In 1949, Alfred Winslow Jones devised and implemented an investment strategy that would forever brand him as "the father of the hedge fund industry." While working for Fortune Magazine and investigating financial strategies, Jones decided to launch his own fund and raised a total of $100,000, $40,000 of which was his own money.
Jones employed two strategies still used heavily by hedge fund managers today: Leverage and short-selling. To avoid requirements set in place by the Investment Act of 1940, Jones limited the number of investors to 99 and set up the fund as a limited partnership.
Even though Jones garnered sizable returns in his first few years heading the fund, his strategy did not come into the mainstream until the late 60’s. When George Soros and Warren Buffet adopted Jones’ strategy and launched their own funds, hedge funds were suddenly being sought after by an elite group of investors.
What caught the attention of the investors was how these hedge funds had little correlation to the market. They were "hedged" against any downtown or slump in the economy. While the S & P was lagging, Jones’ investors continued to make money on a yearly basis. He decided to charge his clients a 20% performance fee, still used today by hedge fund managers. However, while most managers today also charge a management fee (usually 1-2%), Jones did not charge his investors anything unless the fund made a profit.
Hedge funds still enjoy limited regulation and are not required to make periodic reports with the SEC under the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. Because of this, hedge funds have much more limited transparency than do mutual funds. While there have been recent attempts by the SEC to tighten up hedge fund regulation, they still enjoy the freedom and secrecy that other investment vehicles do not.
The SEC warns, "You should also be aware that, while the SEC may conduct examinations of any hedge fund manager that is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act, the SEC and other securities regulators generally have limited ability to check routinely on hedge fund activities."
The one thing they do have control over, however, is who may invest in these hedge funds. The SEC mandates that only accredited investors or qualified clients may participate in hedge funds, due to the higher risk involved. However, the typical hedge fund investor is thought to be well educated when it comes to funds, and risks are usually communicated by the hedge fund manager.
In addition, in order to keep hedge funds "private" and in compliance with the Securities Act of 1933, soliciting or marketing is strictly limited. While hedge funds may have a website, only approved, qualified investors may access the site after their net worth is confirmed.
Today, there are over 10,000 hedge funds in existence with close to $3 trillion in assets under management. While some of them still use the staple strategy of leverage and short-selling, hedge funds today employ hundreds of different strategies, and not all all of them are "hedged," as Jones’ was. Still, his business model that successfully dodged U.S regulation and his innovative investment strategy were the basis for the hedge fund industry today.
While many investors see mutual funds as a good long term investment, there is a better investment that not only has higher returns, but lower downside volatility.
What is the investment? It may surprise you.
It’s UK land, with an average growth of 920% over 20 years and keep in mind this is just the average careful land plot selection has yielded far higher gains and downside volatility is low and gains compare very favourably to mutual funds.
Investments start at just $10,000 and there are plenty of specialist companies to help investors every step of the way, to big capital gains.
More international investors than ever before are looking at land as a solid investment alterative to traditional unit trusts and mutual funds for long term capital gains and the outlook for the future is bright.
UK land prices boom
The factors driving the boom are a rapidly expanding population and a huge shortage of affordable homes.
Land is needed to build new homes on and investors, who buy plots that have a good chance of being developed, can make a huge capital gain if planning permission is granted.
They can then sell and bank their profit.
Location is the key
While the growth in average UK land is impressive, the way to make really big gains is to buy land that has a good chance of being granted planning permission.
Investors who have been able to do this have made gains of up to 400% in just 4 years and all this with low downside risk, which is much better than the bulk of mutual funds.
The downside
Of course, there is no certainty that the land bought will be granted planning permission, but downside is limited, as land tends to rise in value longer term anyway and many developers offer buyback options so investors can liquidate funds quickly.
Big gains and low risk
All investors want low risk and big gains, but it’s a hard combination to find, however land is a proven solid long term investment and looks set to remain so for the foreseeable future, representing a viable alternative to mutual funds
As an investment in its own right, or one that is part of a diversified portfolio land can give you above average profit potential with low downside risk and the UK offers a great location to buy land.
Check out investing in land and you will see the attraction over traditional investments such as property and mutual funds:
Great long term growth, low risk, low minimum investments, specialist advice and liquidity all add up to an outstanding investment opportunity.
For more info on investing in land
Including a free land infopack that tells you everything you need to know about this outstanding opportunity, Visit:
http://www.lpgroupinternational.com
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