Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence - (Wiley Finance) by Jason A Scharfman (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

How to diagnose and monitor key hedge fund operational risks

With the various scandals taking place with hedge funds, now more than ever, both financial and operational risks must be examined. Revealing how to effectively detect and evaluate often-overlooked operational risk factors in hedge funds, such as multi-jurisdictional regulatory coordination, organizational nesting, and vaporware, Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence includes real-world examples drawn from the author's experiences dealing with the operational risks of a global platform of over 80 hedge funds, funds
of hedge funds, private equity, and real estate managers.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence: Understanding the Risks

"This book should be required reading for anyone who wants to successfully invest in hedge funds. As operational problems are reputed to cause over 50% of all hedge fund failures, it is essential that hedge fund analysts understand how to conduct proper operational due diligence--many firms are only now starting to understand the importance of this skill set. Mr. Scharfman's book will go a long way towards educating analysts in this critical area."
--Ed Rogers, CEO, Rogers Investment Advisors, LLC

"Scharfman has written an excellent book! Highly accessible . . . covers crucial topics! This book should be read by all analysts who cover the hedge funds space. It also furnishes a very valuable and necessary addition to the MBA finance curriculum. Solid operational infrastructure is exactly what the smart institutional investors are demanding, and rightly so. Scharfman's book is going to help make a lot of good decisions--that is, for those who are prudent enough to read it."
--Dr. Ranjan Bhaduri, Managing DirectorAlphaMetrix, LLC

A straightforward how-to guide for conductingeffective hedge fund operational due diligence

Providing a hands-on, step-by-step guide to the operational due diligence process involving hedge funds, Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence: Understanding the Risks addresses essential issues including:

• Why you should care about operational risk

• Who is qualified to perform an operational risk review

• How you can easily create an initial operational profile

• The gray areas of operational due diligence

• Ten tips when performing an operational due diligence review

• Techniques for modeling operational risk

Packed with insight and tips to help you diagnose and monitor key hedge fund operational risks, Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence: Understanding the Risks is required reading for every hedge fund analyst and investor.

Review Quotes

"Informative book by Jason Scharfman, on, well, pretty much everything you need to run a hedge fund...Scharfman also explains the reliance on technology that is becoming ever more apparent in hedge funds, the dangers of phantomware, and questions that should be asked before committing to any new technology." (hedgeco.net, January 26th, 2009)

"In his book, Jason Scharfman identifies these operational risks and recommends a strong and innovative "operational" due diligence review program as the best defense against them. His book outlines a step-by-step guide that shows investors how to effectively detect and evaluate often-overlooked operational risk factors in hedge funds and other investments in order to provide hedge funds and their investors with the skills to understand and hopefully mitigate these risks." (The Hedge Fund Law Report, January 8, 2009)

About the Author

JASON A. SCHARFMAN is a Director with Graystone Research at Morgan Stanley. His responsibilities include analyzing and reporting on the operational risks of alternative investments such as hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, and private equity considered for investment. He also makes recommendations to the firm's investment committee based on that analysis. He has written on the subject of operational due diligence and travels and speaks worldwide on hedge fund operational risks.