New York (HedgeCo.Net) When the Swiss National Bank announced that it would abandon the minimum exchange rate of 1.20 Swiss Francs per Euro and that it was lowering the target three-month LIBOR rate further into negative territory, it sent shock waves through the macro hedge fund community.

Many of the funds were short the Franc and when the announcement came the Franc soared higher and ripped right through the stops most traders had set. How much damage was done isn’t known yet, but the performance numbers that are released for many funds will reflect the carnage in the next few weeks.

Seeing the volatility in the currency markets is evidence of several things. First, it goes to show how important transparency is and it goes to show how valuable a dollar-hedged portfolio can be.

With HedgeCoVest, the latest offering from HedgeCo Networks, investors have complete transparency in their accounts and can see what is being held in their portfolios. If they are uncomfortable having currency based trades in the portfolio, they can liquidate at any time and look at other managers. Without complete transparency, an investor might not know if their hedge fund manager was short the Swiss Franc and likely would not find out until the end of the month or the end of the quarter when the statements are issued.