Audience underwrites hedge fund naïveté

The relative mystique of hedge funds is still very much intact, if the audience at Hampden Private Capital Group’s regional meeting at the Lloyds of London offices is a trustworthy barometer.

Sandwiched between talks on the softening market in insurance underwriting was a presentation to a room full of insurers by Jeremy Alun-Jones and Dominique Montier, directors at fund of hedge funds group Montier Partners.

It was both a general overview of the industry and the firm's own place within it and a basic explanation of a group of potential wealthy investors.

The questions asked by the audience were a clear indication of the enduring nature of some of the misconceptions held by many, even