New York Times – SOMETIMES it feels as if there is a red state-blue state divide when it comes to hedge funds.<\/p>\n
Some people believe that if permitted to remain free from the shackles of dangerous government oversight, hedge funds can help solve problems from underfunded pensions to inept corporate management. This group tends to include hedge fund employees and hedge fund investors.<\/p>\n
Others believe that hedge funds are sinister forces that capitalize on superior information \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u009d possibly obtained illegally \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and are hell-bent on pillaging the financial system to corner the market on luxury cars and palatial real estate. This group includes much of the news media and the Connecticut attorney general.<\/p>\n
Yet hedge funds are neither saviors nor Satan.<\/p>\n
There are more than 9,000 funds that vary greatly in the kinds of investments they make, returns they seek and strategies they employ. One of the few things they have in common \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u009d other than gigantic paychecks when their returns are good \u00c3\u00a2\u00e2\u201a\u00ac\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is that the funds have become a more accepted fixture in the financial landscape.<\/p>\n