Emerging-manager mania has taken a firm foothold in the fund of hedge funds industry as a way for multi-managers to try to differentiate themselves from the groundswell of advisors all aiming to assist pension funds in their direct hedge fund manager allocations.
Most of these advisors, which come in various formats including consultants, do not, however, have the depth of resources or experience to discover and discern the winners of tomorrow.
For this reason, they are typically focusing on allocations to the larger brand names, leaving an open field for the ‘discovery’ of the future talent. But what a few investors realise is that while many of the funds of funds are in the throes of re-inventing themselves as emerging-manager experts, few have a proven track record in this discipline.
HSBC Alternative Investments Limited (HAIL), which has been managing funds of hedge funds portfolios for more than...