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The hedge fund industry is growing at a staggering pace. In the first three quarters of last year a record $22.3bn of new money flowed into the industry, according to TASS Research. The hedge fund industry is now estimated to comprise 6,000 funds with $500bn under management. This frantic growth has forced the industry to mature. New institutional investors, such as the UK's Prudential, Calpers, the massive Californian pension fund, and ABP, the enormous Dutch fund, are demanding higher standards of disclosure and professionalism from the industry. The boom has also benefited a whole slew of related businesses, including, but not limited to, prime brokers, lawyers, accountants and administrators. The growth may, however, end up coming at a price. Too much institutional disclosure could reveal hedge funds' moneymaking secrets, but perhaps more of a danger is the push to make hedge funds available to retail investors.
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