The objective of this module is to provide the participant with an introductory overview of hedge funds, their main strategies and risk and performance measures.

• Definitions and basic concepts
  • History and definitions : origin, concept, structure &legal framework
  • An asset class in its own right
  • Impact of hedge funds on the financial markets
  • Advantages and disadvantages
• Main hedge funds strategies
  • Convertible arbitrage, Merger Arbitrage, Event driven, Distressed securities, Equity market neutral, Equity long short, Fixed-income arbitrage, Global macro, Managed futures
• Risk and performance measures for hedge funds
• Basic concepts : risk, return, volatility and Net Asset Value
• Risk : 5 technical risk ratios
• …and their shortcomings
• Value at risk
• Benchmarking hedge funds
• Case studies