The Hedge Fund Catastrophe

FT Alphaville is one of my favorite financial sites - it is about the first thing I log into when I turn on my computer - so I was pleased to see they ran my Bloomberg column on hedge funds today. Likewise The Times. A lot of response to the basic argument, which was that by stopping their investors from taking their money out, the funds were doing a lot of damage to their reputation. One reader pointed out that it was much the same as the ban on short-selling last year - which, of course, the hedge funds objected to loudly. Another pointed out that it was similar to emerging markets closing up for a few days - such as Malaysia, Thailand, or more recently Russia. True enough. The funds are guilty of gross hypocrisy. There were already having a rough time. But I suspect this kind of crass response means they are just about finished.