"Alfa Investors" - Success in the world of hedge funds [Review]

The world of hedge funds is still a mysterious place. The Polish reality for this market is unfortunately very harsh and unpleasant. This branch of investment "Alternative" is still crawling in our country, while the world is doing very well, and the growth prospects in this industry are extremely favorable. What, or maybe who, is behind the successes of the largest hedge funds? Why are they so popular? What strategies bring them outstanding rates of return? Maneet Ahuja tried to answer these and many other questions, and while writing the book we reviewed, she conducted a series of talks with the best managers.

The book "Alfa Investors" (ang. Alpha Masters) is not yet popular reading among traders. Nevertheless, we encourage you to read it! Whether it's worth it, you will learn from the review below.

Read: Hedge Fund and trend following - market neutral trading

The key is the manager

Hedge funds are often associated with investing in complex instruments using extremely complex, often and automated strategies. Nothing could be more wrong. While the first part of the sentence is true (these funds very often use derivatives), the second part misses it more. "Alfa Investors" mainly show people. It is they as managers who are responsible for the success of their funds. It is really interesting to look at the entire process of controlling such an undertaking from the perspective of the decision-maker. We not only get to know the general outline of the strategy and how they implement it. We are able to trace the management's thinking path, their life, goals and motivation, which is a huge component of the success of the funds for which they are responsible.

Maneet Ahuja

The author herself (because she is especially worth mentioning) is a recognized specialist in the field of hedge funds and a CNBC journalist. It is worth adding that she is a laureate of the prestigious Enterpise award, which she received for ground-breaking coverage of the fund industry. If that was not enough, she was a co-organizer of the hedg summit in 2011 called "Delivering Alpha". Therefore, it is connected with the topic for a really long time.

Maneet Ahuja it does not present the facts. She tells them in a way that is extremely pleasant for the reader. The book itself does not cause a feeling of weariness. On the contrary, it has the proverbial "something" that engages the reader enormously. Most of the time, while reading, I felt as if I was also an active participant in the conversation with the managers whose profiles he presents. Without revealing the details of who you can meet in more detail in the book, I will only say that they are the most sophisticated investors who have been successfully reached by Maneet.

A look behind the scenes

Reading Alfa Investors all the time I had the impression that this item was more of an active guide than a management description or a regular reportage. In my opinion, looking behind the scenes does not fully define what we will find in the book. I would be more inclined to call it knowing the anatomy of the best deals. In fact, there is information that tells about the entire genesis and investment intention of the manager. We learn a lot of interesting information from the basics of psychology to a whole lot of common-sense rules about investing.

Ideal for Alfa Investors?

Certainly Alfa Investors is a universal reading. When I say universal, I mean one that a novice investor will read with incredible curiosity, and an experienced one will perceive it as a pillow story. The main disadvantage I can mention is the overly general representation of the character's biography. Although the book describes a lot of various aspects related to funds and people responsible for their success, it will not satisfy the curious who want to know the details of large, profitable transactions. If he already begins to outline them more broadly, another problem arises. A person who has never had contact (or  does not know exactly how the derivatives market works) will have trouble understanding terms and descriptions that are obvious and clear to Maneet and managers.

Book "Alfa Investors" It will certainly be an interesting gift or supplement to the investor's library. If we've never dealt with the world of hedge funds, this position is appropriate and lightweight "First collision". However, the merits remain extreme. From incredibly shallow to extremely complex. However, this does not diminish the book's lightness in absorbing the events presented there. It is also a big plus that there are few readings on the market that show the hedge fund industry. Certainly, the reader will appreciate the ease with which Alfa Investors are read, and the advice and suggestions from managers collected there are universal enough to be useful on any market, regardless of the type of investor we are. The very idea of ​​creating funds is the idea of ​​earning in all conditions (no matter what is happening on the stock exchange). Using the suggestions and ideas of people who can do it, the rank of the book in my opinion rises much higher.

I hope that "Alfa Investors" Maneet Ahuja will also complete your library! They will certainly not fail as a book "To the pillow" for the more experienced and an engaging story, for those who take their first steps on the market.