Book excerpt: Tighten due diligence procedures for more successful hedge fund investment Practical Operational Due Diligence on Hedge Funds is an encyclopaedic, comprehensive reference, written from the perspective of an experienced practitioner. Accompanied by a useful archive of factual material on different hedge fund issues, including failures, fines, and closures, this book focuses on the areas due diligence professionals should address, and explains why they're important. Extensive discussion of publicised cases identifies the manager entities and actual fund vehicles involved, and provides commentary on what could have been done differently in each case, backed by actual regulatory materials, such as SEC complaints, that recreate the events that took place. Readers gain a deeper understanding of the many facets of due diligence and the many possible pitfalls, learning how standardise processes and avoid major errors and oversights. The amount of money managed by hedge funds has almost doubled from the $1 trillion under management at the time of the financial crisis. Hedge funds can be extremely risky, but can be extremely profitable — as money increasingly flows back in, due diligence on these alternative investments becomes more and more critical. This book provides complete guidance toward the due diligence process, with plentiful real-world examples. Identify the areas of due diligence and what can go wrong Create procedures and checklists to minimise errors Learn what publicised cases could have done differently Gain a deeper understanding of massive failures and successes Proper due diligence can be a massive undertaking, but thoroughness is essential when the price of failure is so high. Practical Operational Due Diligence on Hedge Funds provides the details professionals need to be on point every time.