Alpha Mail (February)

Alpha Mail - A monthly email update from AllAboutAlpha.com

Dear Alpha Mail Subscriber:

Based on our monthly survey of most popular posts at AllAboutAlpha.com, it seems that you were in a reflective mood in January. You revisited age-old questions about quantitative vs. qualitative investing, the separation of alpha and beta, and the delivery of hedge funds in a retail (mutual fund or UCITS) wrapper. In addition, posts on new performance and compensation metrics attracted interest.

These are all fundamental issues in asset management. But you simply can't focus on them when news of financial calamities and scandals compete for attention. So if there is one conclusion to be drawn from our traffic last month, it's probably that there may have just been a brief pause in the cacophony of "breaking news" that hits us each day.

Either that, or you're just looking for a distraction...

Last Month's Most Popular Posts

Live Blogging "Battle of the Quants"
Today, we report live from the annual New York edition of the "Battle of Quants."
Quant funds to terminate human-managed ones?
A new study compares quant hedge funds to qualitatively-managed ones. While there were interesting differences, the debate between these two camps is unlikely to terminate any time soon.
A favorite going into the games of 2010
There seems to be little consensus at the beginning of each year about which hedge fund strategies may be poised to outperform. This year may be just a little different though...
Up-capture: A different way of defining value-added in fund management
A new paper suggests that just because your manager has trailed the index in the past 3 years doesn't mean she's going to trail in the future - particularly if you have your own expectations for the direction of markets.
New study of mutual fund alpha shows that what-goes-around-comes-around
A study of the variables driving mutual fund alpha also reveals something about the changing nature of markets themselves.
Why bother separating alpha and beta? Here's why.
With the un-alpha-like performance of the hedge fund portion of portable alpha strategies last year, it's easy to disregard alpha/beta separation as hype. But here's a must-read paper that shows why the concept is fundamentally sound.
Comment: "Risk-based compensation" a more equitable approach
The past few years have seen discontent about return-based hedge fund fees growing amongst investors. Here's a proposal from one manager that attempts to balance both risk and return.
Survey: "Crisis has reinforced ongoing trend toward alternative investing"
With institutional investors now credited for providing three-quarters of new hedge fund assets, we take a closer look at a new survey tracking how their beliefs have changed over the past year.
Examining "Real Alpha" and "Exotic Beta" in mutual funds
Usually the term "exotic beta" is associated with hedge funds. Finally, it's being applied to the largest pool of active management - mutual funds.
UCITS and NEWCITS and Hedge Funds, oh my...
The expected EU Directive in addition to generally more heightened demand for regulatory compliant alternative investments has already set in motion a wave of so-called UCITS- and NEWCITS-based funds. The question is whether they can truly live up to expectations, particularly with higher costs and lower returns.