This is the money manager's guide to hedge funds. What they are, how they operate, and why they belong in any well-diversified professional portfolio. The successes of hedge funds - sophisticated investments which claim to offer their investors above-average returns and greater safety than many other types of managed investments - have become legendary, but so have their losses. Eye-popping gains by George Soros and Julian Robertson have competed in the headlines of the financial press with catastrophic losses by famed fund managers Victor Niederhoffer and John Merriwether. But are qualified investors missing out on the development of one of today's most important financial innovations because of poor information and a misunderstanding of these vehicles?The Hedge Fund Handbook sheds much-needed light on the dynamcis of hedge fund behavior, providing new tools and frameworks for understanding what hedge funds are and how they operate. Filled with techniques and strategies used by a successful hedge fund manager to evaluate his colleagues, this timely book gives potential hedge fund investors an insider's perspective as they learn to: master the hedge fund basics - everything from what happens when you buy to when and how to sell; accurately evaluate a hedge fund manager's perfomance and style; use accessible math to calculate a hedge fund's chances for success; find funds and managers that can generate exceptional returns for proportionally lower risk.Some hedge funds can offer investors great opportunities. However, these vehicles, if not understood or anlayzed in an effective manner, can harm the wealth of unprepared investors. Let the insights of a successful hedge fund manager improve your ability to identify and select those hedge funds that can truly provide superior, consistent risk-adjusted returns.