Two Risks You’re Taking With Hedge Funds
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Investing in hedge funds requires gobs of cash, nerves of steal and the determination to make a profit at all costs.
This type of collective investment scheme does not need to be registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) since hedge funds are considered private offerings because they are set up as limited partnerships. Hedge funds require the full attention of a fund manager to handle the day to day activities of monitoring the investment to help insure the greater chance of return on the investment.
Risk: you’re accountable for all losses
The hedge fund manager gets paid both a management fee, typically 2 percent of the entire fund net value and a 20 percent performance fee based on the profits of the investment. Because of the huge amount of money hedge fund managers can make, one of the common risks associated with hedge funds is that the managers may be willing to take greater chances with the money invested to reap bigger rewards.
If there are losses, the manager will not be held financially accountable again providing them with more leeway to play with the money of the investors.
Risk: Fewer disclosures
Since the SEC does not require hedge funds to register with them there is really no Government protection offered to consumers involved in these investments. According to the SEC Web site, another common risk associated with hedge funds you won’t get the same level of disclosures from a hedge fund that you’ll get from registered investments.
Without the disclosures that securities laws require for most registered investments, it can be difficult to verify representations you may receive from a hedge fund.
All investments have some type of risk involved. Some instruments, like the stock market, risk the loss of principal, while others, such as savings accounts, risk not allowing your money to earn the most money for the investment. The most common risk associated with hedge funds is because of the large funds required to invest into one. With that amount of money, great losses are a common hedge fund risk.
