From the Publisher

The legends who created the trillion-dollar hedge fund world are brilliant at picking investments, astute at spotting talent--and notorious for secrecy. Now these top managers talk frankly about the challenges they face and how they enter, exit, and size their trades. They also name up-and-coming managers who are shaping the future of hedge funds. Katherine Burton, an acclaimed Bloomberg News reporter, has persuaded these giants of their industry to share their thinking as never before. Investors and market watchers will be intrigued and informed by an unprecendented look inside these highly successful funds.

Publishers Weekly

Like other books profiling hedge fund managers, this one promises "unprecedented candor" and a view "behind tightly closed doors," but some of the 23 managers profiled gave similar interviews in books such as Market Wizards, The New Investment Superstarsand Inside the House of Money, and some have written books of their own. Bloomberg News reporter Burton does break new ground by profiling 13 up-and-coming managers selected by 10 acknowledged "leaders and legends." Compared with other authors, she is more interested in the personal and business qualities needed to build a successful asset management business than in pure trading ability. She concentrates on stock pickers rather than others, such as managers who trade in nonequity markets. But the interviews tend to be soft: we learn about the managers' "boyish good looks," telephone ring tones, rapper friends and art collections, among other personal details. When conversations turn to trading, the managers usually supply anecdotes of successful trades, often with tension as the market initially moves against them. This is a pleasant and well-written book for readers interested in the people and business of hedge funds, rather than their investment techniques. (Nov.)

Lawrence R. Maxted - Library Journal

With these profiles of 18 successful hedge fund managers, Bloomberg News reporter Burton sheds light on hedge funds, which are maintained by private investment partnerships using aggressive strategies for higher returns. While she provides personal background information on the managers, her descriptions of the managers' varying investing styles make up the true value of her work. For instance, she explains that the legendary Boone Pickens runs his fund informally but with a focused, long-term view on the energy sector. One unifying theme throughout is that successful hedge funds, no matter what their style, always strive to maintain a moneymaking edge over the market based on analysis, experience, or other techniques. Burton's clearly written work is a fine introduction to hedge funds for both the interested reader and those contemplating a career in this area of investment. Steven Drobny's more cerebral Inside the House of Moneyis less accessible to general readers, and neither his book nor Burton's provides the drama of James Cramer's classic hedge-fund autobiography, Confessions of a Street Addict. Burton's contribution would be a solid addition to business collections in both public and academic libraries.

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Product Details

• ISBN: 1576602451
  
• ISBN-13: 9781576602454
• Format: Hardcover, 224pp
• Publisher: Bloomberg Press
• Pub. Date: November 2007
• Sales Rank: 12,043