I n t e rnational Asset Management (‘IAM’) is the proud sponsor of the IAM

Hedge Fund Research Programme of the Financial Markets Group. Wi t h i n

this programme the LSE team undertakes independent re s e a rch into aspects

of the hedge fund industry. It is hoped that the results of this re s e a rch will

give greater understanding about this growing area of financial innovation.

This paper gives an overview of the most common hedge fund strategies, and

their implications for portfolio risk and re t u rn. The paper is intended as a

review of the existing literature rather than as an original contribution to the

re s e a rch fro n t i e r. The paper should be accessible to masters-level students in

finance, or investment practitioners with good knowledge of modern finance