Book review: Hedge Funds and Prime Brokers

At first glance the second edition of Hedge Funds and Prime Brokers is a fairly basic look at what a hedge fund is and does and the relationship a fund has with prime brokers, both in and out of the US.

However, in its later chapters the book goes into some detail about impending regulation in the US, Europe and Asia and the potential effects on hedge funds.

Contributors to the second edition include law firms and fund administrators. The book is edited by former US Securities & Exchange Commission and London Stock Exchange lawyer Mark Berman. He contributes the opening chapter on "what are hedge funds?" and the concluding chapter exploring the impact of the credit crisis on hedge funds and prime brokers.

Given the recent proposals made by US president Barack Obama to slim down banking activities, Berman's call for legislation similar to the 1933 Glass-Steagall Act appears prophetic.

However, like other books discussing regulation, much of the concluding chapters is by necessity forecasting against the unknown.

Overall the book is a useful resource for those new to the hedge fund world as well as those wanting a quick overview of where the industry might be in the years to come.

Berman, M: Hedge Funds and Prime Brokers (2nd edition, RiskBooks, 2009). RiskBooks is a division of Hedge Funds Review publisher Incisive Media.