Fund of funds: Difference between revisions
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Pension funds, endowments, and other institutions often invest in funds of hedge funds for part or all of their "alternative asset" programs, i.e., investments other than traditional stock and bond holdings.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} |
Pension funds, endowments, and other institutions often invest in funds of hedge funds for part or all of their "alternative asset" programs, i.e., investments other than traditional stock and bond holdings.{{citation needed|date=November 2013}} |
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After allocation of the levels of fees payable and taxation, returns on FoF investments will generally be lower than single-manager funds. |
After allocation of the levels of fees payable and taxation, returns on FoF investments will generally be lower than single-manager funds. Allocation levels and fund share classes are often identified by its ISIN code.<ref>[http://isin.org ISIN Organization]</ref> |
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The [[due diligence]] and safety of investing in FoFs has come under question as a result of the [[Bernie Madoff]] scandal, where many FoFs put substantial investments into the scheme. It became clear that a motivation for this was the lack of fees by Madoff which gave the illusion that the FoF was performing well. The [[due diligence]] of the FoFs apparently did not include asking why Madoff was not making this charge for his services.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2008/12/madoff_money | work=The Economist | title=Madoff money | date=12 December 2008}}</ref> 2008 and 2009 saw fund of funds take a battering from investors and the media on all fronts from the hollow promises made by over-eager marketers to the strength (or lack) of their due diligence processes to those carefully explained and eminently justifiable extra layers of fees, all reaching their zenith with the Bernie Madoff fiasco.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.opalesque.com/54448/Fund%20of%20funds/Dispersion_of_of_returns309.html |title=Fund of funds take a public beating in post-Madoff era |
The [[due diligence]] and safety of investing in FoFs has come under question as a result of the [[Bernie Madoff]] scandal, where many FoFs put substantial investments into the scheme. It became clear that a motivation for this was the lack of fees by Madoff which gave the illusion that the FoF was performing well. The [[due diligence]] of the FoFs apparently did not include asking why Madoff was not making this charge for his services.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.economist.com/blogs/freeexchange/2008/12/madoff_money | work=The Economist | title=Madoff money | date=12 December 2008}}</ref> 2008 and 2009 saw fund of funds take a battering from investors and the media on all fronts from the hollow promises made by over-eager marketers to the strength (or lack) of their due diligence processes to those carefully explained and eminently justifiable extra layers of fees, all reaching their zenith with the Bernie Madoff fiasco.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.opalesque.com/54448/Fund%20of%20funds/Dispersion_of_of_returns309.html |title=Fund of funds take a public beating in post-Madoff era |
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Revision as of 15:45, 22 March 2015
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2008) |
A "fund of funds" (FOF) is an investment strategy of holding a portfolio of other investment funds rather than investing directly in stocks, bonds or other securities. This type of investing is often referred to as multi-manager investment. A fund of funds may be "fettered", meaning that it invests only in funds managed by the same investment company, or "unfettered", meaning that it can invest in external funds.
There are different types of "fund of funds", each investing in a different type of collective investment scheme (typically one type per FoF), for example "mutual fund" FoF, hedge fund FoF, private equity FoF, or investment trust FoF. The FoF, where the fund invests in funds managed by its own company are called fettered. The unfettered FoF allows manager to invest in funds run by other managers.[1] The original Fund of Funds was created by Bernie Cornfeld in 1962. It went bankrupt after being looted by Robert Vesco.[2]
Features
Investing in a collective investment scheme may increase diversity compared with a small investor holding a smaller range of securities directly. Investing in a fund of funds may achieve greater diversification. According to modern portfolio theory, the benefit of diversification can be the reduction of volatility while maintaining average returns. However, this is countered by the increased fees paid on both the FoF level, and of the underlying investment fund.
Considerations
Management fees for Funds of Funds are typically higher than those on traditional investment funds because they include the management fees charged by the underlying funds.[3]
Pension funds, endowments, and other institutions often invest in funds of hedge funds for part or all of their "alternative asset" programs, i.e., investments other than traditional stock and bond holdings.[citation needed]
After allocation of the levels of fees payable and taxation, returns on FoF investments will generally be lower than single-manager funds. Allocation levels and fund share classes are often identified by its ISIN code.[4]
The due diligence and safety of investing in FoFs has come under question as a result of the Bernie Madoff scandal, where many FoFs put substantial investments into the scheme. It became clear that a motivation for this was the lack of fees by Madoff which gave the illusion that the FoF was performing well. The due diligence of the FoFs apparently did not include asking why Madoff was not making this charge for his services.[5] 2008 and 2009 saw fund of funds take a battering from investors and the media on all fronts from the hollow promises made by over-eager marketers to the strength (or lack) of their due diligence processes to those carefully explained and eminently justifiable extra layers of fees, all reaching their zenith with the Bernie Madoff fiasco.[6]
Asset allocation
The fund-of-funds structure may be useful for asset-allocation funds, that is, an "exchange-traded fund (ETF) of ETFs" or "mutual fund of mutual funds". For example, iShares has asset-allocation ETFs, which own other iShares ETFs.[7] Similarly, Vanguard has asset-allocation mutual funds, which own other Vanguard mutual funds. The "parent" funds may own the same "child" funds, with different proportions to allow for "aggressive" to "conservative" allocation. This structure simplifies management by separating allocation from security selection.
Target-date fund
A target-date fund is similar to an asset-allocation fund, except that the allocation is designed to change over time. The same structure is useful here. iShares has target-date ETFs that own other iShares ETFs; Vanguard has target-date mutual funds that own other Vanguard mutual funds. In both cases, the same funds are used as the asset-allocation funds. Since a provider may have many target dates, this can greatly reduce duplication of work.
Private equity funds
According to Preqin (formerly known as Private Equity Intelligence), in 2006 funds investing in other private equity funds (i.e., fund of funds, including secondary funds) amounted to 14% of all committed capital in the private equity market. The following ranking of private equity fund of funds investment managers is based on information published by Private Equity Intelligence:
Source: Preqin (formerly known as Private Equity Intelligence)[8]
According to 2011 Preqin Global Private Equity Report, largest firms by total fund of funds capital raised in the last 10 years ($bn) are:
| Rank | Name of the firm | Total FoF Capital Raise in last 10 years (billions of USD) |
Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HarbourVest Partners | $19.3 |  United States
|
| 2 | Adams Street Partners | $12.5 | United States
|
| 3 | Pantheon Ventures | $12.1 |  UK
|
| 4 | Goldman Sachs Private Equity Group | $10.9 | United States
|
| 5 | Pathway Capital Management | $9.8 | United States
|
| 6 | Commonfund Capital | $7.3 | United States
|
| 7 | Siguler Guff | $6.8 | United States
|
| 8 | SL Capital Partners | $6.7 | UK
|
| 9 | ATP Private Equity Partners | $6.5 |  Denmark
|
| 10 | Partners Group | $5.8 |  Switzerland
|
Source: Preqin[9]
Fund of hedge funds
A fund of hedge funds is a fund of funds that invests in a portfolio of different hedge funds to provide broad exposure to the hedge fund industry and to diversify the risks associated with a single investment fund. Funds of hedge funds select hedge fund managers and construct portfolios based upon those selections. The fund of hedge funds is responsible for hiring and firing the managers in the fund. Some funds of hedge funds might have only one hedge fund in it, this lets ordinary investors into a highly acclaimed fund, or many hedge funds.[10]
Funds of hedge funds generally charge a fee for their services, always in addition to the hedge fund's management and performance fees, which can be 1.5% and 15-30%, respectively. Fees can reduce an investor's profits and potentially reduce the total return below what could be achieved through a less expensive mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF).
A study of hedge fund returns from 1998 to 2010 by Simon Lack shows very poor performance compared to the market. From 1998 to 2010, the index (of hedge funds) returned only 2.1% annualized on a money-weighted basis. Hedge fund managers earned $379 billion in fees, while investors earned only $70 billion in profits. Thus, the operators earned 84% of the investment profits and investors only 16%. Funds of hedge funds, which add another layer of fees, did even worse. Including these brings industry fees up to $440 billion, or 98% of the profit pool, leaving only $9 billion for investors.[11] The largest fund of funds allocating capital to the hedge funds was Blackstone Alternative Asset Management.[12]
“While the hedge fund industry has generated fabulous wealth and created many fortunes, it has largely done so for itself.”
— Simon Lack[11]
An early fund of funds were started by the Rothschild family in Europe in 1969 under the name Leveraged Capital Holdings. In 1971, Richard Elden founded Grosvenor Capital Management in Chicago, Illinois, introducing the concept of fund of funds to the United States.[13]
Fund of venture capital funds
A fund of venture capital funds is a fund of funds that invests in a portfolio of different venture capital funds to access to private capital markets. Clients are usually university endowments and pension funds.[14]
See also
- Collective investment scheme
- Investment management
- Manager of managers fund
- Bernard Cornfeld, operator of perhaps the first "Fund of Funds" from 1962 until its collapse in 1970. [1].
- Institutional Investor's Alpha: Fund Of Funds 50 Ranking
References
- ^ "Definition of fund of funds". 'Financial Times Lexicon'. Financial Times. 2015-03-08. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
- ^ De Vries, M. F. R. "The entrepreneurial personality: a person at the crossroads." Journal of management studies 14.1 (1977): 34-57.
- ^ "Complexity pays". The Economist. 27 November 2009.
- ^ ISIN Organization
- ^ "Madoff money". The Economist. 12 December 2008.
- ^ Opalesque (28 August 2009). "Fund of funds take a public beating in post-Madoff era".
- ^ "iShares Adds Four Allocation ETFs to Core Lineup - Yahoo Finance". Yahoo! Finance.
- ^ Prequin (search for LP League Tables) . Based on analysis provided by Preqin an independent provider of private equity data and information. "Private Equity Fund of Funds Managers, Located Anywhere, Data for Capital Currently Committed to PE
- ^ Prequin . Based on analysis provided by Preqin an independent provider of private equity data and information. "The 2011 Private Equity Report. - Fund of Fund Managers Key Stats and Facts”
- ^ Rareview Macro Fund
- ^ a b Fisher, Greg (January 23, 2012). "Chasing the Mirage of Hedge Fund Returns". Forbes.
- ^ Ugolik, Kaytlin (2014-11-04). "Big Ideas from Small Hedge Fund Managers". 'Institutional investor'. Institutional investor. Retrieved 2015-03-08.
- ^ Sam Kirschner, Eldon Mayer, Lee Kessler. The Investor's Guide to Hedge Funds. John Wiley and Sons, 2006
- ^ TrueBridge (27 August 2009). "Market Analysis: State of the Venture Capital Industry".
