Synthetic Funds and the Mongolian Barbeque

Abstract

With the arrival of synthetic funds, investment management no longer has to resemble a visit to The Mongolian Barbeque. Investors no longer have to go through the usual process of finding and combining individual assets and funds into portfolios in an, often only partially successful, attempt to construct an overall portfolio with the characteristics they require. They can now design and create their ideal diversifier or overall portfolio by themselves and avoid the many pitfalls and excessive fees that surround popular new asset classes, such as hedge funds, private equity, etc. Undoubtedly, investors will need time to come to grips with the concept, but given these benefits, there is no doubt synthetic funds have a bright future ahead of them.

Keywords: Synthetic fund, hedge fund, portfolio management, asset allocation

JEL Classification: G11, G23