The media is no longer welcome at the hedge fund industry’s annual conference. The conference is sponsored by the Managed Funds Association (MFA), with over 2,400 members and includes “the vast majority of the largest hedge fund groups in the world,” according to the MFA. At the upcoming MFA annual conference, the media is banned for the first time in the 15 years that this conference has been held.
According to Encarta, a hedge fund is “an investment company that is organized as a limited partnership and uses high-risk techniques in the hope of making large profits.” The limited partnership nature of a hedge fund means investors in one of these vehicles have very limited knowledge of its workings, almost no say over how a hedge fund works and usually a once a year time frame to get out of it.
The MFA won’t say why the media is not welcome to their event and to those of us who believe in fee transparency, this action is another reason to run away from hedge funds. Makes me wonder what is going on, being discussed or talked about at this conference. The MFA media exclusion is in sharp contrast with the the open-door, “everyone is welcome, the more the merrier, no question is off-limits” approach of Warren Buffett at the annual Berkshire Hathaway Inc. shareholders’ meeting.
If you’re even thinking about investing in a hedge fund, keep this in mind. Would you rather trust your money in a security in which you know what’s going on or one in which secrecy is valued?
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