Out of every five hedge fund managers, one is prone to fibbing, according to research from NYU's Stern School of Business. This is likely to pour salt in the wound of an industry that's been in rough shape for the past year. And, it'll probably add a bit more pressure for transparency.

The NYU report uses data from 444 due diligence reports that investors commissioned from 2003 to 2008. The research team put the information against the test of reality to see where the differences are. The most common stretch of the truth was the amount of their own money the managers put into their hedge funds, fund performance and regulatory and legal histories. One fund inflated its assets under management by $300 million, while another wasn't up front about one of its partner's legal records (he had stolen a Chinese junk).

Continue reading Are hedge fund managers stretching the truth?

Are hedge fund managers stretching the truth? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you've been through high school, you know how peers can pressure you to do things you might ordinarily avoid. This came to mind while reading two articles in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. The common theme was how individual actors in markets -- whether top traders or big banks -- are acutely influenced in their behavior by what they observe their peers doing.

In the first, Mark McGoldrick decided to leave [subscription required] the Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) because he felt his $70 million in 2006 compensation was not enough for the $4 billion in profit he contributed to the firm. He wanted what other hedge fund players were making -- $1.2 billion for his group (representing the typical compensation of a hedge fund -- a 2% management fee plus 20% of the profits). Instead, Goldman paid his group a mere $500 million (less than 15% of his group's profits).

Similarly, the Fed spent a significant amount of time trying to get banks to use its Discount window to take out loans after Friday's 50 basis point rate cut. The Fed feared that banks would not use the Discount window because it made them look weak in the eyes of their peers.

It remains to be seen whether the Fed's effort to make peer pressure work will breath life into borrowing from its Discount window. But McGoldrick has already left Goldman to do -- what else? -- start his own hedge fund so he can keep up with his peers.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Goldman.

Mark McGoldrick, Goldman Sachs (GS) and the Fed: How peer pressure moves markets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 19 Aug 2007 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Others echo Overstock chief's cries of collusion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 30 Mar 2007 14:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.