The overall climate for hedge fund seeding activity warmed considerably in 2018, as the hedge fund industry and the financial markets moved beyond the volatility of 2016 and the perception of being overheated in 2017, resulting in one of the busiest years we have observed for seeding activity in the last decade. Our data indicates that seed deal activity increased decisively year over year, with institutional seeders reasserting themselves as the dominant drivers of activity in the marketplace
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The Fact(or)s of the Matter Apr23
Like many folks these days, I rely on the interwebs to discover how to do certain things. Change the battery in my home alarm system? YouTube. Learn how to create a smokey eye? Instagram. Grill a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner? Jimmy-D’s Thanksgiving Turkey BBQ 2010
... Read more »Looking Ahead from April 2019 – Big Picture Themes Apr4
Reinvention is typically comprised of multiple strategic initiatives, often requiring investment that results in short-term profit pressure. Moreover, there is some level of execution risk, and the changes typically require new talent/skillsets. And, there is always concern about a loss of focus on the base business. Given that each initiative is new, it is often challenging to quantify success early on and the timing of returns. Yet, it is essential to implement change or risk irrelevancy
... Read more »White Paper: Quantitative Hedge Fund Analysis and the Infinite Monkey Theorem Mar14
Some have asserted that monkeys with typewriters, given enough time, could replicate Shakespeare. Don’t take the wager. While other financial denizens sarcastically note that given enough time there will be a few successes out of all the active money managers, building on the concept that even a blind pig will occasionally find a peanut. Alternatively, our goal in the white paper is to more reliably accelerate an investor’s search for sound and safe hedge fund and niche investments
... Read more »Hunting not Gathering Investments Feb21
When considering various individual investments (long or short) for your portfolio, one should go hunting, not gathering. Gathering is passively purchasing securities, fairly immediately, when one learns about them (from a friend, magazine article, online research report, brand affinity, etc.); and perhaps even adding to these investments incrementally over a duration of time; or when disposable income allows for further purchases
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