities, currencies, bonds and other investment products. They try to reduce risk, offset loses and positively increase the performance of the fund. They are not liquid as they use a lockup period for a certain period of time. They are used from wealthy investors that have a capital higher than 250,000 USD. In some cases the invested capital could be 1,000,000 USD or more than 10,000,000 USD.

This second edition, outlining key trends in the global hedge fund industry, has been updated reflecting the complexity of the markets following the implementation of transparency and application of new technologies. It reviews latest structuring and governance models, as well as operational, litigation, enforcement and key regulatory initiatives i

A comprehensive look at the world of leveraged buyouts The private equity industry has grown dramatically over the past twenty years. Such investing requires a strong technical know-how in order to turn private investments into successful enterprises. That is why Paul Pignataro has created Leveraged Buyouts + Website: A Practical Guide to Investment Banking and Private Equity. Engaging and informative, this book skillfully shows how to identify a private company, takes you through the analysis behind bringing such an investment to profitability—and further create high returns for the private equity funds. It includes an informative leveraged buyout overview, touching on everything from LBO modeling, accounting, and value creation theory to leveraged buyout concepts and mechanics. Provides an in-depth analysis of how to identify a private company, bring such an investment to profitability, and create high returns for the private equity funds Includes an informative LBO model and case study as well as private company valuation Written by Paul Pignataro, founder and CEO of the New York School of Finance If you're looking for the best way to hone your skills in this field, look no further than this book.