It is about offense AND defense

The nation is settling into quite an interesting election season now that we’ve passed Labor Day. The candidates are gearing up for a series of debates as they battle for the highest office in the land. And while the country waits with baited breath to hear what will come out of Mr. Trump’s mouth and what new scandal will hit Secretary Clinton, one thing is for sure: significant uncertainty in the markets and the hedge fund industry.

It seems — from a quite unscientific poll I conducted over the last few weeks — that some managers are having a hard time navigating the markets and have a very hard time raising money. The only thing to do in these situations in to stay focused. It is when a manager’s focus on investments and investors slips that things fall apart. Hunker down, create a plan and stick to it. Doing so may not guarantee success but will put you on the right path to it.

Over the twenty-odd years I have been in this business, I have seen many managers who have been successful in the markets but unsuccessful in raising assets. They believed that if they built it, investors would come. It doesn’t work that way. Managers need to put as much time, energy and enthusiasm into raising money as they do into looking for opportunities in the market.  It’s a full-time job both to manage money and to raise assets, but spending equal time on each is the only way to ensure success.

Operations for Alternatives’ Hedge Fund Compliance event is in New York on October 6 and 7. To learn more about this event and to register, click here. If you are a general counsel, compliance officer or simply interested in learning from experts about compliance – this is one event not to miss. Register today!

Things that drive me crazy

The world is clearly a dangerous place. There are both man-made and natural disasters happening daily in all four corners of the globe, yet regardless of how bad it gets we continue to muddle through, carry on and move things forward. Recently, there have been a number of press reports that “stars” are threatening to leave the United States if Donald Trump wins in November. And while some in the press have suggested that this would a national nightmare –the stars leaving, not Trump’s winning — I for one say let them go and good riddance. I have seen this before and it disgusted me then and disgusts me now. Twelve years ago, a very well-respected film maker – he did a movie about a ship and then one about blue people — said in a New Yorker interview that he was pulling his application for citizenship because George W. Bush had been elected President.  We didn’t need him then and we don’t need them now. The U.S. will do just fine without these folks.

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