This article gives a nontechnical overview of hedge funds and is intended for students or
practitioners seeking a general introduction. It is not a survey of the research literature,
and citations are kept to a minimum. Section 1 discusses the definition of a hedge fund;
section 2 gives a short history of the hedge fund industry; section 3 describes hedge fund
fees; section 4 categorises hedge fund investment strategies; section 5 briefly analyses
hedge fund risk, and section 6 discusses hedge fund performance measurement. Section
7 offers some concluding comments. A bibliography and glossary of terms appear at the
end of the article.
