In an effort to improve the transparency and understanding of hedge funds, the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) has released an information booklet explaining the fundamental concepts associated with these offerings.
The Hedge Fund Booklet was put together by AIMA in conjunction with Melbourne-based boutique advisory firm Zenith.
"The booklet was hashed along the lines of wanting to produce a book ... that would be useful to both the wholesale market, and in particular trustees of super funds, and the retail market for financial planners," AIMA educational committee chair Jon Glass said at the launch of the publication.
The aim was for the booklet to be a source of information or an "industry thesaurus" where people could find the appropriate information about hedge funds, Glass said.
The booklet covers topics such as what hedged funds are, the history of hedge funds, the regulation of hedge funds, and their return attributes.
"Quite a few pages have been expended on simple definitions. I shouldn't say simple because it never seems to be a simple matter to define hedge fund strategies," Glass said.
He said the publication also contained a glossary of terms to help people with industry jargon.
"There's also a lot in this book about how hedge fund strategies work and how they can be situated inside a portfolio," Glass said.
The guide will be available within the next few days in soft copy via the AIMA Australia website.
