Retail audience holds the hedge fund key

Now, who would have thought it? After being regarded as second rate citizens by many hedge funds leading up to and after the crunch, retail investors now hold the main remaining key to accessing some of the world's most sought-after managers.

The best managers have shut their open-ended funds which the world’s largest investors typically used to invest but the door remains ajar at the closed ended investment trusts that invest in the capped funds. That is the somewhat indirect path retail investors typically use to get access. Having such prized access puts paid to the historical contention retail investors could never access to the industry’s most talented managers. If you have spare tenner you can buy shares in trusts with money in closed funds such as CQS ABS and Directional Opportunities, Bluecrest Capital Management’s...