There are estimated to be over 10,000 hedge funds in existence today. Because they are not regulated like mutual funds and other investments, information on these funds may be a lot harder to find. Another reason for the scarcity of hedge fund information lies in the fact that only accredited investors, qualified clients, or institutions may invest in a hedge fund. So even though there may be certain published lists with the fund’s name, any other information pertaining to the fund, such as performance data or investment strategies, may only be viewed by these sophisticated investors.

However, once you sign up as an accredited investor, you may view these databases online. Sites like hedgefund.net, hedgefundintelligence.com, and HedgeCo.Net all offer hedge fund databases complete with information on each fund. The database on HedgeCo.Net for example, is free to use for approved clients. Many other sites will charge a fee for investors. It is typical for the sites to charge the hedge fund manager, depending on how much information he would like displayed about his fund. These databases let the investor search by name of the fund, hedge fund strategy, manager, assets under management, returns, or a number of other ways. Databases are used frequently by investors to shop for new funds, keep an eye on a particular fund, or to compare funds.