The past decade or so has witnessed a rapid transformation in the underlying business of hedge funds. Having started out as boutiques servicing mainly the very rich, many of these firms have had to cope with a massive influx of capital, which is increasingly provided by large, institutional plan sponsors of every type. As the sector has ballooned to an excess of 8000 providers managing over $1 trillion in AUM, it has attracted increasing government interest and regulatory oversight. In addition to raising legitimate questions regarding their ability to sustain its characteristically high return profile, these developments are forcing hedge fund operators to mature as businesses. All of these developments are occurring against a very challenging investment background. Strong hedge fund returns have historically been positively correlated with high volatility and interest rate levels. Both of these have hovered at historic lows for quite some time now, which goes a long way to explain why many funds have found it difficult to impress with their performance. The combination of all the above factors serves to illuminate why managing the business of hedge funds has become increasingly challenging. While barriers to entry have remained low, the barriers to success appear to be ever rising.

The Harvard Business School Club of Connecticut, in partnership with Argyle Executive Forum, is organizing this one day event to help address this business theme. We have explicitly designed the conference to be a peer-to-peer gathering, fostering a lively debate around these issues. The forum, to take place in Greenwich, Connecticut, will bring together approximately 200 founders and senior managing partners of leading alternative investment management firms, senior operating executives from public and private operating companies, members of the endowment, foundation and pension fund community, as well as select advisory firms. The event is strictly by invitation only and a registration code is required. If you did not receive an invitation but would like to inquire about attendance, please contact Erin Sauter at: esauter@execforum.net

*This event is closed to the press/media

Perspectives By:

Lee S. Ainslie III
Managing Partner
Maverick Capital

Interviewed by:
Byron Wien
Chief Investment Strategist
Pequot Capital

Dean Barr
Managing Director
Citigroup Alternative Investments

Leon Cooperman
Founder and Chairman
Omega Advisors, Inc.

Seth A Klarman
President
The Baupost Group, L.L.C.

Julian H. Robertson, Jr.
Chairman & CEO
Tiger Management L.L.C.

Interviewed by:
Mark W. Yusko
President & Chief Investment Officer
Morgan Creek Capital Management, LLC

A Joint Event With: